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Miami Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga has acknowledged the obvious: No one wants to trade for the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.
More accurately, no one wants to have the No. 1 overall pick.
Why would they? There’s no clear-cut, must-have, football stud in this year’s draft. And so the team with the first shot at the board will get to pay $35 million or so guaranteed to a guy who hasn’t worn an NFL uniform since he was five.
And so Huizenga also has declared that he’s willing to pay to one of those unproven (and arguably undeserving) former college players a huge pile of money based only on their potential. What else can he do?
But he realizes the risk. “[I]t’s important not to make a mistake [because] it could screw up your whole program,” Huizenga said.
Um, Mr. Huizenga? The program is already screwed up. But we get your point.
”It is tough when you take a talented player who has never been in the NFL and give him a bunch of signing bonuses and a guaranteed contract and huge dollars,” Huizenga said. “If you pay $35 million to a person who does not work out, you are stuck with that for five or six years, which means you can’t get rid of them — which means someone else could be there taking the money. We always pay to the cap. We’re not trying to save money. It’s a matter of being prudent in putting money in the right place.”
We agree with him completely, and his comments are further evidence of a clear need to change the system that the NFL has in place to compensate rookies.
April 1st, 2008 at 9:54 am
The league needs to stop paying draft picks so much money. If you can only control a player for five years and he’s a rookie for one year, the value of picking so high is diminished. The old draft value chart needs to be tossed as long as unproven players are paid disproportionate to their expected contributions.
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April 1st, 2008 at 9:55 am
If having the 1st pick is so terrible, why not just “trade down” by not picking during your time allotment? I remember this happened a few years ago (to the Vikings?) and they dropped from #7 to #9 (? hazy memory) because they didn’t hand their pick in on time.
If you let the clock expire, you in effect force the 2nd team in line to officially take the first pick (or let their clock expire too). Since the 2nd team would have the official first pick, you wouldn’t have to pay the #2 (or#3 or whenever you decide to pick) player as much money as you would if you drafted them first.
How’s that for an idea? Can you see the top 7 teams all trying to hand in their pick right before #8 picks?
This is what I would do…
“You build a 10-foot wall, I’ll build an 11-foot ladder”
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April 1st, 2008 at 10:01 am
Parcells will not make a mistake. He knows it all starts with the QB. Even though Ryan isn’t the prototypical #1 the Fins will still take him.
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April 1st, 2008 at 10:05 am
Absolutely. This is the kind of issue the lead needs to be tackling right now, not whether or not a player’s hair is too long.
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April 1st, 2008 at 10:06 am
Ok, solution?
Negotiate with a mid-lower first round type player like Branden Albert or Quentin Groves or Mike Jenkins or Antoin Cason.
Tell them”I’ll make you the 1st overall pick, but you have to sign for a max contract of $18 million. It’s more than you’ll make getting picked at the end of the 1st… or worse.
What’s the difference between that crop and the guys at the top of the draft? It’s more potential, but you’re guaranteeing them top 5 money for their position rather than mid tier starter money.
I’d like to see the Fins have the balls to just throw the entire slotting system out of whack.
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April 1st, 2008 at 10:14 am
McFadden is the only player that could drum up enough interest to warrant a trade. But everyone knows the #2 and #3 teams are unlikely to take him. Raiders at 6, Jets at 7 and Pats at…8? are likely interested. Solution, pick McFadden, auction him off to those 4 teams. Could get an extra 2nd-3d rounder at least, plus a high round pick next year.
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April 1st, 2008 at 10:17 am
I can see the Fins taking Chris Long. He has the least amount of risk of any player that will go in the top 5; he has a solidy family upbringing, so it’s very unlikely that he’ll flake out; and, he’s a DE - which is a position where the Fins need talent.
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April 1st, 2008 at 10:19 am
Maybe the Dolphins should let the time run out on their first round pick, and maybe all of the other teams should let their time run out as well in the first round. I wonder how those high priced, unproven rookies agents would feel when they got screwed instead of the other way around. Ultimately, the fans pay.
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April 1st, 2008 at 10:26 am
Exactly Buccaboo. If you don’t want the first pick, you don’t have to take it. Just let the time expire for a few picks and grab a cheaper guy whenever you feel like jumping in. Sounds like a brilliant strategy to me.
