Part of NFL proposal

[Guiness]

Sportsline has some info on an NFL proposal. I don't know when or how the proposal was made? Doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but anyways, there was a line in there I didn't know what to think of.

NEW YORK -- The NFL's proposal to the players for a rookie compensation system would divert about $300 million a year from first-round draft picks' contracts to veterans and player benefits.
According to documents obtained by The Associated Press, the league's offer would free more than $1.2 billion by 2016 and slow the growth rate of guaranteed payments to first-rounders, which the documents show increased by 233 percent since 2000. All contracts for first-round picks would become fixed at five years.
Such quarterback busts as JaMarcus Russell ($32 million), Matt Leinart ($12.9 million), David Carr ($15 million) and Joey Harrington ($13.9 million) received huge guaranteed payments that totaled $367 million in the last 10 drafts.
Of course, Eli Manning ($24 million), Philip Rivers ($17.9 million) and Matt Ryan ($34.7 million) have not done too badly for their teams.
Guaranteed money paid to top 10 selections since 2000 reached nearly $2 billion. Guaranteed payments for all first-rounders were at $3.5 billion.
During talks for a new collective bargaining agreement, the league also proposed eliminating holdouts by reducing the maximum allowable salary if a rookie isn't signed when training camp begins. The NFL also suggested eliminating holdouts for all veterans by prohibiting renegotiations of contracts if a player holds out in the preseason.
The compensation system would not include a rookie wage scale and would allow for individual contract negotiations. Contracts would have a fixed length of four years for players chosen in the second through seventh rounds and would not affect salaries for those rounds, the league said.
A modified salary system for rookies was a negotiating point for a new CBA until talks broke off March 11 and the NFL Players Association dissolved as a union. The owners locked out the players hours later.
The two sides are scheduled for court-mandated mediation in Minneapolis beginning Thursday.

What the heck does that bolded part mean?

[Lurker64]

What the heck does that bolded part mean?

I think the idea was to prevent holdouts from veterans unhappy about their contracts by making a rule where if you hold out missing time in the preseason you are not allowed, by rule, to sign another contract until after the season.... which would be a pretty effective way at ending holdouts.

[Guiness]

That's essentially how I read it.

I don't see how that has anything to do with the rookie salary structure, and putting it in there just seems like it's counter-productive at worst. It will prevent that proposal from being accepted. It deals with two totally different issues that need seperate discussions.

Seems like the owners want to hamstring the negotiations themselves.

[Lurker64]

Well, I'm not convinced that either party here was bargaining in good faith. But as I understand it the NFL introduced a proposal for a rookie wage scale, and the NFLPA offered a counterproposal and eventually through negotiations the NFL accepted a modified version of the counterproposal. So at least in this case the NFL didn't torpedo the negotiations by opening with a proposal that was more than they would get.

[RashanGary]

Offseason hold out scenerio

Player Benefits:
Pressures team by not being with club during critical training time
Pressuers team by making scene in lockerrroom and media
Small fines

Player Losses:
Hurts team (if he cares)


In season hold out scenerio

Player Benefits:
Pressures team by not offering services
Pressures team by making scene in lockerroom and media

Player losses:
Pay checks (lots of money)
Possible accrued season if goes over 10 weeks (WAY MORE MONEY)
Hurts team (if he cares)



So, if a player holds out preseason, it pretty much hurts only the team. If he holds out in season, he hurts himself along with the team. I like this rule. In the past, people said, "they're just doing what they can within the rules to get what they deserve." Well, the rules fuckin sucked. If they pass this one, that offseason hold out shit will be done.

To help the over-performing players out, right now they give paychecks to the best players makign teh least money. I know Sitton and Tramon have both gotten them. I think they should increase that pot by quite a bit. The teams who find teh best talent late in the draft or in free agency should get the benefit of sniffing out talent without having holdouts. At the same time, the players should get paid. It's a crappy system that bends them over the barrel because they weren't highly touted prospects.

If they do the thing they suggested and teh thing I suggested, this will be a very good system for both sides. It will greately benefit the good GM's (something I'm greatly in favor of because we have one of the best and it's just plain fair for the best performing to get the best results.) If teams don't like their media friendly, failure GM, they should go out and do what the Packers did and hire a great one who might not schmooze with the best of them, but scouts like none other.

[Lurker64]

Doesn't the NFL have a program in place to reward players who greatly outperform their contracts that is run by the league, and not the individual teams? I seem to recall reading about that in the past... potentially it doesn't have quite enough money, but it seems like "more money for that" is a concession that an interested NFLPA could easily get.

[Tarlam!]

Doesn't the NFL have a program in place to reward players who greatly outperform their contracts that is run by the league, and not the individual teams? I seem to recall reading about that in the past... potentially it doesn't have quite enough money, but it seems like "more money for that" is a concession that an interested NFLPA could easily get.

Sort of. They have a fund to redistribute wealth. It's based on # of snaps played compared with player compensation. They issue an annual report on who got what.