• March 19, 2024

NFL Lockout Close To Ending, Rookie Wage Scale The Only Hold Up

The NFL Lockout seems close to being resolved. In recent weeks, the owners and players have been motivated by the potential loss of $200 million for every week of the preseason that is lost, and have finally begun to get serious about their negotiations, and significant progress has been made.

The only issue that needs to be ironed out is the rookie wage scale. So far, the two sides seem to be in agreement that first-round pick contracts should be four years with a team option for a fifth season.

This concept prevents players that have never played a down in the NFL from being paid absurd amounts of money, and properly compensates them if they prove to be legitimate stars in the league.

It also would increase the trade value of each first round pick. In recent years, teams have been unwilling to trade up in the first round because they don’t want to be stuck with the salary demands of a higher draft pick. Teams that want to trade down have also had trouble doing so for the same reasons.

The sides have reached a stalemate as to how much money the player should be paid if the team picks up the fifth-year option. The owners have offered an increase of 150% on top of the average salary of a starter at the player’s position for the top eight picks in the draft, and a 125% increase of the average salary for picks eight through 16. Players in the second half of the first round would simply be paid the average salary of a starter at their position with no additional increase.

The players have countered with a proposal that the top 16 picks receive a salary that is the average of the top 10 players at their position in the fifth year, and the next 16 picks receive a salary that is the average of the top 20 players at their position.

The good news is that the gap between the two sides on this issue doesn’t seem like something that can’t be resolved within a reasonable amount of time. The league reportedly expects to have a deal finalized by July 21st, in time for league meetings.

This is the final hurdle that the two sides must get over before all of the CBA talk can finally be put to bed, and talk can finally return where it belongs: to free agency, training camp, and the preseason.

Denny Basens

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scorpiodsu
scorpiodsu
July 12, 2011 11:49 am

Who wants in on the fantasy football league this year? Let me know

BirdoBeamen
BirdoBeamen
July 12, 2011 12:04 pm

Scorp, I’m down.

jbird
jbird
July 12, 2011 12:06 pm

I’m glad to hear that the players are no longer bitching about the disparity between what Bradford received and what Cam Newton will potentially receive. I heard that last week and almost popped a blood vessel. First off, the whole point of the cap is that Bradofrd and many before him got ridiculous contracts and it had to stop somewhere. So….sorry about your luck there Cam. Right here where I work, new employees have to pay double what I pay for benefits. That’s just the way it goes sometimes. Second, the whole thing smelled of a slight racial bias. I don’t think the players (a vast majority African-American) would have been as snesitive to this situation if Cam Newton were white. But it seemed like the black man was getting the shaft and the players and Demaurice Smith probably felt uncomfortable with that. Third, lets face facts. I think Sam Bradford will very likely be top ten in the league by 2015 if not top five. Cam Newton…not so much. I seriously doubt that Cam will even do as well as Vick did in Atlanta. So he won’t deserve nearly as much as Bradofrd in hindsight when we look back in five years.

Iggles
Iggles
July 12, 2011 1:13 pm

Yapping about that ridiculous race stuff again. If Andrew Luck had come out, he would have gotten “the short end” of the deal and would not have benefitted like Bradford. High draft salaries (1st overall or special talents like N. Suh) have been going up out of proportion and steadily the last dozen years. It’s just the way the cookie crumbles for Newton now, and the true QB Luck in ’12.

schiller
schiller
July 12, 2011 2:09 pm

yeah j – that’s where the race stuff especially doesn’t belong – when we’re discussing a certain situation and the person involved happens to be black, that’s a topic that’s irrelevant to race. It’s pretty dumb, and actually problematic for you to bring that up in this context. The only reason it’s being discussed with this draft class is because of the current CBA situation. That’s it. Period. Otherwise, it was just a sports media discussion topic, that’s all. But this year, they’re already renegotiating the entire CBA. If you see it as anything else, that’s just plain silly.

