The Drubbing

This past weekend the NFL had their annual draft.  It is a very exciting time for players, teams fans and most importantly agents.  This is the time where agents make the most money, guaranteed money.  Rookie contracts in my opinion are insane, completely insane.  For a player who has been drafted in the top 10 of the 1st round to become the highest paid player on their respective team is outrageous.  As a point of reference, last year Chris Long (DE for the Rams), after 16 games has made more money than his father, Howie Long did in his entire career.  The draft contacts are a complete joke, with the absurd amounts of guaranteed money.

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I watched the NFL network’s broadcast of the Draft, and at one point they had both NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and new Player Union representative DeMaurice Smith talking.  Smith was asked about the rookie contracts.  He thinks that the contracts are fine where they are.  I was floored.  I would expect all of the veteran players to despise this trend of higher and higher contracts.  For a rookie who has never played an NFL game to be the highest paid player on their team or even in the league seems completely ass backward for a league that likes to reward veteran players for their accomplishments.

In the next few months i hope when the union meets with the NFL that they can come to an agreement on multiple issues, but I hope they do not put the issue of rookie contracts on the backburner for a later time.  The NFL is a great league, but unfortunately for the bad teams who draft in the top 10, it is a curse.  You lock up a player for a lot of money over 5-6 years and if that player turns out to be a bust, you are stuck with their contract on your books for a long time and can set back your Franchise years down the road.  There is little, to no margin of error when you draft in the top third of the NFL draft.  Because the agents have found loopholes and emphasized guaranteed money over the past few years very rarely do you see teams trade up to the top 5 picks.  Financially it is just not worth it.

So DeMaurice “Bubba Gump” Smith, please listen to your veteran players.  Please allow guaranteed money to flow to free agents and not young kids, some with little motivation of working after they have hit the lottery.  It is amazing what motivation does for 20year old athletes.  Younger kids motivated to player harder, along with not destroying bad teams in the league by tying up money with bad players will make the NFL a lot better.