La'El Collins to the Cowboys

[mraynrand]

I thought I read that Collins and his agent said they would refuse to sign with any team that drafted him after the 3rd round. I realize he signed as a UDFA, but if you're a talent like Collins who was in a unique situation, you'd rather go undrafted at a certain point and negotiate as a UDFA, realizing that you're going to get a more lucrative deal than a typical UDFA.

I don't keep track of all the contract rules, but the FA route (I think) allows him to get out of that deal sooner, no? So he plays well for a couple of years and then can get a big fat contract sooner than if he were drafted.

[red]

I don't keep track of all the contract rules, but the FA route (I think) allows him to get out of that deal sooner, no? So he plays well for a couple of years and then can get a big fat contract sooner than if he were drafted.

yup, the undrafted guys get 3 year deals, players drafted in rounds 2-7 are on 4 year deals

so he will get big money a year earlier, if he pans out

[Guiness]

yup, the undrafted guys get 3 year deals, players drafted in rounds 2-7 are on 4 year deals

so he will get big money a year earlier, if he pans out

Yes, that's one of the perks - and I read that even if they make him play out the three years, then throw a 1st or 2nd round tender on him for his RFA deal, he makes out better than all but the first and top half of the 2nd round draftees.

[gbgary]

Stephen Jones (son of Jerrah) is really draining the fun out of the Boys.

yup. comedy relief will be hard to come by around here.

[gbgary]

cowboys of the past let questionable character guys slide after the michael irvin cowboys faded away. nearly 20 years later they're picking them up instead.

[pbmax]

http://mmqb.si.com/2015/05/15/lael-collins-nfl-draft-dallas-cowboys-murder-investigation/

Here is the story from the agent's side of La'el Collins' draft day maneuvering. From their effort to prevent a team taking a late round flyer on him (one team called about selecting him in the fifth:

The hardest part, Gilmore says, was selling Collins on the idea: “I’m explaining it to this young man and he’s having a hard time accepting it. We’re trying not to get drafted? He had to have a lot of trust in us.”

They show him salary charts and he agrees; it’s worth the risk.

The media, including this reporter, openly question the competence of Collins’ agents. Even a rival agent reaches out to La’el in an apparent attempt to poach him from his seemingly befuddled representatives.

and on the salary calculation involved trying to determine the best course of action:

“I’m thinking, That’s the worst thing for us,” McCartney says. “I ran the numbers. If a guy is drafted, he signs a four-year deal. If he gets a three-year undrafted-free-agent contract, plays well and often, then gets the first-round tender and the player participation pool bonus money, he could be paid better than the 33rd pick in the draft.”

[pbmax]

Also, the not going to sign if he is drafted in Rounds 4-7? It was a bluff.

“We can put it on the record now: We were never going back in the draft,” Smith says of waiting for the 2016 draft. “If someone had drafted him, we would’ve had a long, long discussion about it, but at the end of the day you can’t go back in the draft. He could get injured, gain weight, or 10 great tackles could come out. Too many risks.”

[Guiness]

It comes down to this: logistics be dammed, one way or another, the Cowboys got an extra 1st round pick. That's a heck of a competitive advantage. Goodell knew someone was going to get this guy for free, and should've done something about it (read: supplementary draft!!!)

[Rastak]

It comes down to this: logistics be dammed, one way or another, the Cowboys got an extra 1st round pick. That's a heck of a competitive advantage. Goodell knew someone was going to get this guy for free, and should've done something about it (read: supplementary draft!!!)

It's hard to argue against you given he breaks every other CBA rule.

[Patler]

It comes down to this: logistics be dammed, one way or another, the Cowboys got an extra 1st round pick. That's a heck of a competitive advantage. Goodell knew someone was going to get this guy for free, and should've done something about it (read: supplementary draft!!!)

I don't see this as an issue at all. Any team could have used a low round draft pick to secure his rights if they wanted. Player have issued threats for as long as I can remember. Only a very few ever followed through on them, and if he did, so what? A 6th or 7th round pick is not a lot to "waste".

[vince]

I don't see this as an issue at all. Any team could have used a low round draft pick to secure his rights if they wanted. Player have issued threats for as long as I can remember. Only a very few ever followed through on them, and if he did, so what? A 6th or 7th round pick is not a lot to "waste".

Agree. Any team had the same opportunity to sign him post-draft as well. It's one thing to cheat the rules but in this case the Cowboys took advantage of a unique opportunity, completely within the rules, which all teams had.

We'll see how it works out. Obviously signing him as a free agent pretty much comes with little/no risk but it's not as if Collins is a sure-fire hall-of-famer. Notwithstanding the mystery surrounding his pregnant ex-girlfriend's death, there are questions about his effectiveness in pass pro to the extent many project him inside. His dedication and work ethic have also been questioned by his coaches at LSU.

[Fritz]

That is a great sign. If TT trusts the coaches who put up such signs, I wonder if he simply crosses those names off his list of draft-eligible players?

[pbmax]

I think that sign is a function of the risks LSU takes when it recruits.

[Fritz]

Good point.