04/20/24
May 20, 2008
No. 3 overall pick Ryan to get $34.75M guaranteed from Falcons: Matt Ryan officially became the face of the Atlanta Falcons when he was selected as the third pick in the NFL draft. On Tuesday, the Falcons rewarded him with plenty of green.
I can understand their reasoning perfectly. If I remember correctly Jake Long is the highest paid offensive lineman in football and he hasn't even played a down.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 05:07 PM on May 20, 2008
Wow. Wowee wow wow. I saw quite a bit of Matt Ryan on the tee vee and he tore up the ACC pretty good, but the key word here is "ACC." His pukey comeback on Virginia Tech this past season, though, is one for the ol' memory banks. That was an incredible performance by Mr. Ryan.
posted by NoMich at 05:45 PM on May 20, 2008
Who owns the rights to Michael Vick or will be a UFA when he is released?
posted by rumple at 06:13 PM on May 20, 2008
I thought he would be a UFA but according to this internet thingy, he hasn't been cut from the Atlanta Falcons, something to do with recovering his bonus.
posted by jc at 09:15 PM on May 20, 2008
I like Matt Ryan and I agree with his ability to get rich but that's a lot of money to a kid that may be no better than let's say Andre Ware or a Joey Harrington. If I am Eddie DeBartolo and thinking of getting back into the NFL, I want a rookie salary cap. Of course that being said, if Matt Ryan is no better than Andre Ware, at least he will have a lot of money to console him as he plays in the CFL although I don't know if $34.75 million is enough to console anyone that has to play in Regina in November. Let's hope he makes it in Atlanta.
posted by jc at 09:18 PM on May 20, 2008
I also don't think Atlanta, as a franchise, had much of a choice. They needed to sign him ASAP and not get a training camp holdout in order to continue moving past the Vick era.
posted by jmd82 at 10:47 PM on May 20, 2008
Looks like Vick gets to keep his bonus, which is the right outcome in my opinion. That article refers to him as "suspended". Maybe now they will cut him? Can't say I pay much attention to the NFL especially in May, but some of the off field drama is interesting....
posted by rumple at 12:12 AM on May 21, 2008
Every year all these draft picks get money that veteran, performing players do not and I just think it's ludicrous. I understand bonus babies, and really covetted draft picks - but at that money? I just imagine they're getting paid for their college years. This is the part of the NFL that just plum doesn't make any sense to me. Why any player would get to sign the biggest contract he's likely to ever see before he's taken a practice rep, let alone played a down. Rookies make millions more than All-Pros. This is a better option than trying to trade a 2nd round pick for Matt Hasselbeck or some other fucked up NFL trade that we've seen a hundred fold? (4th rounder for Moss is a recent one.)
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 05:20 PM on May 21, 2008
I think this problem is going to be fixed fairly soon. The owners don't like it and the players don't like it, either. Sort of goes back to what I said in the thread about the CBA being voided, where the owners and players seem to be on the same page more often than not. I think we'll see an NBA-ish rookie salary system very soon.
posted by TheQatarian at 05:52 PM on May 21, 2008
Every year all these draft picks get money that veteran, performing players do not and I just think it's ludicrous. I understand bonus babies, and really covetted draft picks - but at that money? or some other fucked up NFL trade that we've seen a hundred fold? (4th rounder for Moss is a recent one.) How you doing JaMarcus? So the over-riding theme is that the Raiders' organization is batshitinsane, right? No argument there. But obviously, the NFL needs to get some kind of grip on the outlandish salaries that First Day draft picks are commanding, nay, demanding. They could take a page out of the NBA's playbook. But it seems to be those two sports strictly that deal with this. With both Baseball and Hockey, they're drafting kids that, more than likely, can't come in and make a difference for a couple of years. The hope with the NFL and NBA is that they'll show up for training camp and be exciting enough to promote ticket sales and jerseys and carry a team from the bottom of the pile to the playoffs rather quickly. The NBA has set up some protection for the owners from that. The NFL would do wise, and probably will come re-negotiation, to rectify that issue.
posted by Ufez Jones at 06:04 PM on May 21, 2008
The owners don't like it Call me crazy, but aren't the owners the ones paying it? This should really be a simple fix. All the owners have to do is get together and agree what sort of structure to pay these rookies (1st pick down to 32nd) and then simply stick to it. A 1st overall pick would know coming in he's looking at $X. He can take it and play or refuse it and not. He would know he's not getting another offer from anybody else for more because nobody else would pay more. You don't need collective bargaining or anything else to be able to do something like that.
posted by bdaddy at 10:11 PM on May 21, 2008
This should really be a simple fix. All the owners have to do is get together and agree what sort of structure to pay these rookies (1st pick down to 32nd) and then simply stick to it. A 1st overall pick would know coming in he's looking at $X. He can take it and play or refuse it and not. He would know he's not getting another offer from anybody else for more because nobody else would pay more. You don't need collective bargaining or anything else to be able to do something like that. I'll take collusion for $1000, Alex.
posted by tommybiden at 10:51 PM on May 21, 2008
Outside of the CBA, it's collusion, but what bdaddy describes is the exact system they have now. The salaries are just pegged too high when Matt Ryan's first contract exceeds the value of Tom Brady's (current) third contract.
posted by yerfatma at 08:18 AM on May 22, 2008
I'll take collusion for $1000, Alex. collusion is so hard to prove. Just ask Barry Bonds :-)
posted by bdaddy at 09:07 AM on May 22, 2008
bdaddy: You really think the agents (let alone the players' union) would allow the owners to get away with that? The problem comes about because one owner gives one rookie a big contract, then every rookie after that thinks he deserves a raise from that standard, and the agents won't let the owner pay a penny less. The fan base would revolt if the first-round pick didn't get signed, so the owner eventually has to cave in to the agent. That's how this happens. It's much like when Darren Dreifort got the 5-year, $55M deal from the Dodgers. One stupid move by one owner gave every other agent for a mediocre pitcher leverage, and the rest of the owners pretty much had to go along.
posted by TheQatarian at 11:00 AM on May 22, 2008
The salaries are just pegged too high when Matt Ryan's first contract exceeds the value of Tom Brady's (current) third contract. Exactly. And these contracts can also do a lot of damage to a team if their top pick doesn't pan out, which is not an uncommon occurance in the NFL.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 01:47 PM on May 22, 2008
Anyone else think that the owners might be right wanting a rookie salary cap?