NFL Players Association president Kevin Mawae isn't a fan of big rookie contracts.

[bankybruce]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3406508

NFL Players Association president Kevin Mawae isn't a fan of big rookie contracts.


Heard On "The Herd"
NFLPA president Kevin Mawae explains why Matt Ryan's new contract is disheartening to him.

• Dolphins kicker Jay Feely believes more than 90 percent of players are unhappy with the salary system

On "The Herd" on ESPN Radio on Wednesday, Mawae, the Tennessee Titans center, commented on quarterback Matt Ryan signing a record-setting contract with the Atlanta Falcons.


"As a guy who has been in the league for 14 now going on 15 years and being around other veteran guys, for a young guy to get paid that kind of money and never steps foot on an NFL football field, it's a little disheartening to think of," Mawae said. "It makes it tough for a guy who's proven himself to say 'I want that kind of money' when the owners, all they're going to say is, 'Well, you weren't a first-round pick.'

"And I know there is sentiment around the league amongst the players like, 'Let's do something to control these salaries and control these signing bonuses' and things like that, and I know that's something that the owners are talking about and I'm sure that's going to play in to this round of negotiations for this collective bargaining agreement," he said.

Ryan became the second top draft choice to sign when he accepted a six-year, $72 million contract that included $34.75 million in guarantees. Less than a week before the draft, tackle Jake Long signed a five-year, $57.75 million deal with the Miami Dolphins.

Dolphins kicker Jay Feely was also on the show and echoed Mawae's sentiments, saying veteran players don't believe rookies should be "paid more than Tom Brady or be paid more than Peyton Manning" on their first contract.

"After three or four years if they come in and prove something, then they get that big contract," Feely said. "The reality is it does a couple of different things. If you get the wrong kind of guy, it can skew the dynamics in the locker room. You get a guy who doesn't work hard, that doesn't have an internal desire to be great, and he gets that kind of money and he doesn't care what anybody says. He's not going to listen to the veterans leadership in the locker room. He can be and say whatever he wants to do, and he can come into that locker room and not listen to anybody because he got paid $30 million guaranteed. It takes away some guys' motivation.

"I think that football is such a physical game, that if you don't have that kind of motivation, especially with young guys -- I was talking to a veteran guy last night, and we talked about how that can ... we're setting a lot of those young guys coming out of college, we're setting them up for failure and we're worried about guys like Pacman Jones and the trouble they get in, but when you continue to give huge enormous contracts like that to guys that may not be ready for it as well as the different dynamics in the locker room, I think it's a system that needs to be fixed," Feely said.

 

[LVCARDFREAK]

sour grapes

 

[bankybruce]

Are some of the players starting to get it? Man, I hope so, otherwise we might have to pay to watch on TV if these salaries keep rising since there will be no way to afford to watch them in person.

 

[bankybruce]

sour grapes

Kevin Mawae makes 3.5 million as a 37 year old center, doubt it is sour grapes.

 

[Ryanwb]

The NFL needs a slotted pay scale like the NBA, no negotiations on money or years. You sign your contact based upon where you were drafted, you play through your contact, then show you deserve a larger one. Simple

To make it fair I would say the rookie deal signed should be guarnateed.

 

[abomb]

This is why I think Upshaw will be booted and/or the union decertified.

 

[abomb]

The NFL needs a slotted pay scale like the NBA, no negotiations on money or years. You sign your contact based upon where you were drafted, you play through your contact, then show you deserve a larger one. Simple

To make it fair I would say the rookie deal signed should be guarnateed.

Agreed. This would be the quickest way to resolve it all. You'd have to leave the cap dollar value and yearly increases the same, as you wouldnt want to decrease the total amount paid to players.

Rookie slotting has to be high on the list of the owner's demands.

 

[LVCARDFREAK]

Kevin Mawae makes 3.5 million as a 37 year old center, doubt it is sour grapes.

Yeah he ******* about rookie contracts but as of a few seasons ago he recieved the most guaranteed money for an interior lineman ever. He got his, why shouldnt Ryan get his?

If you want to complain about ticket prices, see the owners. They initiate higher ticket prices every year, and although the blame it on the CBA and that the players take 60 perent of the revenue, their profits are at all time highs.

 

[abomb]

Yeah he ******* about rookie contracts but as of a few seasons ago he recieved the most guaranteed money for an interior lineman ever. He got his, why shouldnt Ryan get his?

If you want to complain about ticket prices, see the owners. They initiate higher ticket prices every year, and although the blame it on the CBA and that the players take 60 perent of the revenue, their profits are at all time highs.

Mawae is complaining because he is the top player rep now. He is representing his people.

 

[Ryanwb]

Yeah he ******* about rookie contracts but as of a few seasons ago he recieved the most guaranteed money for an interior lineman ever. He got his, why shouldnt Ryan get his?

To be fair, he proved his worth on the field, grinding it out and showing he deserved it. Ryan played against college talent and has never stepped foot on the NFL field

 

[BigRedRage]

Yeah he ******* about rookie contracts but as of a few seasons ago he recieved the most guaranteed money for an interior lineman ever. He got his, why shouldnt Ryan get his?

If you want to complain about ticket prices, see the owners. They initiate higher ticket prices every year, and although the blame it on the CBA and that the players take 60 perent of the revenue, their profits are at all time highs.

proven veteran vs unproven 'could be waste of time bust' rookie.

