Agreeing to terms in principle is not the same as signing a contract. So I think we could start negotiating with the 150th ranked player if we wanted to (or rather if their agents let us). It's just an assessment of their desires to play for a given organization. Why do you think phones are ringing off the hook all day on Draft Saturday? Teams are feeling out potential picks. Most agents would be aghast for their clients to start talking about financial terms prior to their selection, because teams could make a draft day decision based on that player's willingness (or most likely unwillingness) to sign a reasonable deal. Once you make the pick the players leverage increases substantially. You've gotta deal or you wasted an opportunity..... The terms of the contract that are discussed are probably geared towards length of contract, coaching styles, expectations of the player, "playing time", and other things such as voidable terms, guaranteed cash %, and etc. With the exception f the #1 guy I can't imagine that any $s are discussed until the player's name is called. Two words to remember Eli Manning. The player initiated discussions by effectively saying you'd need to pay him a ridiculous amount of money to play for San Diego. He said he'd not play for them, but I imagine a 100 million dollar deal would have changed his mind. He was not the #1. And no one got in trouble for those discussions. It was just something that was not normally done..... making the player's preference public.........
