Chris Cooley Speaks the Truth

[Conadra]

The Cooley Zone: NFL needs to change how rookies are paid

By Chris Cooley

Rookies in the NFL make too much money. As a player I should be excited for anyone making a big contract. Good for them, right? For the top 20 draft picks it sounds great to sign a larger contract than guys that have played in the league for 10 years -- larger contracts than players that have been in the Pro Bowl at the same position. What's more is they don't have to lace up a cleat in the NFL and they are already getting guaranteed bonuses of $15, $20, even $30 million. Right, Rosenhaus?

It's amazing that in such a lucrative business the owners are willing to pay so much for potential. The average guaranteed bonus of the first 32 picks of 2007 was $10.86 million. Of course, some of the players getting paid are going to become great football players, but what becomes the biggest concern year in and year out is how many players really do become great, and how soon.

"It's crazy to guarantee money to people who have never played a down in the NFL," says Todd Yoder (pictured), my teammate and eight-year veteran. "That's the way the system has gotten. If someone has potential to become an elite player you're gonna get more in the first contract than the average Joe Schmoe makes in his entire career."

Potential is where this all begins. Can someone jump a 40-inch vertical, or how many times can they push a bench press? A 4.4 40 can elevate the draft status of someone maybe in the second or third round straight to the top 20 picks. But can it translate to millions of dollars of value on the field?

The NFL Combine is comparable to a strip club with owners and coaches for customers. The better the man looks running around in his spandex the more dollar bills end up on his stage. The funny thing is the onlookers at the combine are probably more excited than the creepy old man in the corner at the strip bar.

I mean, can anyone honestly explain how Vernon Davis adds more value to a football team than Jeremy Shockey or Antonio Gates? His contract certainly says that he does, because he is averaging more money than both of them every year. If Davis can continue becoming a better football player then it might be agreed that he was worth the money.

In Jason Witten's second year he caught 87 balls for 980 yards. Davis caught 52 balls for 509 yards. Both are good stats for a tight end, but Davis is currently making $500,000 more a year than Witten. Even better, Davis made close to $4 million more in his second year than Witten did. A player making that kind of money should be a Pro Bowl-type player.

I fell in the same boat as Witten with my rookie contract -- $600,000 signing bonus and the league minimum for three years. It took me those three years to establish myself as a solid football player in the NFL. Not until then did I receive a large contract -- six years, $30 million. So when someone can jump into the league and earn more than that without playing a single down, it

[NO-KG-AI]

Don't hate the player hate the game. If the owners want to dish out this money to guys, it's their money to do so.

Edit: though I would like to see a rookie pay scale in the NFL like the NBA's, but how long does it last without guaranteed contracts?

[Conadra]

I understand it's not the players' fault. The agents are the ones negotiating deals anyway. I don't know the owners are to blame or the players union?

[LAKESHOW]

ahahaha, this idiot needs to wake up and smell the coffee.

NFL players have the shortest lifespan than any other player in the league. so you give them long and extended rookie contracts, many of those long ones are bare minimum. generally, only the top get big time money without playing a down.

they get injured or have greater potential for injury, so you resign them once again for pennies after the 5 year contract, or ship them off to another team.

when they become good, you slap the franchise tag on them. getting a 1 year deal, but potentially could also get injured.

then they become an old 7 year vet with diminished skills and get the minimum for another squad.

the league and union have got a good scam goin.

[bigrich88]

Chris Cooley, there no crying in football. Just go out and play the game.

[FakeScreenName123]

Chris Cooley, there no crying in football. Just go out and play the game.

I dont think he's crying at all. 30 mill says he's not crying, in fact.

[BR0D1E86]

Rookie salaries make up about 2.5% of the NFL's total salaries.

It's just that the guaranteed money for high picks is so much that it's shocking.

[Wizards2Lottery]

Chris Cooley doesn't speak the truth, he is the truth.

[Da Schwab]

A veteran complaining about rookie salaries? What a revolutionary!

[bigrich88]

A veteran complaining about rookie salaries? What a revolutionary!

exactly

[Latrell]

Cooley is awesome, great fantasy pickup for me last year.

[Basketball Jesus]

ahahaha, this idiot needs to wake up and smell the coffee.

NFL players have the shortest lifespan than any other player in the league. so you give them long and extended rookie contracts, many of those long ones are bare minimum. generally, only the top get big time money without playing a down.

they get injured or have greater potential for injury, so you resign them once again for pennies after the 5 year contract, or ship them off to another team.

when they become good, you slap the franchise tag on them. getting a 1 year deal, but potentially could also get injured.

then they become an old 7 year vet with diminished skills and get the minimum for another squad.

the league and union have got a good scam goin.

Wow. This may be the first time ever I agree with one of your posts.

[LAKESHOW]

and oh yeah, i forgot to add, a player can actually get slapped with 2 consecutive franchise tags. keeping a player under the wraps of the team even further.

[SpeedyG]

I agree with Cooley in some sense, and not in others. True, NFL players have a shorter life-span than NBA players. But that aside, there is just no way that someone who is completely unproven should be able to command money that is comparable to the best players in his position. The rookie contracts are spiraling out of control. There needs to be a rookie scale, especially with the possibility of the salary cap going away in the NFL.

People act like these players are going to be ripped off if they didn't get a $10M+ signing bonus right off the bat. Even if a rookie scale is implemented, these players will still earn more than a lot of us will make in a lifetime. I think a two year deal + one team option is a fair deal for both sides (especially if the salary cap does go away).

If you're a good player, you get your REALLY big paycheck quick after your 2nd year. The team will get to lock him down long term AFTER he proves himself. If he turns out to be a bust, then the team can cut him loose as early as the end of his 2nd year. Sure, the player losses out on a two-year deal, but it's money he didn't deserve anyway.

[Mags FTW]

A rookie salary cap is guaranteed to happen. Goodell is for it, and of course the NFLPA is for it. It'll be in the next CBA.

Commissioner Roger Goodell made clear in an interview on his league's own network during Saturday's draft that owners will be raising the rookie salary cap issue with the union.

"It's not that we take away from anything that Jake Long has done, and take away from the money he has made," Goodell said. "It's just that he hasn't played yet on an NFL field and neither have any of the other rookies. I think the veterans who have performed on the NFL level deserve that compensation."

If NFL owners are really serious about redistributing the wealth among players, it's conceivable a deal that institutes an NBA-style rookie cap for, say, two years, while increasing pay for veterans could be put in place. To help do that, they might also look at dumping more money into a league fund of $100.8 million designed to boost the earnings of low-salaried players who end up with a lot of playing time.

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/24329995/site/21683474/