NFL's Rookie Pitch: Divert 300M From 1st Rounders

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By BARRY WILNER

NEW YORK (AP) - The NFL wants to cut almost 60 percent of guaranteed pay for first-round draft picks, lock them in for five years and divert the savings to veterans' salaries and benefits.

More than $525 million went to first-rounders in guaranteed payments in 2010. The league wants to decrease that figure by $300 million, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

The league's offer would free a total of more than $1.2 billion over four years through 2015 - $37.5 million per team overall - and slow the growth rate of guaranteed payments to first-rounders, which the documents show increased by 233 percent from 2000-10.

Such quarterback busts as JaMarcus Russell ($32 million), Matt Leinart ($12.9 million), David Carr ($15 million) and Joey Harrington ($13.9 million) received huge guaranteed payments that totaled $367 million in the last 10 drafts.

Read more: http://sports.excite.com/news/04132011/v1406.html

[rpannier]

1. The teams could do like George Allen (Redskins) did

Trade away early picks for established veterans

It means you'd likely never get a Peyton Manning. But you'd also never get a Russell, Leaf, Carr, Benson...

[obxhead]

2. The Redskins veteran picks haven't been to grand lately either.

They have a team of over paid has beens at this point.

[rpannier]

4. That's because the owner makes those decisions

It would be like me drafting an NBA team.
I know zip.

Under George Allen the Redskins had a pretty good team.

[NewJeffCT]

3. I agree that rookie salaries should be scaled back

but, locking them in for 5 years in a league where the average career is about 3 years is ridiculous.

Isn't the bigger issue revenue sharing, though, that the owners want to take $2 billion off the top instead of the previous $1 billion?

[Omaha Steve]

6. Two more games per year for a lot less $

The corp. way.

[HankyDubs]

9. no question about it

after 3 years, the player isn't a rookie, he's a seasoned veteran.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

5. That may help college football as well...

less incentive to go into the draft early means more players stay and get their degree - not to mention stay and support their athletic programs on the field.

[AllTooEasy]

7. Actually, it may cause them to enter earlier.

The biggest fear that a star underclassmen has is injuries. A single college injury can mean no NFL paychecks EVER.

Plus, you add the incentive to get that mandated small rookie contract out of way earlier, and you have more players going early.

Look at the NBA. They have mandated rookie contracts, and the pace of 1-and-dones is alarmingly increasing.

[AllTooEasy]

8. The owners want to implement Union-style senority pay rules - I'm confused now.

...but I'll take it. Matt Leinhart was a muliti-million $ waste here in AZ. Warner, Boldin, and Dockett should have gotten all that money.

[Old and In the Way]

10. I think this has less to do with rookie salaries than the longterm plan to reduce

the cost of all player contracts. Nice framing though...veterans will find the idea of shifting more $ to seniority attractive...and, really, what leverage do rookies have? Not much. But 5 years down the road, those big paydays will be based on a much lower base, so the net result will be less money spent on players and more money available to the owners.

[melm00se]

14. maybe then the owners will get stuck with

the bill for any new stadia instead of the tax payers

[On the Road]

11. Good Deal --

Everyone knows they should do this. The top few rookie salaries are not only ridiculous, but they penalize the worst teams every year. It takes a long time for a team like Detriot to come out from under that curse. Apart from a few marquee free agent, the average veteran past the first contract actually deserves more.

[krkaufman]

12. They wouldn't be respectable management ...

... if they weren't pitting workers against each other.

[pettypace]

13. The rookies who pan out can renegotiate

Pay for play