In this episode, we break down the hidden mechanics of NFL rookie contracts — how the rookie wage scale dictates pay, why first-rounders enjoy fifth-year options, and how later picks are forced to rely on proven performance escalators. Then we zoom in on Shedeur Sanders. Drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round, Sanders signed a four-year, $4.6 million deal with only $447,000 guaranteed. Compare that to the nearly $40 million he could have earned as a top-ten pick, and the financial gap exceeds $36 million. This is more than a contract story. It’s a case study in how the NFL’s system shapes player destinies, rewards teams, and forces rookies to prove themselves all over again.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Okay, welcome back to another episode. I'm your host, Jimmy Skirtz,
and today we're gonna talk about NFL rookie contracts and
we're gonna tie it into Shadoor Sanders and the Cleveland Browns. Now,
this is Saturday, and Schardoor played today. But he didn't
(00:23):
have a very good outing. I think as a result
of that, he's either gonna get cut and the coach
who doesn't want him anyway, is gonna say, see, I
told you, or because they don't like his father, they're
gonna play the mental game and put him on his
practice squad forever. That's right, forever. It's not about what's
(00:46):
good for the team. It's not about what the fans want.
It's not about money, even though they got a good deal.
It's about payback to Dion Sanders. But I had a
lot of people ask me, explained to me NFL rookie contracts.
So in today's NFL rookie contracts are not negotiated in
(01:07):
smoky back rooms like in the past. They are dictated
by formulas, percentages, and slotting rules. With the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
What looks like freedom of choice is really a rigid
structure that determines exactly how much a player earns based
on where he is drafted. To understand this, we needed
(01:28):
to break down the mechanics of the rookie contract system
and then look at how it's shaped one of the
most shocking draft slides in recent history Shador Sanders. So,
to start off, rookie contracts are based on draft position,
primarily if you get drafted in the first round or
(01:52):
you get drafted beyond. So let's talk about contract length
and structure. Every rookie contract begins with the same blueprint,
rounds one through seven and their four year contracts. However,
if you're drafted in the first round only, there's a
(02:13):
potential for a fifth year option. So let's suppose, by
the sake of the glory of God, you're making thirty
million dollars a year and we roll after that fourth year.
You have that fifth year option that gives you some
(02:34):
monetary viability protect you. So rounds one through seven four
year contracts. However, if you're drafted in the first round,
potential fifth year option. Undrafted players like his brother, they
usually signed to three year deals. Now, the fifth year
(02:55):
option must be triggered after the player's third season and
before May of the following year. These rules are non negotiable,
and we're designed to present the wild spending of the past,
when top rookies could demand record breaking deals before playing
(03:15):
a single down. So we can understand that for those
of you that have been around watching NFL. Now, let's
break down the rookie wage scale and percentages. Now, for
twenty twenty five, the number one overall pick forty seven
(03:39):
million dollars total contract value. Now, if we go to
the final seventh round pick four million dollars total contract value,
and as you can see, that's one thousand and seventy
five percent difference between a number and the last pick.
(04:02):
Within the first round itself, each slot carries roughly five
to six percent dropped from the previous pick. By mid
first round, contract values are already down thirty to forty
percent compared to the top pick by rounds five, where
shador landed contracts are typically worth less than ten percent
(04:28):
of the money earned by the top five selections. This
slotting system means a player's financial future is dictated more
by where he is chosen than by any negotiation skill.
So it's important that you get drafted in the first
(04:48):
round and at least the top ten or top twenty
at least minimum, So you know, one of the things
we can look at guarantees and security. Now, first round
picks one hundred percent guarantee total contract typically fully guaranteed
(05:11):
against injury, skilled decline, or release. One hundred percent guarantee. Now,
if you're in the later rounds fifteen percent, typically only
signing bonus and a small person portion of the first
year sally guaranteed fifteen percent. So you want to get
into that first round. That means a player drafted outside
(05:34):
the first round may have eighty five percent of their
contract at risk if they are cut before the deal ends.
