Around this time every year we, the fans, know it is time for pro-football when we hear Hank Williams, Jr. sing “Are You Ready for Some Football.” Apparently Hank is serenading the wrong crowd! He should aim his vocals towards the rookies drafted by the NFL months ago but who have yet to step foot on the field. Until recently approximately 20% of the first round draft picks had not signed their contracts. For a league as well run and as well respected as the NFL, this is absolutely ridiculous! It is time the NFL takes some advice from the NBA and enforces strict salary caps. Rev will try to persuade you this is a bad thing but I have listed just a few reasons enforcing a salary cap like that of the NBA would be good for the NFL.

ROOKIE HOLD_OUTS:

The Oakland Raiders knew long ago they would draft JaMarcus Russell as the #1 overall pick. The draft occurred back in April and Russell has yet to ink the agreement. Why? MONEY! Russell is holding out for more money. He is holding out for guarantees even though he hasn’t suited up for one game. Others that held out for bigger contracts include Calvin Johnson, Levi Brown, Darrelle Revis, Brady Quinn, Dewayne Bowe, and John Beason. A strict salary cap would all but eliminate rookie hold-outs. 

DRAFT FOR NEED RATHER THAN AFFORDABILITY: 

The top picks are eating away larger and larger portions of their prospective team’s salary. This leaves less for resigning veterans or adding free agents. The draft is supposed to assist the bottom teams from the previous year however it has become more o####amble than an investment. Remember Ryan Leaf? Russell could be signing what will be the largest contract in the history of the Oakland Raider’s. It is reported to be around $60 million dollars with $30 million of it guaranteed. If he turns out to be another “Leaf” the Raiders will have their hands tied for the next several years and efforts to better the team will be close to impossible. Russell is justifying this huge amount because it is a percentage increase from last years #1 draft pick. If future rookies continue to follow this logic by 2008 the overall #1 pick will be expecting $65 million and in 2015 the “chosen one” will be earning $100 million dollars! Teams would never be able to draft according to need but would have to try to improve the squad with who they can afford.

ROOKIES WOULD HAVE TO PROVE THEIR WORTH: 

How many teams have invested huge lumps of money towards their futures only to have their choices bomb? The Chargers drafted Ryan Leaf as the #2 pick overall. Tim Couch was drafted #1 overall by the Cleveland Browns. Both teams gambled millions of dollars only to lose. Neither Leaf nor Couch ever lived up to their huge salaries and those teams are still paying for their mistakes. The Browns have never been able to overcome the drafting of Couch. Some rookies start out making more than many of veteran players will receive during their entire career without having stepped one foot on the field. The salary cap would make rookies prove themselves for the first couple of years thereby preventing hold-outs and the gambles teams are forced to make. 

GOOD FOR OWNERS, VETERAN PLAYERS  AND COACHES: 

General Managers and Coaches have to have control of the money in order to build their teams and complete the roster. The more control they have over the money, the more creative they can be in building towards the future. Owners would no longer be taking a big gamble with their team’s futures by signing an untested player and overloading their future salary cap. As it stands now, owners must debate with greedy agents rather than know exactly what they would be spending. This takes the control of one’s team completely out of their hands and ultimately out of the hands of the coach. Only a few players take up the bulk of the salary cap and these are often recently drafted rookies rather than proven veterans. This makes no sense. Proven veteran players should be taken care of first and foremost. Agents would, of course, object to a strict salary cap because they would no longer be able to use kids just out of college to fatten their pocket and egos. 

Huge rookie contracts should not be the norm for the NFL but they are. Because more and more rookies cannot come to an agreement on their contracts, more and more are reporting late for training camp. The NFL should give the NBA a call. Greg Oden signed with the Portland Trail Blazers almost immediately because the pro basketball league dictates how much money each rookie will make. Oden will start out at around #4 million a year. Unlike Russell, Oden will not be the highest paid player in the NBA; this is saved for the veterans of the game. There are no hold-outs or heated debates about money. The rookie player can focus on his new career as a pro. 

I am not saying that players like JaMarcus Russell don’t deserve to get rich, but his pay demonstrates just how seriously insane the salary structure is of the NFL. The salary cap should remain at the same level with a smaller slice going to rookies and the bigger portion awarded to proven veterans; in other words, a strict rookie salary cap. In a few years Russell just might be worth the $30 million dollar payday. Until then, the NFL needs to reserve that kind of money for the players that have proven their worth on the field. The NFL might be the top sport in the country but would someone tell them to put the lid down before they flush more money down the toilet!

HE SAID: Don't Cap The Rookies

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