NFL

Sam Bradford Negotiating The Largest Contract…Ever?

Sam Bradford’s negotiating his rookie contract with the St. Louis Rams, and let’s just say it shows why rookie contracts are about to drastically change. Supposedly he’s in line to get $45-50 million in guaranteed money, and according to that writeup from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, that wouldn’t just be the most for a rookie, it would be the most for any player.

This is insanity. Bradford’s a talented quarterback, sure. There’s a reason he got taken first overall despite missing most of his last season at Oklahoma with an injured shoulder. But hey, speaking of that shoulder – the Rams are giving all that money to a guy coming off a shoulder injury! Oh, and he’s also never played a game in the NFL. So he’s about to get the most guaranteed money in history…why, again?

Oh, that’s right – because the league’s salary structure for rookies is out of control. That’s why it’s going to change the next time the NFL re-does its collective bargaining agreement. League veterans (understandably) aren’t thrilled about unproven rookies signing far richer deals than they could ever dream of, and it looks like the window of opportunity for it to happen is small.

Then again, maybe NFL teams will screw contracts up no matter what the rules are. Before Bradford’s impending deal, the record for guaranteed money was…well, it was another rookie – last year’s top pick, Matthew Stafford. (See what we mean about this being out of control?)

But before that? Albert Haynesworth. You know, the guy hated by everyone on his team after one year with them. Before that one? The record-holder for guaranteed money was Michael Vick. Makes you think maybe the best reason to restructure rookie contracts is to protect teams from themselves.

David Helene contributed research to this post.

AP photo, via