So you got to bear that mind. First round perks
versus later round options. Okay, let's go with the fifth
year option if you're drafted in the first round for
(05:57):
first rounders only, at a fifth contract year worth ten
to thirty million depending on position performance, add twenty five
percent more value to the rookie earnings. Okay for rounds
two to seven. It's based on proven performance, escalator increase
(06:18):
based salary and fourth year requires meeting snap count thresholds.
Might raise salary from one point one point five million
to three point five million, two hundred percent increase. So
despite the percentage increase, the escalator is still only a
fraction of what first rounders can earn through their fifth
(06:41):
year option. Again, you still want to get in that
first round if possible. And let's go to renegotiation lockouts.
Draft day contract signed years one to three. No renegate
and renogate re I'm sorry, no negotiation. You gotta be
(07:04):
kidding me. I'm tongue tied. No renegotiation allowed for a
drafted players doing years one through three after three years,
first opportunity to renegotiate. In the past, you have these
guys that come in at rookie day one. They signed
that rookie contract, but they blow up on their first
(07:26):
and second year and came to year three, you know,
they wanted a boatload of money, first opportunity to renegotiate,
and then year four final year rookie deal. No matter
how well a drafted player performs, their pay is frozen
by rule for three years. And that was the problem
(07:49):
in the past. You know, guy comes as a rookie,
like I said, he pops off. He wants money, Okay,
So now pay is frozen for three years, so after
three years is the first opportunity to renegotiate, so there's
no problems like in the past. Only undrafted players can
(08:12):
renegotiate earlier after their second year. For a fifth rounder
like Si shidor Sanders who might become a starting cornerback,
this rule delays his payday by years, even if he
outperforms players making ten times his salary. But again, I'm
making this video prior to his performance today, so you
(08:35):
know about that. And let's put in salary cap mechanics.
The NFL uses both a total rookie compensation pool and
a year one pool to govern rookie pay and practice.
Rookie classes rarely consume large chunks of cap space due
(08:57):
to the top fifty one rule. Example, Charador Sanders cap impact.
If sanders cap hit in twenty twenty five is one
million and the Browns fifty first contract is eight hundred
and fifty thousand, then Sanders only increases the cap by
(09:18):
a difference of one hundred and fifty thousand. That's just
zero point zero six percent of a two hundred and
forty five million dollars salary cap. So let's just say
signing him to that low rookie contract helped him out
a lot. This illustrates how economical rookies are compared to
(09:40):
veteran starters, even at a premium position like quarterback. You
can look at the chart over here and get more
information about what we're talking about. All right, let's move
on and again, let's go with Shador Sanders. Okay, he's
got a four year total contract value, four year deal,
(10:04):
four point six million. He lost a lot of money
being signed in the fifth round. He got a signing
BoatUS of you know, four hundred and forty seven thousand,
whooped dee dow and his average annual salary is one
point one five million dollars. Okay, again, they made off
(10:26):
like a bandit, and average salary is one point one
five million, but starting at eight hundred minimal, So sanders
base salary starts at the rookie minimum of approximately eight
hundred and fifty thousand and rises modestly east each season.
But let's bear in mind he's making almost a million
(10:49):
dollars a year. The average American is not making that,
so he should be thankful in retrospect. But again, he
lost a lot of money, a lot of money by
being drafted in the fifth round, so they do have
a steal on their hands. However, once again, the fact
(11:15):
that he was drafted in the fifth round was all
a concerted effort by the higher ups because they don't
like his father, as they say, sins of the father.
