Thank you! While they're at it, why won't they get crazy and... um... I dunno... put in a "bust protection" max-deal cap thing.
Without getting to outlandish with some remarks, and I said this when Luck decided to stay...I can't come away with any other description of his decision than stupid...
I think this was a must for both the NFL and the NFLPA, in order to prove to one another that they're making enough progress to avoid getting really, really messy. But this plan for the rookie wage scale is as PFT says impossible to really evaluate unless we know what those parameters are for top picks. Sounds like they expect the rookie wage scale to apply immediately. If that's the case it could make trading up this year harder, and next year impossible.
The scale might go into effect this year if they work out the CBA so it may end up making no difference to Luck at the end of the day. However, the fact that they agreed to a smaller, yet significant issue a good sign.
We’re going to have to wait for details, but it’s probably likely that the rookie wage scale doesn’t begin until 2012, just because there’s so little notice ahead of this year’s draft.
Not a fan of this agreement, to me the owners should have 1 more yr until FA, it should be 4 yrs as otherwise it makes no sense to develop players as it takes so long for them to contribute as Starters.
It's about time. THe amount of guaranteed money these kids get before they ever prove anything has been an unbelievably absurd practice.
The owners sure are lowering their demands alot lately. They had insisted they would not budge from 5 years, and now they back off of two issues they made seem so important to them.
It looks like the union is allowing the owners to move back restricted/unrestricted free agency by a year (off the pre-2010 system). Previously it was 3 years restricted, 4 years unrestricted. Union gets first contracts shortened, owners get a rookie cap and move the goal posts back a year. Then again, UFA is currently at 6 years and I'm sure the owners used that in negotiations.
Both sides have wanted it all along. That's not what I was saying. They insisted they would not budge from 5 years and that between 17 and 19 million was where it should be.
Here is is reported that agreement has been reached yet FFIC reports that no agreement for Rookie scale is done. All the while the rules are no talking by either side, which says to me that this is nothing more than one or both camps leaking BS to gain public sympathy. I won't believe anything until both sides walk into the daylight and shake hands.
As it stands now, no players from this draft can be signed until an agreement on the CBA is reached. I see no reason to expect that this year's picks will not be covered by the new CBA and the rookie wage scale.
You always start high when you haggle ... err "Negotiate." This one was somewhat inevitable, the Union was holding onto it as a bargaining chip though and wanted something in return. A rookie wage scale was badly needed though, and has proven to be quite successful in the NBA. Will not overly penalize teams for drafting high, and may allow for more movement in the first few picks than we have seen.