It’s easy to just type/think away in this setting, but filtering is always necessary and welcome….

vricchini
vricchini
July 12, 2011 3:07 pm

Scrop I was gonna email you sometime this month to see if you were doing fantasy this year. vricchini@yahoo.com

vricchini
vricchini
July 12, 2011 3:10 pm

Scorp I was gonna email you this month to see if you were gonna do it this year. Im down as long as the selections are random and not by order of who joins cause last year I picked last and got F’ed. vricchiniatyahoo.com add me.

jbird
jbird
July 12, 2011 3:25 pm

Schiller…I respectfully disagree. The debate last week if you paid attention is that some folks were not happy about CN’s guaranteed money not being nearly as much as Bradford. And to that I say who cares? Bradofrd got too much and CN’s timing sucks. If you don’t think race enters into the players minds, I think that would be naive. And I also stand by the fact that Cam Newton will be a big bust and I can’t believe the Panthers were so dumb. So in hindsight he will have deserved far less then Bradofrd which is what he will get. So all is well that ends well.

Rocko
Rocko
July 12, 2011 4:24 pm

Jbird…I disrespectfully disagree with your assertion that Cam Newton is going to suck. You sound just as stupid as these hateful media outlets that knows Cam’s going to be an NFL star like Vick, Vince Young (until he started acting a fool), and others with that kind of athletic ability. I’m not rooting for him to beat us when we play them, but I hope he does well. I believe he’s going to come out “boomin” in this league, and I can’t wait to see him play. Stop hatin – hater; for whatever reason you’re doing it man. These athletically gifted supastars earned their keep, try to get yours: “Hater”.

vricchini
vricchini
July 12, 2011 4:33 pm

Wow Rocko.. If I didnt know better I would think Jbird had said something about your mom or something cause you got all in his ass lol.

schiller
schiller
July 12, 2011 5:07 pm

j – that’s ok, but you said ‘the whole thing smelled of a racial bias’ – that’s suggesting YOUR perception, not what may or may not have gone through players’ heads. I wasn’t commenting on what may have gone on in players’ heads. But whatver….

Monolith
Monolith
July 12, 2011 6:09 pm

Attention: Fantasy keeper league is expanding and we are looking for new owners. New owners can select up to 5 keepers right now and change them at will up until July 24 th. If you keep less keeper FA’s then you will be compensated with a corresponding number of draft picks.

20 Team League: Currently has 13 teams. Four divisions; 8 team playoff; deep rosters that include individual defensive players, so late teir players matter.

Site: nfl.com
League Name: Urban Football League
Draft Date: Aug 6th
Draft Time: 7:00pm
Draft Type: Live online

No password is needed just filter to Aug 6th custom page and join.

I posted once before, so this will be last posting I don’t want to bother anyone, and take up post space. If you are interested check it out. Thanks for your patience.

As always “LONG LIVE THE EAGLES” Get’em

scorpiodsu
scorpiodsu
July 12, 2011 7:05 pm

If you want in the league just send me an email astuckey at gmail dot com

scorpiodsu
scorpiodsu
July 12, 2011 7:07 pm

vricchini, draft order was random. It will be again. I let ESPN pick the order. Don’t know the order until the draft room is open.

DDCar
DDCar
July 12, 2011 7:18 pm

Please end this f^@king lock out already, so we can talk about player transactions, & not get these clueless, idiotic, racist statements on here. This lockout has 0000% to do with race. It’s 1000% about pure greed, on all sides, nothing else……Double Facepalm X(

Rocko
Rocko
July 12, 2011 7:25 pm

Nah Vricchinni…I just get tired of all these so called football experts tryin to say whos going to make it and who isn’t in this league. If it wasn’t for Vick, I would take Cam over Kolb, Bradford, and any of those other so-called best/good Qb’s ; because Cam has what those others don’t, which is also what Vick has and that’s “Street-ball football” – meaning knowing how to get the hell outta dodge and make something happen with our bad a%@ WR’s like D-jax and Mac instead of taking a sack and getting a concussion. Guys like Cam make the game fun to watch and he’s a pure competitor – who as of right now is home working on his fundamentals to be prepared to come into training camp on fire. People need to stop hatin on his NCAA situation that happened with his dad etc and focus on what he can bring to the table. There is also an underlying hatred for guys like Cam from Jbird that I’m sensing, but I’ll just let it ride for now.