They couldn't get Dion. So what did they do? They
(11:38):
got his sons. They got his sons. And again, I
know Dion Sanders is a brand, but I would tell
his father there's only one Dion Sanders. There will never ever, ever, ever,
ever ever ever be another Dion Sanders. Even if they
(12:00):
have children, they'll never be like Grandpa Sanders. And again,
I know Dion has a brand, the flash, the swag,
the bling, the wealth. I'm blessed, okay. And I don't
want to bring scripture into this, that's another issue. But
(12:21):
again the son's picked up that philosophy and again it
doesn't work. Have you ever seen Tom Brady? No, tom
Brady had charm, he had swag, but it's done in
a more professional way. And again this is all meant
(12:46):
to get back at Dion Sanders and to break his sons. Mentally,
right now, he's headed down that pass because he had
a poor performance today poor, very poor. And again the
financial loss versus projection. The pre draft projection potential top
(13:11):
ten pick, he was going to have thirty five to
forty million over four years. His actual projection fifth round
selection only eleven to thirteen percent of projective earnings. Total
financial loss thirty to thirty six million in rookie earnings.
Sanders signing bonus four hundred and forty seven thousand is
(13:34):
less than two percent of what a top ten pick receives.
This is why analysts call his fall one of the
most financially damaging and recent NFL history. Meant to demoralize
and to humiliate him, guarantees and risk risk exposure. First
(13:57):
round QB guaranteed money risk none, Sanders guaranteed money minimal
at risk everything nothing's guaranteed because Sanders was not a
first rounder. Essentially, only his four hundred and forty seven
(14:18):
dollars signing bonuses guaranteed less than ten percent of the
total deal. If the Browns release Sanders early, which is
a possibility, and people are saying, oh, he's better than
this one, No, they keep talking about they got four quarterbacks. No,
they got six right now. Six And today Joe Flocko
(14:43):
played like a veteran who knows what he's doing. Yeah
he's not Lamar, Yeah he's not Jalen Hurts. Okay, he's
neither of them. But he's playing like a veteran who
(15:03):
knows what to do. If he gets released, he could
lose more than ninety percent of his expected rookie compensation.
He could lose ninety percent of it, illustrating how later
around rookies shoulder almost all the financial risk. It's not
(15:24):
like the NBA. It's not like the NBA where you
get that guaranteed money. So this is all humiliation. The
only thing that's saving him is his Jersey sales. But
(15:45):
the Brown salary cap advantage. Okay, Deshaun Watson thirty seven
million dollar cap hit thirty seven million, over fifteen percent
of total salary cap. Shardor Sanders one less than one
million dollar camp hit less than zero point five percent
of the Sally camp. And again, DeShawn Watson is still there,
(16:10):
and he's putting out videos every day of him rehabbing
and him running, and again, you never know. DeShawn Watson
could be reborn. He could be reborn like the phoenix,
and then what for Cleveland. This means that they have
a potential starting caliber quarterback at less than one thirtieth
(16:33):
the price of their injured veteran. Don't count the Shawn
Watson out yet. Don't count him out yet. This is
why teams dream of hitting on late round quarterbacks. The
economic leverage is staggering and the reward to cost ratio
(16:58):
is unmatched. Now the path to real payday. But again again,
Sanders played today, he got a shot. I think what
mess him up when he didn't come out the following
week because that had an oblique injury. But let me
(17:18):
tell you this. Joe Flacco came out today. He looked okay. Again,
he's not Jalen Hurts. He's not Jalen Hurts, he's not
Lamar Jackson, he's not any of these other high profile quarterbacks.
(17:41):
But he looked like a rookie. Gabriel came out today
and you better forget that he's sitting back quiet. He
looked pretty good. Can he Pickett off the injury list? Yeah,
he's not consistent, but he's a veteran. Huntley came in
on two games and let to victories. He's still there.
(18:03):
And Deshaun Watson is still there. So I don't know.
I don't know. I don't think there's a path to
real payday with the Cleveland Browns. But anyway, he's got
a rookie contract of one point one five million per year.
