Rookie Contracts

Please stop counting there money because nobody is counting your money.  Let these players make all the money they want or need.

Please stop counting there money because nobody is counting your money.  Let these players make all the money they want or need.

Humor me. Why does this need to happen?

Teams are already in good shape. It’s only 2 years guaranteed now for first rounders with two team options and then they hold the rights to make the same player a restrictive free agent. A lot of the rookies outperform their rookie contracts. There are a lot of bad contracts, but those aren’t rookie deals. I think of Joe Johnson, Kobe, Tristan Thompson, Enes Kanter, Wes Matthews, Varejao.

Humor me. Why does this need to happen?

Teams are already in good shape. It’s only 2 years guaranteed now for first rounders with two team options and then they hold the rights to make the same player a restrictive free agent. A lot of the rookies outperform their rookie contracts. There are a lot of bad contracts, but those aren’t rookie deals. I think of Joe Johnson, Kobe, Tristan Thompson, Enes Kanter, Wes Matthews, Varejao.

I’m not counting their money. I’m saying that I understand why you would hurry to get to the league and start getting paid. It’s common knowledge that the main priority is getting to the second contract as you can make a lot more money. This causes many players with great potential to go pro. I would like to see them stay another year or two in college to improve their game. They get drafted to lottery teams and are expected to lead from day one. You can’t tell me that Okafor wouldn’t be better off with another year under coach K at Duke.

Another idea that accomplishes the same thing is allowing teams to draft players that return to school. You have to start paying them but maybe they still play in college. The money could be set into a trust that they can’t touch until they actually go pro. The key is they get their money and they can develop. I doubt Tim Duncan ever regrets going to college 4 years and I also doubt Kobe Bryant regrets going pro out of high school. Anthony Bennett might regret going pro after one year though, and he went #1. Once you’re getting paid teams want performance and don’t worry about development.

I’m not counting their money. I’m saying that I understand why you would hurry to get to the league and start getting paid. It’s common knowledge that the main priority is getting to the second contract as you can make a lot more money. This causes many players with great potential to go pro. I would like to see them stay another year or two in college to improve their game. They get drafted to lottery teams and are expected to lead from day one. You can’t tell me that Okafor wouldn’t be better off with another year under coach K at Duke.

Another idea that accomplishes the same thing is allowing teams to draft players that return to school. You have to start paying them but maybe they still play in college. The money could be set into a trust that they can’t touch until they actually go pro. The key is they get their money and they can develop. I doubt Tim Duncan ever regrets going to college 4 years and I also doubt Kobe Bryant regrets going pro out of high school. Anthony Bennett might regret going pro after one year though, and he went #1. Once you’re getting paid teams want performance and don’t worry about development.

 I am for increasing the rookie deals proportionally to the salary cap. Since the salary cap is going to go up 70% and rookie deals are staying the same. Example I know it is somewhat rare but Draymond green will have made more than the second pick in his draft because of his three years at about a million plus 15 million this year. A case like this will be more extreme when the max contract is 25 million a year in 2 years for a rookie.

 I am for increasing the rookie deals proportionally to the salary cap. Since the salary cap is going to go up 70% and rookie deals are staying the same. Example I know it is somewhat rare but Draymond green will have made more than the second pick in his draft because of his three years at about a million plus 15 million this year. A case like this will be more extreme when the max contract is 25 million a year in 2 years for a rookie.

 They need to do away with max contracts. It favors the markets and cities so much because teams can only offer so much money. Whats the point of clearing boatloads of cap space if you can only offer the same amount of money as the next team? 

It’ll never happen at this point, but I also wish they’d find a way to tone it down on the all the damn options players have. Its gotten ridiculous. I wish teams could offer guys longer deals than five years too. if a team wants to be stupid and give a guy a 10-year deal, let them deal with it. Its up to them to be smart. I hate that the longest term is 5 years. It makes free agency too big of a deal. 

 They need to do away with max contracts. It favors the markets and cities so much because teams can only offer so much money. Whats the point of clearing boatloads of cap space if you can only offer the same amount of money as the next team? 

It’ll never happen at this point, but I also wish they’d find a way to tone it down on the all the damn options players have. Its gotten ridiculous. I wish teams could offer guys longer deals than five years too. if a team wants to be stupid and give a guy a 10-year deal, let them deal with it. Its up to them to be smart. I hate that the longest term is 5 years. It makes free agency too big of a deal.