MAATopDogg
July-11th-2005, 09:51 AM
ROOKIES TO GET PRE-SET DEALS UNDER NEW CBA?
Word around the league is that the new collective bargaining agreement, if/when it ever is negotiated, could include a specific slotting system for draft picks that will include pre-determined bonus payments, years, and salaries.
The NBA already uses a wage scale for draft picks.
Under such a system, the annual late July rush to get players signed would become a thing of the past. Rookies would ink their deals -- and pocket their boni -- early. There would be no disputes over injury protection language for minicamps.
Heck, there wouldn't even be a need for agents.
Of course, the fact that agents (who have their hooks deep into the NFLPA) would be frozen out by a non-negotiable system of rookie contracts makes a scenario with no wiggle room unlikely. But our guess is that the union is throwing around the possibility of dropping the maximum agent fee from three percent to two percent in order to conjure some leverage for future tweaks that the agents will oppose, such as this one.
The logic is simple. If the agents don't like rookies having pre-set deals that render representation unnecessary, then the drop to two percent goes through.
Although, on the surface, such a change could end the practice of agents throwing money and cars and bling at college kids in an effort to secure their services, the new system would create other opportunities for abuse. Currently, agents coordinate the pre-draft preparations. Without agents, the kids would be on their own -- which would spawn an industry of draft prep professionals who, for a fee paid after the guy is drafted (possibly based on a percentage of the value of his rookie deal) will get him ready.
And wise agents would align with the best of the draft prep gurus, enabling the agents to forge relationships with the rookies well in advance of the date on which the need for their services will arise.
Still, the benefits to the teams outweigh the confuse that would ensue among agents. For that reason, we wouldn't be surprised to see this subtle-yet-significant shift occur.
Word around the league is that the new collective bargaining agreement, if/when it ever is negotiated, could include a specific slotting system for draft picks that will include pre-determined bonus payments, years, and salaries.
The NBA already uses a wage scale for draft picks.
Under such a system, the annual late July rush to get players signed would become a thing of the past. Rookies would ink their deals -- and pocket their boni -- early. There would be no disputes over injury protection language for minicamps.
Heck, there wouldn't even be a need for agents.
Of course, the fact that agents (who have their hooks deep into the NFLPA) would be frozen out by a non-negotiable system of rookie contracts makes a scenario with no wiggle room unlikely. But our guess is that the union is throwing around the possibility of dropping the maximum agent fee from three percent to two percent in order to conjure some leverage for future tweaks that the agents will oppose, such as this one.
The logic is simple. If the agents don't like rookies having pre-set deals that render representation unnecessary, then the drop to two percent goes through.
Although, on the surface, such a change could end the practice of agents throwing money and cars and bling at college kids in an effort to secure their services, the new system would create other opportunities for abuse. Currently, agents coordinate the pre-draft preparations. Without agents, the kids would be on their own -- which would spawn an industry of draft prep professionals who, for a fee paid after the guy is drafted (possibly based on a percentage of the value of his rookie deal) will get him ready.
And wise agents would align with the best of the draft prep gurus, enabling the agents to forge relationships with the rookies well in advance of the date on which the need for their services will arise.
Still, the benefits to the teams outweigh the confuse that would ensue among agents. For that reason, we wouldn't be surprised to see this subtle-yet-significant shift occur.