Sunday Morning Quarterback; Overpaid Rookies

I am starting a new series, called...Well, just look at the title "Sunday Morning Quarterback". Yes, we can talk NFL Football even during the offseason. Not much going on in the NFL right now, but training camps open in about a month! Is that exciting or what??

The biggest topic up for debate today is Commissioner Roger Goodell's reaction to overpaid rookies. I brought this up on Armchairgm.com around the time of the 2007 NFL draft. I believe I said something like "Brady Quinn is going to be overpaid, and end up being a draft bust", and this was before he fell down to the 22nd overall pick by the Cleveland Browns.

The topic was brought back up after this year's draft when first overall pick, Jake Long (drafted by Miami) signed a five-year contract worth $57.75 million. He signed the contract on April 22nd, which was BEFORE the draft even took place in New York City. What happens if Long gets in some kind of accident before the draft even takes place?! The Dolphins would be screwed then.

Goodell's reaction to the situation? Well, he started out by saying the pay roll for rookies is 'ridiculous', and then had this to say about it: "There's something wrong about the system, the money should go to people who perform. He doesn't have to play a down in the NFL and he already has his money. Now, with the economics where they are, the consequences if you don't evaluate that player, you can lose a significant amount of money." He then went on to say: "And that money is not going to players that are performing. It's going to a player that never makes it in the NFL. And I think that's ridiculous."

I think every NFL fan out there can agree with Goodell's statement. Rookies obviously shouldn't be paid millions of bucks before they even step foot out on the field, and prove themselves. My apologies to Ryan Leaf, but I'm gonna have to use you as an example. I mean, god knows what could happen. We may very well get another Ryan Leaf. Heck, you could even end up drafting a Tim Couch, Spergon Wynn, or Eric Crouch. Not a single NFL team wants that. So, in order to fix this, just don't give these guys a long-term, big money contract until they prove themselves.

My solution: A rather simple one. Don't sign them to long-term contracts. The problem is that that could cause players to holdout for more money. I guess we should just let Roger work his magic...