Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 25, 1993 TAG: 9304250151
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Jack Bogaczyk
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Before the arrival of free agency last month, the draft gave the NFL desired exposure during what really was the off-season. Now, with Reggie White and Joe Montana making moves and more money, the college stars have trouble competing.
Those rookies-to-be are going to have to wait their turn at the pay window, too. The high first-round picks in recent years have demanded and received ridiculous signing sums before proving themselves. But that was before the NFL's new collective bargaining agreement created a salary cap for rookies.
That cap will be an average of $2 million per club in 1993 - weak teams spending more, the strong less. Last season, 11 first-rounders were paid more than $2 million, including signing bonuses. This year, for cap purposes, bonuses will be pro-rated over the length of a contract.
That cap also is likely to curb the number of rookie holdouts. Because each club will have only so many dollars left with each signing, it figures that more players will sign quicker. So, perhaps they will become the performers they are forecasted to be sooner too, right Desmond Howard?
Don't think for a minute that free agency makes the draft less vital. Although clubs now can fill holes by signing a needed veteran, the draft still will be the vehicle to build and sustain success. Dallas traded and stockpiled draft picks, used them wisely and turned a terrible club into a Super Bowl champion faster than you can say "Herschel Walker."
The reason the draft will remain crucial is the other NFL salary cap that likely won't arrive until 1994. In the new agreement, when league-wide spending on salaries reaches 67 percent of the gross revenues of the 28 clubs, then a salary cap of 64 percent is triggered for the next year.
With a cap somewhere between $30-33 million expected in 1994, teams can't afford to go crazy on free-agent spending. So, the low-priced rookies are valuable. What the NFL is going to have is a group of quarterbacks and Reggie Whites at the top of the pay scale, and a much larger group making $400,000 or less.
Washington employed 59 players last season with their average salary at $536,660. San Francisco, Miami and Indianapolis spent more on salaries than the Redskins, and that was in a season in which clubs used 47-man active rosters. The NFL owners recently voted to expand to a 53-player roster - meaning the capped salary money must be spread among more players.
The wiser a club drafts, the more money it has to play the free-agent lottery. If a team gets an offensive lineman in the fifth round for $175,000 and he's as good as a veteran backup making $525,000, who do you think is waived? If a club saves that $350,000 difference enough times, it can sign a Pro Bowler.
The advent of free agency also will cause the trade market to flourish. When a club loses a valuable performer - particularly if that team is bursting the seams of the salary cap - its only way to get an experienced replacement is through a deal.
Don't be surprised if more draft choices exchange hands today in New York. Some clubs are trying to get rid of average-salaried veterans, either to sign someone better or save bucks with a rookie. Also, when the cap kicks in, players will have the right to become free agents after four seasons. So, a club had better find first- and second-rounders who can contribute quickly.
Drew Bledsoe and Rick Mirer - or Mirer and Bledsoe - are expected to be two of those when they become the first quarterbacks picked 1-2 since New England, New Orleans and Houston put QBs Jim Plunkett, Archie Manning and Dan Pastorini in the first three spots in 1971.
Or, maybe there will be a trade. Or, maybe someone will sign a free agent and upstage the draft. It may no longer be the only entree on the NFL's spring menu, but it certainly isn't just dessert, either.
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB