1. Mike Vick, 37 million
2. Ben Roethlelisbeger, 36 million
3. Peyton Manning, 34 million
4. Tony Romo, 30 million
Then came the third overall pick, Quarterback Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons, who received a 72 million dollar contract with 34.7 million dollars. Without even a rep in minicamp, he is receiving more guaranteed money then two-time professional bowler and NFC champion quarterback Tony Romo as well as super bowl MVP, two-time League MVP, nine-time pro bowler, and future Hall of Fame inductee Peyton Manning. Some sort of rookie cap has to be introduced because a lot of cap space is taken up by players that might not even play their first year.
They say that a player usually takes three years to get accustomed to the NFL and actually make an impact. So teams are paying out production-type money to players who are just learning. Let's take QB JaMarcus Russell, first-round pick of the Oakland Raiders in 2007. He held out for the entire off season until midway through training camp, when he signed an astonishing six-year, $61 million contract with 29 million guaranteed. Because of missed training camp he didn't take a snap until game 13. For 12 games, the Raiders play JaMarcus top dollars to just stand around and watch money that could have been well spent on players that have been in the league for much longer and actually deserve it.
Though there is still a lot of potential for JaMarcus to because a productive QB, there are still those rookies that are complete busts. Consider former Chicago Bears running back Cedric Benson, fourth overall pick in 2005. Not being able to come to terms on a contract, the Longhorn standout missed the entire training camp, going on a 36-day holdout. The holdout ended when he signed a five-year, 35 million dollar contract. But that's the only thing that went well for the RB. Plagued with injury and making bad decisions, he never meet his potential and became a huge bust for the Bears, who had to play him for three years of below-average play. His stunt in Chicago finally ended when he was arrested for a DUI twice in a month.
You never know what you're going to get with rookies. They have so much potential, but many things could happen, and it doesn't seem right to give them so much money when they have shown us nothing. College and the NFL are two very different games. Nothing can really be done right now because of the current collective bargaining agreement, but as soon as the Players Association and the owners can start renegotiating for the new agreement in 2011, this is one thing that should be addressed. I think the best way to fix this problem is to slot the salary of rookies based on where they were drafted for the first three years, in which they have to prove themselves and then get paid accordingly.
