ROOKIES DESERVE BIG MONEY

By mhblatt • August 27, 2007

Mitchell Blatt

The NFL Shouldn’t Make It Their Business How Much Rookies Get Paid

There is nothing wrong with NFL players holding out. And there is nothing wrong with rookies getting paid the big bucks. While these two things seem to anger NFL fans more than anything, the NFL is wrong in trying to regulate it as The Plain Dealer’s Tony Grossi reported yesterday. In a free-market system, the players should be able to make as much money as a team is willing to give them. The reason high draft picks make so much money is that they are a lot more valuable than most players.

(Or the teams think so, anyway.)

“But, Mitchell, these guys are unproven! They could be the next Ryan Leaf!” Yeah, but they could also be the next Peyton Manning, Ed Reed, Ray Lewis, Jeremy Shockey, or any of the many other first round draft picks that have proven to be league leaders. Not only were these players among the top in the game very quickly after getting in, they have also played for the same team their entire career. The added value of a rookie is that you get them while they’re young and have a good chance to hold onto them for as long as you want.

However, it may still be up for debate over whether a 22th pick is really worth $20 million over five years after holding out three weeks (Brady Quinn). I am not going to say whether that is a good deal in actuality–it might very well be–but it’s a good deal based on the market. If the Browns thought it was a bad contract, they didn’t have to sign him. That goes for every team.

Now, I don’t mean to seem callous to the billionaires signing the players’ paychecks, but it’s your fault that rookie contracts have skyrocketted. You keep bidding higher and higher for the best players, so players keep being able to ask for more. The media paints it as a tragedy, but who is it really hurting? They always line up some comparison about how much the average citizen makes and how much pro athletes make, as if athletes are taking away money from the public at large. Their just taking money from billionaire NFL owners. Owners whom the fans rail at for charging full price for preseason tickets (more on that next week). So, why do fans care so much if a billionaire is getting ripped off?

But it’s not like those billionaires are getting ripped off, anyway. Football is a business. Businesswise, it’s about how much money you make, not how many games you win. Sure winning games helps, but drafting a big name rookie brings in lots of merchandise and ticket sales. And if they flop, all the better, because then the fans will need to buy a new jersey.

If front offices really do feel, as Colts president Bill Polian says, that first rounders are getting paid way too much, they should trade their first round picks and focus on the free agent market.

How rising salaries are hurting baseball and basketball.

What do you think? Post your opinion in the comment section.

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