Saints sign fifth-round draft pick Spencer Rattler, rookie contract details revealed

The New Orleans Saints have officially signed fifth-round draft pick Spencer Rattler. The former South Carolina star has inked a four-year deal. He is set to make $4.36 million over the course of the four-year contract. Rattler’s deal includes a signing bonus of $337,480.

Spencer Rattler threw for 3,186 and 19 touchdowns in 2023, overcoming poor offensive line play to still put up impressive numbers.

Rattler started his career at Oklahoma, before transferring to South Carolina. While he was knocked some as a player and teammate during his time with the Sooners, he excelled on and off the field with the Gamecocks.

Coming out of high school, Rattler was ranked as a five-star recruit and the No. 19 overall player in the country in the class of 2019, according to the On3 Industry rankings.

Shane Beamer breaks down what Saints are getting in Spencer Rattler

After six quarterbacks were selected in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, another one didn’t come off the board until Spencer Rattler in the fifth round.

His former college coach — Shane Beamer — detailed why he believes New Orleans got a steal.

“I think they’re getting a guy with a huge upside,” Beamer said in an interview on the NOF Network. “Fantastic person, somebody that obviously, you know, I’ve been around since 2019 when we were together at Oklahoma.”

Beamer also says that New Orleans is getting someone who has overcome a lot in his collegiate career. From a high-profile benching to other normal struggles for a college player, he has seen Rattler get through a lot to where he is today as a pro now.

“I think he has just been through so much adversity,” Beamer said. “His story? He has weathered some storms from what happened at Oklahoma, some of the adversity he felt he dealt with here at South Carolina with injuries and whatnot.”

Rattler played five seasons of college football between his time with the Sooners in Norman and the Gamecocks in Columbia. He threw for over 10,800 yards, with 77 touchdowns and 32 interceptions on a 68.5% completion rate.

However, Rattler went from being the former No. 1 QB recruit in the country to a college player that didn’t fully meet expectations. The Sooners benched him for Caleb Williams in 2021 during a season where he was supposed to be in the running for The Heisman Trophy.

There were also some character questions about Rattler that could have affected him in the draft process, which Beamer also discredited.

“He’s extremely talented, he’s extremely hard-working. He’s humble,” said Beamer. “I know he’s eager to get to work out there.”