Rocko
Rocko
July 12, 2011 7:30 pm

Cam also has a heisman trophy, national championship, a cannon of an arm, is from the SEC (best conference by the way) and a helluva drive to be the best (let’s hope our defense cools all of that down though)!

BirdoBeamen
BirdoBeamen
July 12, 2011 7:31 pm

Yea Rocko, because that “street football” mentality has really won alot of Superbowls. Peyton is just an animal with his feet….and Drew Brees, WHOA, what a street baller!

*smh*

I swear, you guys amaze me with some of the shit you write.

DDCar
DDCar
July 12, 2011 7:39 pm

Birdo, I second those comments. Again……Double Facepalm x(

paulman
paulman
July 12, 2011 8:18 pm

To Scorp
Can you secure the #1 Draft Pick for Vricchini, he had a rough year last season
ha

vricchini
vricchini
July 12, 2011 8:34 pm

ha p-man but I started to get hot toward the end. I been making my top 100 players I wanna draft since this morning.

paulman
paulman
July 12, 2011 8:46 pm

You did get hot down the end.. I haven’t done any research as of yet, Hopefully with an agreement on the way, there will be free-agency, trades,etc,etc.. hard with some many unknowns..

Rocko
Rocko
July 12, 2011 8:51 pm

Well Birdo,

Payton nor Brees had to run for their lives -Their offensive lines held up, and their defenses during their SB runs were more dominant than ours. Those superbowl winning teams had a balanced attack and we haven’t had one since 04. Do you really think DJax or Mac would of had the kind of year they had if it weren’t for Vicks playing style? Would we have come back and beat the giants in miracle # 2 without Vicks style at QB play? His playing style is going to win us a superbowl this year…Do you doubt it; if so say so.

anderson silva
anderson silva
July 12, 2011 9:19 pm

Just get the deal done. I could not care less who makes more money, less money, pay the players in peanuts and motor oil, give them all the money from the TV deal, whatever. Get it done, I want to go to Lehigh with my father, he isn’t getting any younger, neither am I.

schiller
schiller
July 12, 2011 9:26 pm

Rocko – yeah, but how have heisman winners and national champs translated into the nfl? Not that great by my calculation. Sure, some have been successful. But Reggie Bush? Bust. Jamarcus? Eric Crouch? Troy Smith? Leinert? Jason White?

To me, college football success is one thing, NFL success is an entirely unrelated thing.

paulman
paulman
July 12, 2011 9:51 pm

I agree with Schiller on this one… Success at the College level in no way guarantees success at the NFL. Great College Teams have maybe 3-4 NFL type of players on them and it usually gets down to their Coaching/Schemes/Special Teams/Home field Advantage,etc,etc ..
The NFL is much more about match-ups and players being in the right systems sinec all NFL Players are super talented and then Coaches/Players taking advantage of the Mismatches (ex Belichek/Sean Payton/Mike McCarthy/P Manning, A Rodgers,etc,etc)

Rocko
Rocko
July 13, 2011 4:48 am

Schiller,
You’re correct, and I thought about that; but I would compare Cams style of play to Vick or V Young because they are mobile QB’s who can make things happen. The other Qb’s didn’t really have the fire, transition well, or were put with poorly coached teams. J White had a number of coaches and playbooks in a span of about 5 years (not that I was ever personally sold on him anyway), but he could of possibly fared better. Smith should of probably switched positions in his transition, Russell ate to much, Crouch was the “bust that slipped through the cracks”, and bush…well; he does have a SB ring.

