Top five picks worth more than $300 million

by Dan Kadar on Aug 9, 2009 7:45 PM EDT

Now that Aaron Curry has signed with Seattle, every top five pick is under contract. Looking over the reported contracts, it's evident something has to be done about how much rookies can be paid. The numbers:

1. Detroit Lions - Matthew Stafford - Quarterback
Deal: Six years, $78 million, $41.7 guaranteed

2. St. Louis Rams - Jason Smith - Offensive tackle
Deal: Six years, $61 million, $33 million guaranteed

3. Kansas City Chiefs - Tyson Jackon - Defensive end
Deal: Five years, $57 million, $31 million guaranteed

4. Seattle Seahawks - Aaron Curry - Outside linebacker
Deal: Six years, $60 million, $34 million guaranteed

5. New York Jets - Mark Sanchez - Quarterback
Deal: Five years, $50 million, $28 million guaranteed

All told, that's 28 years worth of contracts for $306 million with $167.7 million guaranteed. That's more money over the course of the contract than the gross domestic product of Micronesia. Micronesia!

Tweet Comment 4 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

rookie payscale incoming

It's shocking what you can miss sometimes. The amazing color changing card trick.

by shake n bake on Aug 9, 2009 10:01 PM EDT reply actions

Suck it, Micronesia!

Seriously though, no one is holding a gun to these franchises’ heads. If teams can do this and remain under the salary cap, then I say “more power to ya, rooks!” Until some team draws the line and says I’m investing these funds on proven veteran players, I don’t see why things should change. The whole concept of a rookie payscale should be pushed for by the NFLPA, not by the owners; that just makes me think that they plan to hoard these funds or something along those lines…

"A player who conjugates a verb in the first person singular cannot be part of the squad, he has to conjugate the verb in the first person plural. We. We want to conquer. We are going to conquer. Using the word 'I' when you're in a group makes things complicated." ~ Wanderley Luxemburgo, 1999

by ejruiz on Aug 10, 2009 12:05 AM EDT reply actions