blog 7: The Draft

The NFL draft is where athletes are able to turn life long dreams to reality. Its where they can change the direction of where their family goes in forever. It is where NFL teams will sit down among the coaches on their teams and decide which players they would like to select. Then after choosing, they fax in their selection to where the draft is being held that year for the commissioner of the league to read out to the crowd and shake the draftees hand. It sounds like a very simple process but there is a lot of behind the scenes things that go on during the draft. Teams are not only able to us this time to trade players among each other but they may also trade draft picks. For the players, this is what they’ve spent most of their time working for. The paycheck each player will vary because of the spots each player is picked in but the very last pick in the draft is still set to make AT LEAST 500,000$ for their first few years in the league. Now from anyone watching yes that is a lot of money for football. But the first overall pick in the draft normally signs a contract worth 30 million dollars with normally a very generous signing bonus. But just because you are drafted does not mean you have officially made it yet but you are extremely close. After getting drafted in the weeks that follow the team you were drafted to will be trying to work out a contract with just the right amount of money for the right amount of years and this is your rookie contract so it is not negotiable. Many players often get the option to opt out before the last year of their contract to either try out free agency or to re negotiate their contract with their team. But this varies from player to player. Looking to this years draft that is set to take place on the 25th, it is a draft full of talent and will most likely be very exciting to say the least.