schiller
schiller
July 13, 2011 10:37 am

Rock – sure, I think it’s hard to argue against the idea that Cam Newton plays a similar style to Vick and Young. The question seems to be how his skillset (all Grudenism and hype aside) trasnlate to the NFL, and playing on one of the crappiest teams on top of that.

paulman
paulman
July 13, 2011 1:10 pm

Panthers will be improved and maybe get 4-5 Wins in the 2011 Season
The NFC South hass now become the NFC’s Toughest and most balanced Division with the Falcons,Saints & Bucs all being playoff legitimate teams.
I compare Cam Newton’s style to that of Vince Young when he came out of college.. But Tennessee’s Offensive Coaches & Philosophy never really took the reigns off of him and let him uses his athleticism, which a part is Young’s immaturity and lack of work ethic, But give C Newton 2 Years in the Pros and I think he will be a Top 10 QB, the Panthers have surrounded Cam Newton with some good young Offensive Coaches (Chudzinski from the Chargers)and if their O/Line return Healthy and thet Resign some of their key free-agents like C/G R Kalil, RB D Williams, their Offense may end up surprising some folks and actually score some points this season..This team has a lot more talent that the 2-14 Team we saw last yaer.. GM Hurley and former HC Fox were not on same page last Draft,Last Summer and had it out over playing young players to start the rebuilding process, Fox basically lost the team after the 1st month of the season and basically played out the seasonst and the team never recoverd

The Best/Most Competitive Divisions in the NFC

#1) South (Falcons,Saints,Bucs,Panthers)
#2) Central (Packers,Bears,Vikings and the improved Lions)
#3) East (Eagles,Giants,Cowboys,Redskins)
#4) West (Rams,Seahawks,49ers,Cardinals)

pheags88
pheags88
July 13, 2011 1:52 pm

Rocko, How many Super Bowls has street ball football won? I mean sure its fun to watch but it doesn’t win rings. Brady, Manning, Brees,Warner, even Rogers is all the proof you need to know about what wins Super Bowls these days. These guys can put the football anywhere they want. As soon as they get to the line they know whats coming and exactly where the ball is going after the snap. They don’t depend on their legs to win games.

You can’t just make excuses for an O-Line either…These guys make adjustments as soon as they see the D, and then they get the ball out fast so they don’t even get touched..The packers OLine was just as bad as the Birds this year and it didn’t stop Rodgers.

Believe me..when I was at the meadowlands for the giants or at other games where Vick took off running I was cheering louder than anybody..But there were so many times where you could see the blitz coming off the edge before the snap and Vick would do nothing to slide protection,audible etc…EXample first offensive play of the GB playoff game. He can have all the street ball skills you want but you’ll never win with that. He needs to get better at the line and with decision making like those other guys I mentioned…and I think he will this year after a full season of starting. He has the years of experience by now and serious weapons all around him with an upgraded O-Line from last year..so no more excuses D’s should never be able to hold this offense down like they did in the second half of last season.

RealTalk777
RealTalk777
July 13, 2011 4:26 pm

OK, now you cats aren’t being real about this at all…Now when the Eagles win the SB behind Vick, what will your argument be then?
Street ball?…ok lets see if Peyton Manning had the athleticism as MV7, you could add at least 1 or 2 SB rings to his trophy cabinet!
You guys are missing the point, that Manning, Brees (not for nothing, has some mobility, not the open field ability but get that 5 yards with his feet for a first down) Brady, all had SB caliber teams behind them. Solid O Line and solid defense…name one team that has won a SB behind a mediocre defense? mediocre O Line? mediocre WR’s?

