Rookie Signings Going Smoothly

It was thought that it would be unusually difficult this summer for teams to sign their draft picks. The salary cap had jumped 19 percent from last year to this year, but the rookie pool--in essence, a salary cap within the overall salary cap for each team to sign its rookies--had increased by only 5 percent. That, the reasoning went, would leave agents seeking much larger pay increases for their rookie clients over last year's rookies than clubs would be willing to grant, and some long and contentious sets of contract negotiations would be the outcome.

Wrong.

Things actually are going relatively smoothly. Only four of the 32 first-round picks league-wide are unsigned this morning. The top seven selections are signed, and the final 16 choices of the first round are signed.

The still-unsigned first-rounders were Buffalo Bills safety Donte Whitner (the eighth overall selection), Arizona Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart (No. 10), Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley (No. 14) and Miami Dolphins safety Jason Allen (No. 16).

By Mark Maske |  July 31, 2006; 9:27 AM ET  | Category:  Negotiations
Previous: Goodell Looks Like a Lock | Next: Arrington's Anger Still on Regular Display

The comments to this entry are closed.