He's got to prove performance, must establish himself as a
starter caliber and that didn't. You know, it's not looking
(18:26):
good from today. Survive lockout period, can't negotiate until three
years second contract. Okay, let me say this for Sanders,
a rookie contract as well as an opportunity and a punishment,
an opportunity for the Browns to field a bargain quarterback
(18:47):
and a punishment for Sanders who must wait to be
paid for what he's truly worse. But let me say this,
and I'm saying this after today's performance. If by some miracle,
if by some miracle, Sanders pulls it around, and I
think he might get cut. I really think the best
(19:09):
thing for him to do is to get cut, get
picked up by another team that at least needs a
second string quarterback, and go from there. Or even better,
go play football in Canada. You'll still be in shape,
you'll still get reps, and you're gonna still get ESPN
(19:30):
views and let somebody pick you up. But I think
that the Cleveland Browns, he was sent there intentionally to
a dysfunctional organization who have no intention. And again, it's
not about what the fans feel, it's not about what
the fans want, it's not about economics. They don't care.
(19:51):
This is a concerted effort by the powers to be
the unforeseen hand, who are vindictive, who wanted to teach
that boy, Dion Sanders a lesson, and they couldn't get him,
so they'll get his sons. And they're hoping, praying that
(20:12):
he crashes at Colorado. And I'm watching the well off
media videos and i gotta tell you the loss of Shador,
the loss of that receiving corps of Jimmy Horn Laschonte,
Will Shepherd and Travis Hunter proh the loss of that corps,
(20:40):
and they don't look good at all. I'm sorry. And
even though they got too highly, you know, they got
the fresh number one freshman prospect, and they got the
guy from Liberty who in the videos look great. But
I'm telling you, for some reason, they can't get those
big dogs there, those big linemen. They can't get him.
(21:03):
But I'm telling you if any reason in the world
Shador is able to turn it around and leave them
far into the playoffs, and god forbid if he ever
won a Super Bowl, but lead him deep into the playoff.
Potential contract of one to two hundred million, forget that,
(21:23):
forget that, somebody's gonna have to pay him. I'm looking
up somewheres ofh four to five hundred million. Absolutely right
by the time he gets there, four to five hundred million, easily, easily.
But if right now, after today's performance he was fourth string,
(21:48):
I think they're gonna cut him. They're gonna cut him
and his brother, and his brother got ejected from the
final game of the season. I really think they're going
to cut him. But they may want to break him mentally,
break him like a buck and keep him on a
(22:09):
practice squad. And if someone goes down, no, it's not
gonna be Shador. Flacco goes down, it's gonna be Gabriel,
It's gonna be Kenny Pickett. And by then you also
have Huntley. They probably keep him. And don't forget Deshaun
(22:29):
Watson with that guaranteed contract. He's putting videos out every day.
He may come back, So I don't know what to
say right now, but if he's able to pull through
this year, he's gonna get the biggest contract you've ever seen,
ever seen, bottom line from forty million to four million.
(22:51):
Shardor Sanders rookie contract is the perfect case study of
how the NFL's rookie wage system works. The league has
replaced a negotiation with formulas, percentages, and caps. The Browns
may have landed a bargain, but Sanders paid the price
with at least minimum thirty six million and loss earnings.
(23:13):
And today's NFL draft position is destiny. And for Shardor Sanders,
that destiny has forced him to prove himself all over again,
but at a discount, at a discount, huge discount. And again,
I'm sorry to keep repeating this, ladies and gentlemen, this
(23:35):
is not about what the fans think. This is not
about what the dog pound thinks. This is not about economics,
This is not about what's good for organization. The boys
got the Browns to pick Shador, to put him in
(23:58):
the worst dysfunctional organization in the NFL. And again, I
think he's gonna get cut, but at a minimum, they
may keep him on the practice team to break him
mentally and again, if somebody goes down, they're not gonna
they're they're not gonna raise him up. You see how
to get good performance. He's still fourth on the depth
(24:21):
chart still and after today. Puh Gabriel's not looking like
a slouch. Yeah he's short, he's short, but he's not
looking like a slouch. Tell me what you think, leave
a comment and I'll see you on the next episode.
