The most important part of any new CBA - a rookie slotting system

unless you can guarantee that the money saved from this would go to veterans, it will never happen. the one thing the union never wants to see is salaries cut

If I was a rookie I wouldnt want to give up $ I feel like I deserve to instead give it to a vet. One's window for making $ as a pro football player is short and I see why any player wants the most $ he can get ASAP.

Remember the college players going into the draft aren't represented by the players unions, so they really have no say about what happens.

I know Upshaw was against any cap on 1st round draft picks b/c with them getting huge contracts, it sets a high bar for comparative shopping for FAs.

so if a cornerback picked 6th overall gets 5 yr/40 mil, a FA corner back can then point to that contract as a comparative basis reason for why he should get 5 yr/50 mil.

but i think it has to be done. the comparison to a top 5 pick to someone picked 20th overall is astounding. unless you are picking a bonafide stud qb in the top 5, no player is worth that money imo. not jake long, suh nobody.

I think you will find everybody agrees with you, including the fans, owners, and players. There's no way this doesn't get done, even the players agree you should have to prove yourself before you get a huge cap busting contract.


One consituency that does NOT agree here is the agents. They have been negaitve on this idea everytime it has come up.

There are only a few rookies getting these big contracts while the vast majority of drafted players are getting minimum contracts. As an owner I wouldnt mind paying a big rookie contract once in awhile if it means I can low-ball the vast majority of my rookie contracts. I cant see any reason why the owners would want to do this.


When this was discussed in the last negotiations for a CBA it was the owners who brought it up and who pushed it as far as it got pushed.

unless you can guarantee that the money saved from this would go to veterans, it will never happen. the one thing the union never wants to see is salaries cut

If the salary cap stays as it is - - determined by a percentage of the league's gross revenues - - then any money not spent on rookie draft picks MUST be spent on other players.

Well, if it is not spent on the rookies, then it would have to go to players who are NOT rookies, no? Remember, there is a salary cap AND a salary floor in the CBA...

yeah an easy to manipulate floor. didnt the bucs last year have 2 guys with performance option clauses in their K that would have given them like 10 mil each if they blocked 20 punts in the reg season or something outragous like that to meet the floor requirement?

If the salary cap stays as it is - - determined by a percentage of the league's gross revenues - - then any money not spent on rookie draft picks MUST be spent on other players.

Well, if it is not spent on the rookies, then it would have to go to players who are NOT rookies, no? Remember, there is a salary cap AND a salary floor in the CBA...
im not sure on this. is there a minimum that must be spent? if so, then the trickle down thing would work

yeah an easy to manipulate floor. didnt the bucs last year have 2 guys with performance option clauses in their K that would have given them like 10 mil each if they blocked 20 punts in the reg season or something outragous like that to meet the floor requirement?


Never heard anything like that - - and if there were a team that might do that it would more likely be the Cards than the Bucs.

If there is any outrageous manipulation of the floor, the NFLPA can take it to an arbitrator who has absolute final say on the matter. Clubs will be careful not to be the ones to lose an arbitration decision that could spoil things for the other clubs. That is called "pissing in the soup"; other clubs will not like that even a little bit...

im not sure on this. is there a minimum that must be spent? if so, then the trickle down thing would work

That is what the CBA says and that is something the NFLPA will push hard for. They will want the floor to be as high as possible and they will want to push for all bonus monies not to count against the floor. Obviously, the teams will try to negotiate those points down. That is what collective bargaining is all about...