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April 1st, 2008 at 10:26 am
The real point here is that no other sport pays rookies so much money. The NBA, (not trying to compare the NBA to the NFL) has slotted money available to each NBA rookie depending on where they are picked. And in the NBA, in most cases one player can make a much bigger impact than in the NFL. What is the result of the NBA’s rookie pay policy? No holdouts, players in camp from day one, and usually a much easier adjustment. MLB is similar to the NBA.
We are throwing money at young kids who have proven nothing while the greats who made this game what it is cannot even afford to pay for the medicines that they need because of the beating they took while playing! YIKES! There is no way a rookie should make more than someone who makes it to the Pro Bowl the prior season…but in most situations that is the case, especially for the top picks.
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April 1st, 2008 at 10:37 am
MrQuestions - And you believe that the agent for that player picked in a lower spot is going to go along with that? No they are going to ask for #1 money because thats where you were supposed to pick.
It will never fly with the agent, and the NFLPA. Even if one team does it, just watch as the NFLPA goes after the team.
this whole situation stinks, its one of the reasons I am becoming more and more frustrated with the NFL. It’s not money directly out of my pocket since I dont attend games, or by jerseys but the amount of money being thrown at unproven rookies is rediculious, and causing other prices to rise.
It used to be a good thing to be in the top 10, now its a penatly
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April 1st, 2008 at 10:56 am
wvugradoo:
Just what would the NFLPA or the player’s agent be able to do about it? It’s pretty much the same as a player falling lower in the draft, and a team has every right not to pick when designated as the Vikings did a few years ago. The NFLPA and agent will have absolutely no recourse except sit out the year and re-enter the draft the next year or sign a contract. The player (or his agent) can’t argue that he should have been picked higher because once the clock expires other teams would have had the opportunity to select him with the defacto 1st (or whatever) pick.
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April 1st, 2008 at 11:16 am
Here is my solution, which is similar to the PFT solution. For ease of explanation, we’ll use this year’s draft order.
Starting with the first pick, each team has 30 seconds to declare whether they want that pick, starting with the Dolphins. If the Dolphins decide its not worth the money, they pass the Rams have 30 seconds to decide if they want the pick. If the Rams pass it keeps going down until someone claims the pick, and if nobody does, the last team (this year the Giants) are forced to take the pick.
Whichever team claims that pick goes on the clock, and gets 10 minutes to make their selection.
After the first pick, all the teams (except the one that took the first pick) would again decide if they want to pick second, starting again with the Dolphins.
Here is why this is genius:
1. The Dolphins get a true reward for being the worst team. They get to essentially choose their draft spot, but can wait and see how the draft unfolds to get the guy they want as late as possible, thus as cheap as possible.
2. The ratings for such an event would be huge. Every team could potentially be on the clock for the whole first round, so nobody would leave the TV for the whole first round. Your team could be picking its franchise QB with the first pick, or a backup guard with the last pick, you have to watch to find out. The excitement of the 30 second window to decide if you want the pick would be extraordinary.
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April 1st, 2008 at 12:11 pm
How does the league solve the runaway high 1st round salaries?
A rookie salary cap, as I understand it, would be subject to the CBA.
Would it be possible for the league to change the rules regarding the
treatment of the situation where the drafted player is not signed prior
to the next draft. Currently the team looses rights to the player and
pick and the player reenters the draft.
What if they allowed the team to be compensated with another pick. For
example, one round (e.g. 32 picks) lower than the original pick. Or a
pick directly after where the unsigned player is redrafted.
This sort of change would give the teams better leverage for
negotiating those early pick contracts (until an NBA style cap can be
implemented).
I don’t know if this remedy would need to be part of the CBA.
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April 1st, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Essentially, you’re talking about a live version of the Supplemental draft, then… interesting…
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April 1st, 2008 at 12:23 pm
superbelt - exactly what I was going to suggest! It seems to me any player currently projected to go in the late 1st/early 2nd (AND his agent) would be thrilled at the unexpected payday.
OTOH - tomas21 - your idea is waaaaay cool. I always set up for draft day with a chairside cooler and pee-bottle, so I’m good to go, if you know what I mean.
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April 1st, 2008 at 12:51 pm
I just don’t see a rookie cap coming soon. The owners want it and the veteran players want it, but the agents for the rookies don’t want it. All the agents have to do is hold up the CBA and yell “Foul!”
The owners will get the leverage they need when there is a player lock-out.
Maybe the only good that comes from the lock-out.
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