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Can we get the damn rookies signed already, please!

Yes, Bill Polian is an amazing football operations guy. Probably the best in football. Hall of Fame executive, no doubt. He's also entertaining to listen to on the radio. I chuckle every time he says the word "Patriots" because it comes out sounding like PAY-TREE-OTS.

But if there is on thing about Polian that annoys the absolute piss out of me it is how he signs draft picks. The man literally waits until the last minute to sign them.

Now, this is not an unusual practice. Most of the first round picks are not signed, including 2nd overall pick Chris Long. But other teams, like Chicago, have signed their second round picks. And, I'm sorry, but if you are in picks 3-7 and you are haggling over money, you're just petty. So, it is somewhat maddening the, less than two weeks from training camp, that all of the Colts rookies are as yet unsigned.

Maybe some deals were made and the Colts haven't announced them yet. Maybe players like Pollak and Wheeler know they have a shot at winning a starting job, and want starter-like money. Who knows. But, it is the not knowing that is maddening. Make no mistake though, Pollak and Wheeler must sign their contracts ASAP and be in camp on the first day. If they don't, then they will likely lose any chance of starting this season, aside from someone getting hurt, and fans will boo the utter piss out of them for putting greed ahead of the team. Like many fans, I'm fine with veterans asking for more money. They earned it.

Rookies haven't done jack squat, and rookie holdouts are about the closest thing to NFL scum this side of Chris Henry. Sign the contracts, come to camp, and prove something. 

Philwheelershhhh_medium

Shut up and sign your contract, Philip. I want to see you smash the PAY-TREE-OTS.

via www.playatgatech.com

UPDATE:

From jdb in the comments:

Actually, this year it may be related to the failure to extend the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Heard John Clayton on the radio a couple days ago saying that the because there’s basically a situation with an uncapped year coming up at the end of the current CBA that it throws bonus math completely out of whack. Found a short article about that by Clayton on ESPN.com

Under the rookie pool, base salaries can only increase 25 percent per year, but agents found a loophole in which a draft choice can receive a one-time bonus and guarantee it in the final year of the contract. This particularly affects second-round choices because they sign four-year deals. The problem in this summer’s negotiations is that there is no collective bargaining agreement in 2011 so the fourth year of the contract can’t be involved in any kind of guarantees.

So while Polian may have a thing with taking awhile to get rookies signed, if it seems to drag on longer this year it might not be totally his fault. And as for booing rookies who take awhile to get signed, I hate that and think it’s pretty classless. They are trying to get the best deal possible to play a game that will take a big physical toll on them and in a sport where the contracts aren’t guaranteed. I can’t blame them one bit for it.

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25 and 26 day holdouts.

You ain't gotta have John Madden, You ain't gotta have Dick Vitale,
You ain't gotta Lee Corso, You ain't gotta have Stuart Scott,
You ain't gotta have Linda Cohn, Know what I'm talking bout,
You ain't gotta have the staff of ESPN
You ain't gotta have ABC staff just to talk sports baby, cuz I got game

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by shake n bake on Jul 11, 2008 12:36 PM EDT   0 recs

Manning too

These guys, obviously, proved they were worth it. Also, rookie money as recently as 2004 was not what it is now. Tarik Glenn was 1997. There was barely a salary cap back then.

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by BigBlueShoe on Jul 11, 2008 1:48 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

CBA

Actually, this year it may be related to the failure to extend the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Heard John Clayton on the radio a couple days ago saying that the because there’s basically a situation with an uncapped year coming up at the end of the current CBA that it throws bonus math completely out of whack. Found a short article about that by Clayton on ESPN.com

Under the rookie pool, base salaries can only increase 25 percent per year, but agents found a loophole in which a draft choice can receive a one-time bonus and guarantee it in the final year of the contract. This particularly affects second-round choices because they sign four-year deals. The problem in this summer’s negotiations is that there is no collective bargaining agreement in 2011 so the fourth year of the contract can’t be involved in any kind of guarantees.

So while Polian may have a thing with taking awhile to get rookies signed, if it seems to drag on longer this year it might not be totally his fault. And as for booing rookies who take awhile to get signed, I hate that and think it’s pretty classless. They are trying to get the best deal possible to play a game that will take a big physical toll on them and in a sport where the contracts aren’t guaranteed. I can’t blame them one bit for it.

by jdb on Jul 11, 2008 1:01 PM EDT   0 recs

Two things

1) Agree about the booing the holdout rookies thing. I understand why it happens, but c’mon. Anybody’s gonna try to get what they can—you don’t see people leaving a lot of money on the bargaining table in any industry. It’s just magnified because pro athletes make much more than the common man. But the principle is the same. Would the people who boo really do any differently? Don’t hate the playah, hate the game.

2) I haven’t heard much about the CBA lately. What do people think? What’re the odds of an uncapped year in 2011? I understand the contract ramifications right now, but I can’t imagine it would actually get to that point in 2011. I don’t think the players’ union is that strong. And management even has the advantage of players publically questioning rookie contracts right now. Maybe the future is some sort of Hard-Rookie-Cap/Soft-Cap-otherwise/With-a-Larry-Bird-Rule hybrid?

by ctnyc on Jul 11, 2008 5:55 PM EDT to parent up   0 recs

I can’t fault the rookies for this. Now, guys like JaMarcus Russel should have some sense beaten into him. But for a mid 2nd round pick, I can’t complain if they’re trying to get their money. Besides, if they miss training camp, the world keeps on turning, just without them.

Bob Sanders eats a forest on Friday so he can lay the wood on Sunday.
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by MonkeyBusiness on Jul 11, 2008 1:38 PM EDT   0 recs

I hear the same crap every year

Polian has stated several times on his radio show why he waits to start negotiating with draft picks.

The closer you get to training camp the more pressure the player is putting on the agent to get a deal done. Without the time pressure, the agents just waste BP’s time asking for outrageous contracts and basically posturing.

There is no reason to rant about this every year. We can afford to keep our star players because we have a very rigid system that we hold to.

If you see a difference in how the Colts run things from how other teams run things – you should just assume that we are right and everyone else is wrong.

You then can be assured that you will be right 99.99% of the time instead of the current 23%.

by zilla1126 on Jul 11, 2008 6:42 PM EDT   0 recs

very well said

Stephen Jones also does with with the Cowboys, it makes a lot of sense to sign players at the last second.

In Romo we Trust

by Terry on Jul 14, 2008 8:45 AM EDT to parent up   0 recs

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