NFL Draft Picks More Valuable
NFL Draft Picks More Valuable Than Ever Under New System
The St. Louis Rams held the No. 1 pick in the 2010 NFL draft and then general manager Billy Devaney was interested in swapping the pick leading up to the draft. “We’ve been saying we’re open and we remain open, but there isn’t anything close to being done,” Devaney said days before the draft. “We still have a little bit of time and I expect we would just keep on talking and see what happens.”
A trade never happened and the Rams selected their franchise quarterback Sam Bradford out of Oklahoma with the top pick. Bradford received a lucrative six-year, $78 million contract that included $50 million guaranteed. It was the largest guarantee ever given to an NFL player.
Fast forward to the 2012 draft and the Rams were once again shopping their first round pick (No. 2 overall in the draft). This time around the Rams had a host of trade partners to choose from and settled on a deal with the Washington Redskins. The Rams’ bounty for the No. 2 pick: three first round picks, including the No. 6 overall pick in 2012, and a second rounder. The ‘Skins are expected to pick Robert Griffin III from Baylor as their franchise QB and sign him to a four-year contract worth between $20 million and $25 million total.
It is a new day when it comes to the economics of the NFL draft. The 2012 draft, which kicks off on Thursday, is the first under dramatically new rules established by the collective bargaining agreement signed last year (the 2011 draft was conducted during the lockout). The new CBA severely limits yearly compensation for rookies and shortens contract lengths to four years with a club option for a fifth year. It makes these picks wildly valuable under the NFL’s strict salary cap as teams can lock up cornerstone players at a fraction of the cost of a top free agent.
The days of teams handing out salary cap crippling contracts to unproven high draft picks are over. Last year’s top pick, Cam Newton, signed a four-year deal with the Carolina Panthers worth $22 million–all guaranteed. The deal is just 44% of the guarantee the Rams gave Bradford two years earlier.
The new rookie comp system for the first 10 picks starts with the average salary of the top 10 players at a player’s position. Later first round picks have limits on their salaries as well. The NFL estimates savings will approach $200 million in the first three years of the system. This money is expected to be redirected towards veteran contracts. A top college quarterback will no longer receive more guaranteed money than Tom Brady, Eli Manning or Drew Brees.
Teams drafting near the top each year had become paralyzed under the old rules. Clubs that wanted to move down in the draft couldn’t find trade partners because no one wanted to commit huge dollars to top five picks that might be a bust and hamper a team’s salary cap.
There was only one trade among the top five picks between 2005 and 2010 (Mark Sanchez in 2009). We have already had one trade this year and more could follow. Teams drafting high up have multiple needs and in many cases are better served trading down for multiple picks.
The draft is still an inexact science and teams will continue to whiff on high picks like Ryan Leaf (San Diego Chargers, 1998), Joey Harrington (Detroit Lions, 2002) and Mike Williams (Buffalo Bills, 2002). But the new rules at least will limit the financial effect of busts like JaMarcus Russell who got a $60 million contract with $29 million guaranteed in 2007 from the Oakland Raiders and threw 18 touchdowns during his Raiders career.
Russell would still be a bust under the new CBA, but at least he would not have cost as much.
(source Forbes)
Posted by Necesitamos Mas Football
on 1:15 p. m..
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