League Uncertainty Magnifies Bust Potential

[jason j]

Just a side-note to the fervor surrounding the draft... Heading into the 2011 draft it was a near certainty that the new CBA would provide a rookie wage scale that would define the contracts for the players drafted this season. Early indicators provided ranges of 5 years $25 million at the top of Round 1 and 4 years $6 million near the bottom.

The recent thumping the NFL owners have taken in court has resulted in a new league year commencing as early as Monday - using the same rules as the 2010 season: 6 years for unrestricted free agency, 1 franchise player designation per team, no salary cap, no salary floor, and no rookie wage scale.

Barring any changes or landmark decisions, that means that the Carolina Panthers aren't betting $25 million on Cam Newton... the wager could be in the $80 million range. Coupled with the uncertainty surrounding a new CBA, we could see protracted holdouts and some hotly contested contract negotiations - especially near the top of the draft.

Add to that the fact that many NFL franchises went reaching early in last night's draft; Atlanta with Julio Jones, Tennessee with Jake Locker, Dallas with Tyron Smith, Minnesota with Christian Ponder. The NFL's inability to get their collective shit together is going to cost some franchises substantial dollar amounts that could damage teams for years to come.

-jj

[lemosley01]

$80million? Jesus H. This guy doesn't project anywhere near what Manning did coming out.

WTF?

[Vegasdogg]

Originally Posted by jason j

The NFL's inability to get their collective shit together is going to cost some franchises substantial dollar amounts that could damage teams for years to come.

Great points. Moving down this draft seems a little smarter taking it all in this context. The 1st round pay scale has been horrible for teams at the top. Teams that need to move down but can't, so they're saddled with high $$ picks, usually the wrong picks.

The NFL and the players know this needs to be fixed. But not having a holdout this year could be a indirect result of the Browns trading down.

Collective shit together? Man you said it.