Jaguars Journal
by Sam Kouvaris
July 21, 2010
=============================================================================
I can't remember a year where the NFL hasn't had one of their first-round draft picks signed by the third week of July. Training camps are going to open shortly and while most lower round players will agree to deals and be in camp, we could see an unprecedented number of first-rounders as "holdouts."
In the first round it's a slotting process with wherever a player is picked fitting in just behind the guy in front of him and just in front of the guy behind him. Of course, the Raiders have disrupted that process in the past, giving big money to their first-round pick that's completely off the charts.
So the Jaguars are playing a waiting game with their pick, Tyson Alualu. He was the 10th overall player taken so he'll get big money up front in the form of a signing bonus. At his spot, he'll get somewhere just under $20 Million. Yes, that's a lot of money for a guy who has yet to play a down in the NFL. The same was said about Matthew Stafford, Jake Long and other first round picks and the same will be said about Sam Bradford when he puts pen to paper with the Rams. He's likely to be the highest paid player in NFL history.
Without taking a snap.
It's pretty ridiculous and has the veteran players pushing for a rookie salary cap so the top draft picks won't siphon off all of the money available each year. The owners would like that as well, and it's all part of the negotiations trying to hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement.
Don't be surprised if Alualu is a few days late to camp. The last two first rounders for the Jaguars, Derrick Harvey and Eugene Monroe both were holdouts. Harvey's was the longest in franchise history at 33 days. And it cost him plenty of productivity in his rookie year. Some say it's still an issue in his production.
Players report on the 29th and the first practice is the morning of the 30th.
|