Okay, welcome back to another episode. I'm your host, Jimmy Skirtz,
and today we're gonna talk about NFL rookie contracts and
we're gonna tie it into Shadoor Sanders and the Cleveland Browns. Now,
this is Saturday, and Schardoor played today. But he didn't
(00:23):
have a very good outing. I think as a result
of that, he's either gonna get cut and the coach
who doesn't want him anyway, is gonna say, see, I
told you, or because they don't like his father, they're
gonna play the mental game and put him on his
practice squad forever. That's right, forever. It's not about what's
(00:46):
good for the team. It's not about what the fans want.
It's not about money, even though they got a good deal.
It's about payback to Dion Sanders. But I had a
lot of people ask me, explained to me NFL rookie contracts.
So in today's NFL rookie contracts are not negotiated in
(01:07):
smoky back rooms like in the past. They are dictated
by formulas, percentages, and slotting rules. With the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
What looks like freedom of choice is really a rigid
structure that determines exactly how much a player earns based
on where he is drafted. To understand this, we needed
(01:28):
to break down the mechanics of the rookie contract system
and then look at how it's shaped one of the
most shocking draft slides in recent history Shador Sanders. So,
to start off, rookie contracts are based on draft position,
primarily if you get drafted in the first round or
(01:52):
you get drafted beyond. So let's talk about contract length
and structure. Every rookie contract begins with the same blueprint,
rounds one through seven and their four year contracts. However,
if you're drafted in the first round only, there's a
(02:13):
potential for a fifth year option. So let's suppose, by
the sake of the glory of God, you're making thirty
million dollars a year and we roll after that fourth year.
You have that fifth year option that gives you some
(02:34):
monetary viability protect you. So rounds one through seven four
year contracts. However, if you're drafted in the first round,
potential fifth year option. Undrafted players like his brother, they
usually signed to three year deals. Now, the fifth year
(02:55):
option must be triggered after the player's third season and
before May of the following year. These rules are non negotiable,
and we're designed to present the wild spending of the past,
when top rookies could demand record breaking deals before playing
(03:15):
a single down. So we can understand that for those
of you that have been around watching NFL. Now, let's
break down the rookie wage scale and percentages. Now, for
twenty twenty five, the number one overall pick forty seven
(03:39):
million dollars total contract value. Now, if we go to
the final seventh round pick four million dollars total contract value,
and as you can see, that's one thousand and seventy
five percent difference between a number and the last pick.
(04:02):
Within the first round itself, each slot carries roughly five
to six percent dropped from the previous pick. By mid
first round, contract values are already down thirty to forty
percent compared to the top pick by rounds five, where
shador landed contracts are typically worth less than ten percent
(04:28):
of the money earned by the top five selections. This
slotting system means a player's financial future is dictated more
by where he is chosen than by any negotiation skill.
So it's important that you get drafted in the first
(04:48):
round and at least the top ten or top twenty
at least minimum, So you know, one of the things
we can look at guarantees and security. Now, first round
picks one hundred percent guarantee total contract typically fully guaranteed
(05:11):
against injury, skilled decline, or release. One hundred percent guarantee. Now,
if you're in the later rounds fifteen percent, typically only
signing bonus and a small person portion of the first
year sally guaranteed fifteen percent. So you want to get
into that first round. That means a player drafted outside
(05:34):
the first round may have eighty five percent of their
contract at risk if they are cut before the deal ends.
So you got to bear that mind. First round perks
versus later round options. Okay, let's go with the fifth
year option if you're drafted in the first round for
(05:57):
first rounders only, at a fifth contract year worth ten
to thirty million depending on position performance, add twenty five
percent more value to the rookie earnings. Okay for rounds
two to seven. It's based on proven performance, escalator increase
(06:18):
based salary and fourth year requires meeting snap count thresholds.
Might raise salary from one point one point five million
to three point five million, two hundred percent increase. So
despite the percentage increase, the escalator is still only a
fraction of what first rounders can earn through their fifth
(06:41):
year option. Again, you still want to get in that
first round if possible. And let's go to renegotiation lockouts.
