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With the draft over, the 32 NFL teams are lining up flocks of players who weren’t drafted as free agents.
As one league source tells us, it’s currently “mass confusion” as teams try to get dibs on the guys they want.
“There’s got to be a better way,” the source said.
The problem is that the players often are facing ultimatums from teams who have contract offers on the table right now, and the players’ agents don’t have a full and fair chance to scope out other possibilities. The risk in turning the Sunday night “take it or leave it” offer down is that, in the end, that offer might have been the best and/or only one.
So why not prevent any free agents from signing until 24 or 36 hours after the draft ends? It would allow players to intelligently assess their options before making a decision.
It’s widely believed that it’s better for players not to be drafted than to be drafted late in the process, since the player who isn’t drafted might find a better fit with a franchise that didn’t choose to use a draft pick to land him.
April 27th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
Why not hold a supplemental free agent after draft party? Say Tuesday about noon to 6 pm….
I’m free to watch….how about you?
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April 27th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Agreed, give them a day or two to assess their situation.
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April 27th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
Even simpler solution: Add another round to the draft.
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April 27th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
Wouldn’t delaying the singing period just give those players who have more than one option more leverage? As it is many of them get better signing bonuses than actual draft picks, why give their agents more time to squeeze more money out of teams?
Also, why would the union agree to the proposed change? It only serves players who are likely to not end up as members, and as such is effectively squeezing money from actual union members. Admittedly it’s realistically not much, but the result is the same.
If there were a fixed bonus structure for rookie players (not just draftees) then why not? But as it is it doesn’t serve anyone but the players who weren’t good enough to be selected in the first place.
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April 27th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Why not put them all on a 18, 24, or 36 hour waiver wire system? I mean really, it’s not fair that the kid who was drafted but drafted 252nd gets the brown end of the stick compared to a kick not drafted at all.
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April 27th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
As crazy as it sounds they really should add a few rounds.
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April 27th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
Wouldn’t there just be a ton of tampering during this 24 hours?
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April 27th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
“There’s got to be a better way,” the source said. — How about adding another couple rounds?
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April 27th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
The easy answer is add a third day to the draft. They should add an additional 3-4 rounds. The order should be the exact order of the first round (not counting trades). They should just go down the line and pick the players they want. There should be no trades allowed, and teams should be allowed to pass and not make a pick if need be. Also any player in these rounds should all be paid the exact same thing.
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April 28th, 2008 at 12:23 am
Kudos for addressing this topic.
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April 28th, 2008 at 2:42 am
I don’t know about the last paragraph, as I think it is better to be drafted than not to be drafted, but that 24 to 36 hr suggested lull is definitely a good idea — and a must. The decisions players have to make on the spot are downright scary, and they know it can affect their football careers. The source is right. There has to be a better way.
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April 28th, 2008 at 4:58 am
Or just extend the draft to 12 rounds again?
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April 28th, 2008 at 7:35 am
With the death of NFL Europe, and the return of the hard 80 man roster, there will be fewer openings for these rookie free agents. Without the NFLE roster exemptions, here will probably only be spots for about 300 RFAs in NFL training camps this year. While there will be some bidding for a few of the top RFAs, the average guy better take any offer that he gets, because if he waits, he may find himself without a tryout. It’s a buyers market this year.
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April 28th, 2008 at 7:57 am
Players at the bottom of the draft know there’s a chance that they won’t be drafted. If I’m that player’s agent, I have a set of teams in mind that would be a good fit, so that the minute after Mr. Irrelevant is announced I focus on those offers first. Likewise, the teams should have a good idea of the players that will go undrafted and have those targets set as well. Precedent has been set over the years on undrafted free agent contracts so it’s not like there’s a ton of negotiating room. I think a waiting period gives undrafted players more bargaining power which would be unfair to the 7th rounders. Adding rounds just pushes the problem ahead to the next group of undrafted free agents.
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April 28th, 2008 at 8:26 am
I don’t see how extending the draft by a couple of rounds is going to help. It is only going to give each team a few more players and there are still going to be free agents.
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April 28th, 2008 at 11:07 am
Sounds like the ‘Inside Source’ couldn’t get the guys they wanted.
I would think the players like being able to field a bunch of offers, without a lot of restrictions.
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April 28th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
They should have a “match” similar to what they do for med students. The team submits a prioritized list of UDFA’s and the players prioritize their teams. A computer program makes the assignments based on an algorithm of some kind. Simple solution.
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April 29th, 2008 at 8:33 am
Give 3 days before any free agent can sign a deal. That would be more than enough time to listen to all offers, instead of being forced into a ‘take it or leave it’.
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