Fact of the matter is, there are way less street ballers (as you guys say it) than there are conventional QB’s…The numbers dont match, of course the majority has a better chance to win…Plus your not taking the team as a whole in as a consideration…lets be REAL…Did the Eagles not win the SB because of Vick, or because of team play as a whole? I think Vick did his job, maybe a little more help from the defense, kicker, offense, and the Eagles would have been hoisting the SB trophy…

paulman
paulman
July 13, 2011 4:47 pm

How about the Steelers from 2 years ago won the Super Bowl with mediocre O/Line and an average WR Corps. If it wasn’t for that James Harrison Int. Return for a TD just before the half, the Arizona Cardinals probably would have won that Super Bowl and they didn’t have a very good O/L or Defense that season either.

Rocko
Rocko
July 13, 2011 5:16 pm

RealTalk777,

You got it buddy; that’s exactly what I’m talking about. I agree with you 100%. When we stop being mediocre and get all around balanced, we’ll win a SB be hind a special mobile QB like MV7…Now that’s “RealTalk”!

pheags88
pheags88
July 13, 2011 5:20 pm

Real, if Vick wins the Birds a ring he will go down as probably the best Eagle ever in my book. BUt obviously he hasn’t gotten close to that yet…Come on man if you really think that Vick didn’t have any issues at the line or in his decision making your just letting your emotions get the best of you..His play recognition and line of scrimmage issues were glaring. Even if Reid calls a pass, all Vick has to do is read the D when he lines up and audible it to a 4 yard run for McCoy.

Really..Brady’s weapons were trash and he won multiple rings. The O-Lines that Brees, Rodgers, Big Ben, and Manning had were nothing to cheer about either. Its not like their HOFers…Those guys just make their offensive lineman look like studs because when they get to the line they make the correct adjustments. And when the ball is snapped its out of their hands in 3 seconds. Manning has like an 8 sec flat 40 time and he only gets hit like 15 times a year. All IM saying is Vick needs to improve his line of scrimmage skills big time. I think he can. All I’m saying is that Vick has serious weapons all around him and has years of NFL experience of seeing defenses. Theres no excuses this year. Now that the line is better there is no reason any Defense should hold this team down like it was at the end of last year. This is Philadelphia not Atlanta, since when is getting to a wild card game (and loosing that game at home) an accomplishment.

RealTalk777
RealTalk777
July 13, 2011 5:28 pm

OK Paulman first I’ll start with the Cardinals…maybe their defense played mediocre during the regular season but not during playoff time!

Firstly the WR’s the had Boldin who had over 1000 yards receiving, Breaston who also had over 1000 yards receiving and Fitzgerald who had over 1400 yards receiving…mediocre WR Corps? dont be a dumbass!!!

Zona allowed no sacks against ATL in the wildcard game. While sacking the QB 3 times forcung 2 fumbles.and 3 TO’s… sounds like a solid defensive effort to me!

Next game against the Pnathers, their O line allowed 1 sack and defense forced 6 TO”s…yea sounds like a bed O line and defense in this game

next game against us, Eagles Zona forced 3 TO’s, did give up 2 sacks…

Superbowl game – gave up 2 sacks and forced 1 TO…2 sacks against the Steelers defense? could have been much worst…

RealTalk777
RealTalk777
July 13, 2011 5:33 pm

Pheags

I agree, Vick has to become more of a conventional QB, reading blitzes etc……but with that said you do realize that there will still be flashes of the “street ball” Michael Vick…I mean he’ll still take off, Reid will still call designed runs for him…You guys still dont get the point, majority rules! Yes Brees, Manning, read blitzes better right now…But Vick does things they can’t do either…so if Manning was our QB playing behind the 2010 O Line you’d still expect him to win the SB? Also I aven’t seen the Eagles take the field, I have no definitive idea if the O Line is better or not…We hope it is, but that is a premature statement…

