Sam Bradford signs for $50M guaranteed, $78 max

[Syringer]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5425041&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines

You're a 22 year old, and you've been given $50M. What motivates you to get out of bed, learn/memorize a monstrous playbook until dawn, give it all your effort and risk career threatening injuries to your body and brain..

 

[slayer202]

he should have to pay chris johnson some of this money.

oh, and the people who were whining about the tim tebow $8 million, THIS is a big contract

 

[nycxandy]

There needs to be a rookie wage scale and even then, the salary for the first pick needs to be much lower.

 

[spamtly]

I miss Jamarcus... NOT! He's eating donuts and drinking the drank.

 

[IronWing]

GA is currently banned so I'll do the honors:

Who?

 

[Kanalua]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=5127174&sportCat=nfl
(about the BYU linebacker who took Bradford out of the first game of the 2009 season)

 

[NeoV]

Example #254 of why there will be a lockout after this season

NFL needs to copy the NBA and pay rookies low salaries, 3 year deals Max with a team option for the 4th - then, if they prove to be good - they get paid big-time after that.

However - the owners need to agree that some of the money saved without these utterly ridiculous rookie deals goes back to veteran players.

 

[CPA]

There needs to be a rookie wage scale and even then, the salary for the first pick needs to be much lower.

Why? If the owner is willing to pay him that much, shouldn't have have that right?

The owners have a sense of what the picks are going to ask for well before they actually pick them.

 

[nycxandy]

Why? If the owner is willing to pay him that much, shouldn't have have that right?

The owners have a sense of what the picks are going to ask for well before they actually pick them.

Yeah, they do know, but what are they you going to do with a Top 5 pick if they are unable to trade it away? They can't do anything besides draft a top player. And regardless of which owner it is, salaries are basically pre-determined by what others got last year, and they only go up.

Edit: And when Eric Berry is the highest paid safety ever, without playing a single NFL down, then there is definitely something wrong with the system.

 

[Balt]

I have doubts he'll last a full season without getting injured, assuming he plays.

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

How is he going to collect his $50 mil if the contract maxes out at $78? :hmm:

 

[Syringer]

Say what you say about baseball, but those big contracts are only awarded to guys who have proven themselves. Peyton/Haynesworth are football's $100MM men, but that is simply puny compared to ARod's $250M/$300M contracts.

But as a rookie in baseball, with the exception of Strasburg, you get peanuts until you get called up and actually produce.

 

[boomhower]

I miss Jamarcus... NOT! He's eating donuts and drinking the drank.

You would think they would have learned from this. Just because they were good in college doesn't mean they will be worth a damn in the NFL. Plus this guy was out almost all of last year with an injury. What happens if he goes out and in the first game has his shoulder screwed again, but this time it permanently prevents him from competitive football for the rest of his life? He goes on to live a long, healthy life with 50mil in the bank and no concussions or other long term disabling injuries. HHmm, I think I'm on to something here.....

 

[darkswordsman17]

Yeah, they do know, but what are they you going to do with a Top 5 pick if they are unable to trade it away? They can't do anything besides draft a top player. And regardless of which owner it is, salaries are basically pre-determined by what others got last year, and they only go up.

Edit: And when Eric Berry is the highest paid safety ever, without playing a single NFL down, then there is definitely something wrong with the system.

Sure you can. Draft someone that you want who's going to go much lower, make them an offer of more than what they'd get in that spot for going higher.

 

[Syringer]

Sure you can. Draft someone that you want who's going to go much lower, make them an offer of more than what they'd get in that spot for going higher.

Yeah definitely not how it works at all.

 

[KMFJD]

Sure you can. Draft someone that you want who's going to go much lower, make them an offer of more than what they'd get in that spot for going higher.

Doesn't work like that unfortunatly, pay is decided mainly on what last year's pick got and what others before him got.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Doesn't work like that unfortunatly, pay is decided mainly on what last year's pick got and what others before him got.

I know that's how it currently functions, but is there anything actually forcing teams to abide by that?

 

[herkulease]

I know that's how it currently functions, but is there anything actually forcing teams to abide by that?

Nope.

Nothing forces a team to sign any player at any slotted pay from the previous year.

the agents and possibly the player however will not accept it.t he raiders however did what you said. Paid more than the slot from the previous year for Heyward-Bey. Michael Crabtree tried to hold out to get more than his slot.

Often times the later years of a big deal are fakes and are unattainable. but the agent wants it so they can get other clients and tout look at how big a contract I got X player.

Bradford getting this big of a deal on paper regardless of if he'll ever really get just makes signing Brady and Peyton that much hard.

Tom Condon is both Bradford's and Peyton's agent. When Jim Irsay spits out he wants to make Peyton the highest paid player, Tom Condon was already drooling now getting this "big" of a deal for a rookie, Condon probably went into a seizure.

Peyton probably looking at 60+ million guarantees.

 

[Syringer]

I know that's how it currently functions, but is there anything actually forcing teams to abide by that?

A player (and his agent) will hold out, if a player is drafted in the top 5, he certainly feels compelled to be paid as much and won't accept anything less.

Take a guy like Bruce Campbell in this year's draft. Many speculated he'd go at #8 to the Raiders, but lasted over 100 picks later, and went to the Raiders. In the first scenario he'd have $25M guaranteed, now..not so much.

Players/agents will make the argument the other way though, such as when Michael Crabtree held out since he was taken at 11(?) last year, and wanted the money the #7 pick, DHB got since he thought he was better than him.

 

[cheezy321]

Youth is valued a TON in football. Football players only have a limited career. I think they should be able to get the money when they can. They could have a career threatening injury in their first year.