mcsully

Some of you might not be aware but

According to two sources familiar with the negotiations, the league and the union have reached a basic compromise on a rookie wage scale that will replace the current rookie salary cap. The owners backed off the idea of requiring first-round picks to sign five-year deals, instead limiting the contracts to four years before a player could become a free agent. The agreement is also expected to include a stipulation limiting the amount of guaranteed money and signing bonus offered to draft picks.

Sources: Agreement reached on rookie scale - NFL - Yahoo! Sports


I'm looking to see what people think if this actually goes thru this year ... Would this change BB philosphy in any way? If so, how.. I'm very interested in hearing what people think.

Off The Grid

This agreement was inevitable, as both sides have long since seen eye to eye on this, if on nothing else...

Even so, I am kinda JAZZED that they're announcing this, as it speaks to a Bear Market in Acrimony!!

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mgteich

Moving up would be less attractive. Intead of gettting a player for six years (old rules), the proposed rules would only allow a 4 year contract.

BTW this only matters if something is signed before the draft. Otherwise the pay scale will likely be delayed until 2012.

However, it is just possible that the pay scale could be added for this years as a signed amendment to the old agreement, which is in place for certain things such as this draft and access to team doctors in case of a lockout.

Personally, I think that and agreed upon rookie scale before the draft would make Watt a much more likely target. However, I still think that the team might pass.

MaineMan

Agree with all of this.

Patriot Missile

Rumor is every one of those players will be restricted FA's so atleast there will be some kind of compensation to the team that loses their player.

ctpatsfan77

I should have been clearer, Patriot Missile, since I think you're going off my comment in the other thread.

FA would go back to four years, so anyone drafted after the first round would be an RFA at the end of his rookie contract.

First-round draftees would still be UFAs at the end of their rookie contracts. OTOH, they would still be locked up for one year more than second-rounders, so that might work in the favor of the teams with late firsts. . . .

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supafly

I could certainly be wrong mg, but isn't the CBA deal expired now, as of last Thursday at midnight? I understand that the draft was already agreed upon, or somehow was a special circumstance or whatever, but I thought that part of Neal's thinking regarding his retirement was that he was NOT going to be able to receive team medical care? I thought that some were questioning in the thread about him, whether he may have decided to stay had these circumstances not taken place.

In other words, it seems as though any rookie draft picks could in no way be tied to the last, expiring deal, and it would take effect this year for sure. I couldn't see how this year's picks could possibly be tied back to the last expired deal, but in these uncertain events I suppose anything is possible.

At least that is the way that I understand it, but I certainly could be misunderstanding something, or just flat out misinformed/wrong.

convertedpatsfan

That was my understanding as well. I mean the extensions have the CBA in this weird limbo, but I thought the 2011 draft was tied to the old CBA, and not the new one coming in. So any changes in the draft wouldn't take effect until 2012. But is that wrong?

As for the changes, a lot depends on how much is allocated to those top 15 or so draft slots. It's tough to cost-justify a trade-up with draft picks, but to then pay a ton more in salary makes it almost impossible, especially to move into the top 5. The Jets traded up 12 slots to select Sanchez. While they got a pretty good deal to move up, Sanchez still cost them 5 years at $50M ($28M guaranteed). Meanwhile, the QB selected in their original 17th spot, Josh Freeman, got 5 years for $36M ($10.2M guaranteed).

Under a rookie cap, this type of deal may not be so far apart financially and could increase the value of the top picks. And I could see many bad teams trying to trade down to get more picks instead of premium picks. It's something they've tried to do in the past but the cost was too prohibitive for most teams to try and trade into the top 5.

patsfan-1982

the pats never change what they do.

mgteich

1) The 2010-2011 contract year did not end.

2) The 2011-2011 provided for the draft and for various other contingencies. My understanding was that one of the conditions was that players had access to team doctors even in the case of a lockout.

3) Why would Neal retire simply because he thought he would not have access? At very least, he could have waited to retire until there actually was a lockout.