Of all the things that the NFL was arguing about with the players during the lockout, I figured the rookie pay scale was one of the least controversial.  You wouldn’t know that to be the case the way it was reported so breathlessly yesterday throughout the sports media universe.  Maybe that speaks more to the NFL media being extra desperate for anything meaningful to write about more than it does to the issue of the rookie pay scale.  Regardless, though, I am ready to celebrate this one even if it comes far too late for the Cleveland Browns.

Can you imagine for just a second what the Browns could have gotten from the New York Jets when they traded the pick that turned out to be Mark Sanchez if the Jets didn’t have to fork over $28 million guaranteed and as much as about $50 million overall in contract dollars before he ever took his first NFL snap?  Sure, all indications are that the Jets are more than satisfied, but you just never know when the next Jamarcus Russell ($32 million guaranteed for 31 career games) for will reveal himself. [Read more...]