Kobritz: NFL Rookie Salaries Are Absurd
Imagine being hired out of college at a salary that’s 5-10 times greater than someone who has worked for the company for five years. Not possible, you say? It is if you’re a first-round NFL draft pick.
In last weekend’s NFL draft, the Miami Dolphins used the first pick to select Jake Long, an offensive lineman from Michigan. The Dolphins promptly signed Long to a five-year, $57.5 million deal, with almost $30 million of that figure guaranteed. The deal makes Long the highest paid lineman in the NFL. And he has yet to play a single down.
All four Major League team sports have a draft, which essentially means players have no bargaining power. They either play for the team that drafts them or they don’t play professional sports, at least not until after the following year’s draft, or even longer in some sports. From a business perspective, it seems ludicrous to shell out exorbitant sums for unproven talent that has no leverage. Yet first round draft picks in the NFL are routinely paid more than proven veterans.
bizoffootball.com
4/29/08
Magnolia Tribune
