LawFitz
Footballguy
Sounds crazy, I know... No draft each year at all - instead, a wild salary bidding frenzy to sign the best college players as part of the NFL free agency signing window. But, but, but, the NFL Draft adds and encourages parity! And parity is what makes the NFL better than the likes of MLB, UFC and that boring euro version of football they play overseas with no hands! True. But not completely.
Salary cap creates true parity. Not the draft. The NFL Draft adds nostalgic complexity (mixed with a bit of socialism) to what is otherwise simply an auction system. And it has forced various versions of rookie salary structures, that have typically over- or under-valued rookie contracts over time, sometimes grossly.
I like/love the draft for it's history, and the game within a game that it creates. But when I think it all the way through, it really is mostly a complicating layer. You could just as easily have the existing salary cap system, and let teams bid on collegiate entrants each year, the way free agents have been scouted/bid/recruited/scooped this week. No more 4-5 yrs of indentured servitude based on arbitrary rookie wage scaling. Best players pick the best offers; and the best teams create the best offers.
Interdast for a hot minute...
Salary cap creates true parity. Not the draft. The NFL Draft adds nostalgic complexity (mixed with a bit of socialism) to what is otherwise simply an auction system. And it has forced various versions of rookie salary structures, that have typically over- or under-valued rookie contracts over time, sometimes grossly.
I like/love the draft for it's history, and the game within a game that it creates. But when I think it all the way through, it really is mostly a complicating layer. You could just as easily have the existing salary cap system, and let teams bid on collegiate entrants each year, the way free agents have been scouted/bid/recruited/scooped this week. No more 4-5 yrs of indentured servitude based on arbitrary rookie wage scaling. Best players pick the best offers; and the best teams create the best offers.
Interdast for a hot minute...