RealTalk777
RealTalk777
July 13, 2011 5:38 pm

Paulman

I just realized how assanine your Steelers comment was, mediocre?…considering the response I just gave you about the Cardinals, I’m not even going to waste my time coming up with facts that go against your comment…

paulman
paulman
July 13, 2011 5:54 pm

To RT777
I didn’t say the Cardinals had a mediocre WR, in fact they were one of the best in the NFl
The Cardinals O/Line was very mediocre and their Defense was average
The Steelers has a very medicore O/Line the last 2 seasons and their WR corps a couple of years back was average too..
Don’t tell me how the teams played once the playoffs arrived, over a 16 games regular Season, the Arizona Cardinals Defense was average and turned it on during the playoffs that year but was it because they suddenly became good or did their opponents like the Falcons,.Panthers,(Delhomme Had 6 Turnovers and was pure horrivle that game) and the Eagles Offense play poorly and not perform at a high level…(Eagles gave up 26 points in the 1st half essentially ending the game)

RealTalk777
RealTalk777
July 13, 2011 5:58 pm

Paulman
if you get to the playoffs, the regular season is history…everyone knows that…I’d especially think you would know that! this goes for every single sport!
ok Paulman, I got you, the teams played horrible, Zona had nothing to do with it…gotcha…

paulman
paulman
July 13, 2011 6:26 pm

2 Things RealTalk777
#1) Looking back at it now, it’s easy to say the Cardinals defense played well..
After the 16 game Regular Season, they were ranked in the bottom half in most Defensive catrgories.. Ask any NFL pundit before that Playoff Season started if Arizona’s Defense was any good and the answer would be no…Ask anyone waht their weakness was as a team and the answer was their Defense..
#2) If you don’t play well Defensively, you usually won’t even make the Playoffs.. It’s just so happens that the Cardinals play in the weakest NFL division being the crappy NFC West, where any mediocore team can win it and make the playoffs like the Seahawks last year at 7-9…what a joke…

pheags88
pheags88
July 13, 2011 6:35 pm

Anything is better than Nick Cole and MJG..Jamaal jackson will be back who is very underrated after injuring his biceps I believe so in a way it was maybe a blessing for him for his knee to be back full now. And I like our rookie who I think can be a Logan Mankins quality type of gaurd someday.

I get what your saying. I don’t have magical powers to state that if we had Manning or Brady we would have won a Super Bowl but I will say our O-Line would of never looked that bad. Honestly, they dont know where Vick is going half of the time. And Those guys would of never taken the 7 step draw backs that Vick takes with this line. they would of had McCoy, FB, and TEs moving everywhere on the line to pick up the edge.

I agree with you about this tho. Vick does have something Brees, Manning, and Brady don’t have. Those guys could never study to be fast and explosive like Vick. But at least Vick can study to be a great line of scrimmage and defensive play reading QB.

paulman
paulman
July 13, 2011 6:53 pm

Vick in teh 2nd half og teh Seaon played a major role in them losing the Bears and Vikings games last year but won the Giants game basically by himself, but bottom line, he and the entire Offense didn’t do much the last 3 games.. They shot their wad in that comeback vs the Giants and were a spent team and offense after that performance..
Center Jackson’s knee should be fully healed and hopefuilly his in top physical condition, remeber that he hasn’t played much football at all in about 20 months so how he repsonds is still a big question ???

I think the EAgles will have opening day line-up at O/Line as follows
LT- Peters,LG-Herremans. C- JAckson, RG- Watkins RT- Justice

Back-ups – McGlynn at Center & Guard, Pollard at Guard, Vandervelde at Guard and Dunlap and Howard at Tackle positons

Pollard is a free-agent signing from the Colts who was a 3 year back-up under Coach Mudd and has the versatility that the Eagles like..
Justice & Dunlap will battle it out during camp for the Starting RT spot (Justice with the advantage,but he fails, than Dunlap will be given every chance to take the Starters spot and if that doesn’t work, then Watkins may be moved out to RT and insert McGlynn or Pollard at RG which is what I think will happen by the 2012/2013 Season unless Justice really plays well this year..