sportscurmudgeon
07-28-2007, 01:45 PM
Gmanc711:
The reason top picks don't even begin to negotiate seriously until training camp is near is very simple:
Once they sign a contract, they are a member of the team and they are subject to all of the team's rules and whims at that moment.
As an unsigned draftee, they have a lot more freedom in their life - - something that high first round picks won't have much of for several years after they sign that first contract. So, they hold out; the agents and the team call each other with ridiculous proposals that they know will be unaccepted all during May and June. Serious bargaining begins the last week of June or just after July 4.
Happens all the time...
Now if you are a sixth round pick, you're highly motivated to sign a deal and get onto the team roster and to put yourself in the position where you can impress some of the coaches. That's why you'll rarely see a sixth round pick holding out until the second week of training camp.
The reason top picks don't even begin to negotiate seriously until training camp is near is very simple:
Once they sign a contract, they are a member of the team and they are subject to all of the team's rules and whims at that moment.
As an unsigned draftee, they have a lot more freedom in their life - - something that high first round picks won't have much of for several years after they sign that first contract. So, they hold out; the agents and the team call each other with ridiculous proposals that they know will be unaccepted all during May and June. Serious bargaining begins the last week of June or just after July 4.
Happens all the time...
Now if you are a sixth round pick, you're highly motivated to sign a deal and get onto the team roster and to put yourself in the position where you can impress some of the coaches. That's why you'll rarely see a sixth round pick holding out until the second week of training camp.