 

[DaisyCutter]

Yeah he ******* about rookie contracts but as of a few seasons ago he recieved the most guaranteed money for an interior lineman ever. He got his, why shouldnt Ryan get his?

If you want to complain about ticket prices, see the owners. They initiate higher ticket prices every year, and although the blame it on the CBA and that the players take 60 perent of the revenue, their profits are at all time highs.

Yeah. Someone seriously needs to call the Whaambulance here. There were 252 players selected in the common draft, and maybe 10 of them are going to get contracts that the fans are going to call "unreasonable." Boo hoo.

And don't pretend like the veterans don't get anything out of these rookie contracts. Whose contract did Larry Fitzgerald look at when he went to renegotiate? The fact of the matter is that most of those "guarantees" are never going to happen, and the $34 million over 6 years just over $5.5 million per season. If it comes time to re-sign him and Ryan works out for the Falcons, that's going to look like a bargain.

 

[D-Dogg]

The NFL needs a slotted pay scale like the NBA, no negotiations on money or years. You sign your contact based upon where you were drafted, you play through your contact, then show you deserve a larger one. Simple

To make it fair I would say the rookie deal signed should be guarnateed.

Yes...I agree one hundred percent.

Money and years both.

This stuff is getting out of control, soon you'll be paying potential HUGE busts more money than league Superstars. Must be fixed. Will be good for the game overall.

 

[D-Dogg]

Yeah he ******* about rookie contracts but as of a few seasons ago he recieved the most guaranteed money for an interior lineman ever. He got his, why shouldnt Ryan get his?

He proved that he was worth it on the field.

The majority of players in the league DON'T like this system...it makes unproven talent the most paid on the team, which is a slap in the face to vets and starts a "redo my contract" war that only escalates. See "Cardinals, Arizona."

 

[abomb]

The majority of players in the league DON'T like this system...it makes unproven talent the most paid on the team, which is a slap in the face to vets and starts a "redo my contract" war that only escalates. See "Cardinals, Arizona."

And many vets wont target the rookies scale for politcal reasons, hence Mawae's comments as player president.

 

[bankybruce]

I heard Ryan Leaf just bought a island with his rookie deal and he can still walk normal from lack of playing time, so he is enjoying his money. Great system.

 

[abomb]

John Lynch too;

“I’m with them on that,” Lynch said of the owners’ desire to reel in rookie pay. “I’d like to come up with an NBA system where you put a cap on the rookies. I can see the owners’ problem there. You look at JaMarcus Russell. He may turn out to be an awesome quarterback, but you’re investing $60 million right off the bat. It’s reached the point where everyone who picks in the top five wants to get the heck out of there. I would like to see that pool of money redistributed.”

 

[BACH]

Yeah he ******* about rookie contracts but as of a few seasons ago he recieved the most guaranteed money for an interior lineman ever. He got his, why shouldnt Ryan get his?

If you want to complain about ticket prices, see the owners. They initiate higher ticket prices every year, and although the blame it on the CBA and that the players take 60 perent of the revenue, their profits are at all time highs.

Simple....

Ryan has never played in a NFL game. Mawae got his deal after 4 concecutive Pro-Bowl starts.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

Feely just described Wendell Bryant to a tee.

 

[LVCARDFREAK]

John Lynch too;

“I’m with them on that,” Lynch said of the owners’ desire to reel in rookie pay. “I’d like to come up with an NBA system where you put a cap on the rookies. I can see the owners’ problem there. You look at JaMarcus Russell. He may turn out to be an awesome quarterback, but you’re investing $60 million right off the bat. It’s reached the point where everyone who picks in the top five wants to get the heck out of there. I would like to see that pool of money redistributed.”

Of course they are going to say that. They are 10-12 year veterans. The more money they give rookies the less money they are "perceived" to get. Yeah I would want it redistributed as well if I was a washed up 10 year veteran looking for one final pay day.

If you think it is bad to pay an unproven rookie, isnt it just as bad to pay a guy based on what he did years ago?

 

[Shane]

Of course they are going to say that. They are 10-12 year veterans. The more money they give rookies the less money they are "perceived" to get. Yeah I would want it redistributed as well if I was a washed up 10 year veteran looking for one final pay day.

If you think it is bad to pay an unproven rookie, isnt it just as bad to pay a guy based on what he did years ago?

He didnt say any of that in a selfish light. Seems to me he was talking about veterans in general rather then the ones at the twilight of their career.

 

[LVCARDFREAK]

He didnt say any of that in a selfish light. Seems to me he was talking about veterans in general rather then the ones at the twilight of their career.

What do you think he means by that money "Redistributed"? Given to the owners? I think not.

 

[Shane]

What do you think he means by that money "Redistributed"? Given to the owners? I think not.

I clearly worded what I thought he meant and nowhere in that post did I mention owners. You are jumping to conclusions to just think that he is only concrened with himself. John Lynch is smart enough to realize that his big paydays are behind him.

 

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

Imagine you have been working for a top company for 15 years, have been very successful, and considered the best in your field.

Then over the next few years your company keeps bringing in fresh grads from some of the top schools and they decide to pay these youngsters double what you are making based on their potential.

Would you feel like you were being valued or would you be pissed off? I think I know the answer most of us would choose.

 

[PortlandCardFan]

Sure, the money is a concern but no one has even mentioned the locker room. I totally see what Mawae means. You get some rich rookie know-it-all and the work ethic goes right out the window.

Hell, we could even say this about our own Matty boy. I think he has turned the page but we'll see....