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Josh Allen is the only 2019 first-round pick to avoid offset language

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Mike Florio and Chris Simms make their predictions for the 2019 NFL season, including which team can go worst to first and which team will miss the playoffs with a winning record.

The offset-language issue is once again dead.

Entry-level contracts in the age of the rookie wage scale entail precious few terms over which to haggle. One is whether and to what extent guaranteed payments will be subject to offset language.

With offset language, the team gets credit for any money the player makes elsewhere, if he’s cut, clears waivers, and signs with another team. Without offset language, the player gets to keep all of the money from his rookie deal, plus whatever he makes with a new team -- if he’s cut and then clears waivers.

This year, only one player emerged with no offset language in his contract: Jaguars defensive end Josh Allen. And that happened simply because the Jaguars and Rams are the only two teams that routinely remove offset language from top-10 rookie contracts. (In 2018, when the Jaguars made a rare exit from the top 10, offset language was included in the guarantees paid to Taven Bryan, the 29th pick in the draft.)

While the issue could come back at some point in the future, it’s currently dead and gone. Which means that signing-bonus cash flow remains the biggest remaining issue for the guys taken at the top of the draft.