1st round rooks get 4 years w/ 5th team option?

[NinerSickness]

I stumbled upon this old artice from ESPN:

Rookie wage scale 2.0: In 1993, owners thought they had a hard, unbreakable rookie wage system, but agents broke it by negotiating option bonuses, escalator clauses and one-time bonuses. The new rookie wage scale is supposed to cut top rookie contracts by more than 50 percent. First-round picks get four-year deals in which the club holds a fifth-year option. There are slotted four-year deals from Rounds 2 through 7. Here's the discount. Cam Newton, the first pick in this year's draft, would be eligible for a four-year, $22.03 million contract. If the Panthers keep him for a fifth year, his salary would be at the average of the top 10 salaries of other quarterbacks. One unique part about the new system is it should prevent long holdouts. At some point in August, unsigned draft choices lose their leverage if they aren't signed. There is another clause that prevents draft picks from holding out after they sign. If he holds out during the deal, he is prohibited from renegotiating his contract. There is a limit to the amount of money given to rookies. The max total in 2011 is $874 million.



I didn't know first rounders got a 4 year deal with a team option for a 5th. The part that threw me was the example of Cam Newton. He'd make an average of the top 10 QBs in a 5th year w/ Carolina. So does that mean any first round pick basically gets top 10 money if the team keeps him for a 5th year? Or does that just apply to the first pick overall? Or was that something they just put in Cam's deal?

 

[Crimsoncrew]

I stumbled upon this old artice from ESPN:

Rookie wage scale 2.0: In 1993, owners thought they had a hard, unbreakable rookie wage system, but agents broke it by negotiating option bonuses, escalator clauses and one-time bonuses. The new rookie wage scale is supposed to cut top rookie contracts by more than 50 percent. First-round picks get four-year deals in which the club holds a fifth-year option. There are slotted four-year deals from Rounds 2 through 7. Here's the discount. Cam Newton, the first pick in this year's draft, would be eligible for a four-year, $22.03 million contract. If the Panthers keep him for a fifth year, his salary would be at the average of the top 10 salaries of other quarterbacks. One unique part about the new system is it should prevent long holdouts. At some point in August, unsigned draft choices lose their leverage if they aren't signed. There is another clause that prevents draft picks from holding out after they sign. If he holds out during the deal, he is prohibited from renegotiating his contract. There is a limit to the amount of money given to rookies. The max total in 2011 is $874 million.



I didn't know first rounders got a 4 year deal with a team option for a 5th. The part that threw me was the example of Cam Newton. He'd make an average of the top 10 QBs in a 5th year w/ Carolina. So does that mean any first round pick basically gets top 10 money if the team keeps him for a 5th year? Or does that just apply to the first pick overall? Or was that something they just put in Cam's deal?

My read is it would apply to all first-round picks, if that article is accurate. That is very interesting as it applies to Aldon. If he puts together another good season, an option like that would give us pretty good leverage when talking extension. We'd effectively have him under contract for two more years at a relative discount.

 

[supreme_clientele81]

My read is it would apply to all first-round picks, if that article is accurate. That is very interesting as it applies to Aldon. If he puts together another good season, an option like that would give us pretty good leverage when talking extension. We'd effectively have him under contract for two more years at a relative discount.

This is correct. We can negotiate a contract for Aldon after this year but if his agent want to play hard ball we exercise his option and then we could franchise him after that if we haven't worked out a long term contract.