Major NFL Draft Issue

[itsguud]

Reports off Pro-football talk. com have the Jags "desperately" trying to trade out of the top ten. Also stating that KC, Detroit (I sure they mean the Rams) and Cleveland all trying hard to get out of the top five as well. How is the NFL allowing the top picks in a draft to be such a problem to where teams don't even want them anymore? It makes the reason for having the teams with the lowest records picking earlier completely pointless.

I don't understand how it is not addressed? If all of these teams are struggling so much they obviously need the top picks but without the NFL or themselves stating that they will not pay such ridiculous contracts to unproven guys then it will continue. I wonder how long it will be before a team says screw it. We will keep our pick but move down our draft list until we find a guy that will sign for a reasonable price just to sign as the higher choice. Personally it is an option I would consider as a GM. Especially when they are saying there is very little difference between the 1-15 ranked players and the next two tiers down.

[AvengerRam]

The only place I've seen this reported is at PFT from Mike "I like to make stuff up" Florio, so it has about a 50/50 chance of being true or false.

The issue with top picks is, in a draft where the gap between the top 10 prospects and the next 10-20 prospects is small, the "honor" of paying a top pick a premium contract becomes a dubious one, in the eyes of many.

That said, if I really wanted an OT this year, I'd want to have one of the first 3-4 picks to ensure that I could get Monroe or J.Smith. I think the dropoff after those two could be significant (though Oher, if motivated, has the physical tools to be as good).

[txramsfan]

Well for once I agree with Florio. Well, with Jacksonville. The Jags are in a great position. With Sanchez climbing up the charts and the fact they need a RB not a QB this makes it easy for teams looking to get Sanchez to move up and the 8th pick isn't so bad.

Now, the top 5 are stuck. Actually, this year the talent is all at the top of the draft so being in the top 5 isnt' so bad but the disparity between players after the top 5 as compared to the rest of the talent that is slotted as first round potential isn't that much so this is where the money isssue begins.

[AvengerRam]

Okay... but there is a difference between saying "it makes sense for the Jaguars to trade down" and claiming "the Jaguars are desperately trying to trade down."

The first is an opinion that can be gleaned from the circumstances. The second purports to be a report of facts that it is unlikely that Florio (or anyone outside the teams) is privy to.

Do you think the Jaguars' GM called Florio and said "Hey, Mike. Just wanted to let you know that we are trying really hard to trade our pick. Could you post an article about how desparate we are so we can completely destroy any bargainng leverage we currently have?"

[Nick]

How is the NFL allowing the top picks in a draft to be such a problem to where teams don't even want them anymore?

If the league could simply flip a switch and suddenly there was a wage scale in place, I'm sure they would. But they can't just do that; they have to work with the players union to get something like that in place. And my impression now is that they're probably more concerned with making sure an actual CBA can be agreed upon so that there isn't an uncapped year. Rookie wage scale takes a back seat to that priority.

[MauiRam]

I wonder how long it will be before a team says screw it. We will keep our pick but move down our draft list until we find a guy that will sign for a reasonable price just to sign as the higher choice. Personally it is an option I would consider as a GM. Especially when they are saying there is very little difference between the 1-15 ranked players and the next two tiers down.

In theory this might work once or twice, but remember the team opting out to drop down a few picks to a more affordable slot has no guarantee the player they wish to acquire will not be taken before said team decides to jump back in line. Said team won't be working the phones, as no one would be offering anything. Rather, it would be a case of gambling that the player desired wouldn't be selected by another team prior to said team's decision to re-enter the fray and exercise their pick - a double edged sword if you will.

Remember too, that this would likely not sit well with other team owners. The notion that Goodell couldn't do anything about this is probably naive. If a team were to try this tactic, I would imagine Roger's phone line would be burning up with calls from irate owners.

There does seem to be a loophole in that there is no rule we are aware of that specifically prevents this, but it seems clear that were a team to employ this tactic, it would clearly violate the letter and spirit of the current system.

[jbell15]

The only place I've seen this reported is at PFT from Mike "I like to make stuff up" Florio, so it has about a 50/50 chance of being true or false.

The issue with top picks is, in a draft where the gap between the top 10 prospects and the next 10-20 prospects is small, the "honor" of paying a top pick a premium contract becomes a dubious one, in the eyes of many.

That said, if I really wanted an OT this year, I'd want to have one of the first 3-4 picks to ensure that I could get Monroe or J.Smith. I think the dropoff after those two could be significant (though Oher, if motivated, has the physical tools to be as good).

Why do you think that florio "make(s) stuff up?"?
just wondering, because that's a pretty bold statement.

[TekeRam]

The long and short of it bell, is that most of the stuff he claims to have "exclusive" or "first" knowledge of tends to end up being completely false.

[MauiRam]

Guess we need to start a Mike Florio thread ..

[jbell15]

The long and short of it bell, is that most of the stuff he claims to have "exclusive" or "first" knowledge of tends to end up being completely false.

I don't really visit the site too much, but i can still see where you guys are coming from.
I also think that people take too much stock in what he says sometimes.

[itsguud]

If the league could simply flip a switch and suddenly there was a wage scale in place, I'm sure they would. But they can't just do that; they have to work with the players union to get something like that in place. And my impression now is that they're probably more concerned with making sure an actual CBA can be agreed upon so that there isn't an uncapped year. Rookie wage scale takes a back seat to that priority.

Funny enough the league can simply flip a switch and suddenly put a wage scale in place. New policies such as this would have to be accepted by the NFL if the governing body so believed it would help the organization. The Players union could have some sort of vote on it that would take a while to set up but simply I do not see current players agreeing to have rookies make more then them. IMO if such teams as the Cowboys and Patriots were at the bottom of the pile trying to claw their way out, it would not take long for such a thing to be put in place.

[Nick]

Funny enough the league can simply flip a switch and suddenly put a wage scale in place. New policies such as this would have to be accepted by the NFL if the governing body so believed it would help the organization. The Players union could have some sort of vote on it that would take a while to set up but simply I do not see current players agreeing to have rookies make more then them. IMO if such teams as the Cowboys and Patriots were at the bottom of the pile trying to claw their way out, it would not take long for such a thing to be put in place.

I'm sorry, but the NFL is not going to just institute a rookie pay scale by force over the league. I think there's an ESPN article from a couple of months ago that has some worthwhile information on this topic...

Some agents believe that a rookie wage scale could be collectively bargained for 2010 in an extension of the current agreement once the NFLPA elects a new executive director in March. A search committee recently reduced its list of potential successors to Gene Upshaw, who died suddenly before the 2008 season, to seven candidates.

However, league sources who include owners and team executives say that owners have no desire to extend the current CBA by another year or two, even if the NFLPA offered a rookie wage scale to otherwise keep the current system in place with minor modifications.

As one source explained, the top rookie wages are a source of frustration for owners but it is not atop the list of primary issues that they want to solve with a new CBA. Consequently, the consensus is that the complexities and demands of both the owners and players union will not result in a new labor deal at least until 2011. Sources on both sides have speculated there could be an owners' lockout of the players in 2011 unless the CBA is radically altered.

One source said that even in the unlikelihood that a new labor agreement was reached in 2010, it is anticipated that any rookie wage scale would be deferred until 2011, at the earliest.

Goodell would not detail any specifics of such a concept, saying, "We have had no negotiations with the union yet on a new rookie wage scale."

Draftees won't face rookie wage-scale change, Roger Goodell says - ESPN

[richtree]

just a down year for top 10 talent....


get some aikmens, paces, fitz's, and everyone will be climbing right back up

seems like college talent is re-grouping from lack of stars., lol