8:15am: There are no offsets in Bortles’ deal, tweets Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports.
8:07am: The Jaguars have locked up the third overall pick from last month’s draft, announcing today that they’ve signed quarterback Blake Bortles. As a first-rounder, Bortles’ four-year rookie deal will also feature a fifth-year club option for the 2018 season.
“It’s awesome,” Bortles said of signing his contract. “It’s awesome to be able to kind of put this in the past. It’s a once in a lifetime thing, signing your first contract. It’s a cool feeling.”
The first quarterback selected in the draft, Bortles will receive a signing bonus worth in the neighborhood of $13.342MM, according to Jason Fitzgerald’s figures at Over the Cap. Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union notes (via Twitter) that the entire amount ($20.65MM+) of Bortles’ four-year deal is guaranteed, though it’s not clear whether offsets are included in the agreement.
By signing Bortles, who currently ranks behind Chad Henne on the team’s depth chart, the Jaguars move a step closer toward locking up their draft class. Two of Henne’s and Bortles’ targets, second-round receivers Marqise Lee and Allen Robinson, remain unsigned, as our tracker indicates.