NFL players such as the Browns' Joe Haden deserve every penny they can make, just not until they've proven themselves.
Why is the man in the red jersey, Sam Bradford, smiling? Probably because he just signed a deal worth up to $78 million with $50 million guaranteed with the St. Louis Rams.Joe Haden is the seventh-luckiest man alive.
The rest of the biggest benefactors from an NFL economic system about to go bye-bye also include Sam Bradford, Ndamukong Suh, Gerald McCoy, Trent Williams, Eric Berry, Russell Okung, Rolando McClain, C.J. Spiller and Tyson Alualu.
Haden is one of the six members signed in the most recent NFL Draft class top 10. The Browns did a deal with Haden for five years and $50 million, with $26 million guaranteed.
That was Saturday. Sunday they went to church and prayed it works out.
The combined guaranteed money for a group of premier draft picks yet to play a down in the big leagues: $204 million. When Suh, Okung, Spiller and Alualu sign, the number will approach $300 million.
They can all count their blessings along with their signing bonuses because a rookie wage scale is coming.
Say what you will about the No Fun League, but the NFL usually gets things right. It's why football was returned to Cleveland in 1999, why instant replay is an integral part of the game while baseball still ponders its implications and why The Shield beat other leagues to the punch in steroid testing.
The salary inequity that makes Bradford richer than Tom Brady will be the next fix.
For organizations constantly picking at the top of the draft -- the Browns do come rather quickly to mind in that category -- change can't come soon enough.
Look, don't confuse this with the usual fan rant about player salaries. I actually had a guy at a tire store gripe about player salaries just last month, telling me: "We're like doctors here. If we make a mistake with your car, you can die. And we only get $8 to $9 an hour."
And I thought Dr. Goodwrench was a made-up name.
When the market speaks, it isn't saying athletes are more important than teachers, police officers and firefighters. It's saying they're more entertaining to watch. People want to see Peyton Manning play quarterback. They'll pay for Steve Carell to make them laugh in a movie. Unfortunately, nobody's scalping tickets to a class on American history.
Browns fans have seen plenty of examples of high draft picks who get big contracts and then go out and prove they weren't worth the price. Included in this group is Gerard Warren, whom the Browns selected over Richard Seymour and LaDanian Tomlinson in the 2001 draft.Go to the Browns training camp on a day when the heat and the pads are on. Better yet, stand on the sidelines of an NFL game. Then try to begrudge players what they make.
I'm a player's guy, especially NFL players. Their careers are short and in constant jeopardy. They should get every penny they can once they've shown they are worthy of it.
The inequity at the top of the draft is problematic for other draft picks who might well outperform the blue chippers. In the salary cap era, it's a slap at veterans who have proven themselves.
Washington tight end Chris Cooley wrote in a recent blog that "if a rookie in any other profession can step on the scene and make more than someone with a proven track record, the business would turn upside down."
I don't think fans care about money unless a holdout happens because of it. But they should care about the rookie wage scale because it could spread money around to deserving players no matter where they were drafted, and it could give their favorite team a better chance to fairly compensate and keep proven veterans.
Joe Haden could become that kind of proven talent. If the Browns were right about him, they have signed an All-Pro corner. If they missed, they have just guaranteed $26 million in a draft that has become the biggest dice roll in sports.