Draft day contract signed years one to three. No renegate
and renogate re I'm sorry, no negotiation. You gotta be
(07:04):
kidding me. I'm tongue tied. No renegotiation allowed for a
drafted players doing years one through three after three years,
first opportunity to renegotiate. In the past, you have these
guys that come in at rookie day one. They signed
that rookie contract, but they blow up on their first
(07:26):
and second year and came to year three, you know,
they wanted a boatload of money, first opportunity to renegotiate,
and then year four final year rookie deal. No matter
how well a drafted player performs, their pay is frozen
by rule for three years. And that was the problem
(07:49):
in the past. You know, guy comes as a rookie,
like I said, he pops off. He wants money, Okay,
So now pay is frozen for three years, so after
three years is the first opportunity to renegotiate, so there's
no problems like in the past. Only undrafted players can
(08:12):
renegotiate earlier after their second year. For a fifth rounder
like Si shidor Sanders who might become a starting cornerback,
this rule delays his payday by years, even if he
outperforms players making ten times his salary. But again, I'm
making this video prior to his performance today, so you
(08:35):
know about that. And let's put in salary cap mechanics.
The NFL uses both a total rookie compensation pool and
a year one pool to govern rookie pay and practice.
Rookie classes rarely consume large chunks of cap space due
(08:57):
to the top fifty one rule. Example, Charador Sanders cap impact.
If sanders cap hit in twenty twenty five is one
million and the Browns fifty first contract is eight hundred
and fifty thousand, then Sanders only increases the cap by
(09:18):
a difference of one hundred and fifty thousand. That's just
zero point zero six percent of a two hundred and
forty five million dollars salary cap. So let's just say
signing him to that low rookie contract helped him out
a lot. This illustrates how economical rookies are compared to
(09:40):
veteran starters, even at a premium position like quarterback. You
can look at the chart over here and get more
information about what we're talking about. All right, let's move
on and again, let's go with Shador Sanders. Okay, he's
got a four year total contract value, four year deal,
(10:04):
four point six million. He lost a lot of money
being signed in the fifth round. He got a signing
BoatUS of you know, four hundred and forty seven thousand,
whooped dee dow and his average annual salary is one
point one five million dollars. Okay, again, they made off
(10:26):
like a bandit, and average salary is one point one
five million, but starting at eight hundred minimal, So sanders
base salary starts at the rookie minimum of approximately eight
hundred and fifty thousand and rises modestly east each season.
But let's bear in mind he's making almost a million
(10:49):
dollars a year. The average American is not making that,
so he should be thankful in retrospect. But again, he
lost a lot of money, a lot of money by
being drafted in the fifth round, so they do have
a steal on their hands. However, once again, the fact
(11:15):
that he was drafted in the fifth round was all
a concerted effort by the higher ups because they don't
like his father, as they say, sins of the father.
They couldn't get Dion. So what did they do? They
(11:38):
got his sons. They got his sons. And again, I
know Dion Sanders is a brand, but I would tell
his father there's only one Dion Sanders. There will never ever, ever, ever,
ever ever ever be another Dion Sanders. Even if they
(12:00):
have children, they'll never be like Grandpa Sanders. And again,
I know Dion has a brand, the flash, the swag,
the bling, the wealth. I'm blessed, okay. And I don't
want to bring scripture into this, that's another issue. But
(12:21):
again the son's picked up that philosophy and again it
doesn't work. Have you ever seen Tom Brady? No, tom
Brady had charm, he had swag, but it's done in
a more professional way. And again this is all meant
(12:46):
to get back at Dion Sanders and to break his sons. Mentally,
right now, he's headed down that pass because he had
a poor performance today poor, very poor. And again the
financial loss versus projection. The pre draft projection potential top
(13:11):
ten pick, he was going to have thirty five to
forty million over four years. His actual projection fifth round
selection only eleven to thirteen percent of projective earnings. Total
financial loss thirty to thirty six million in rookie earnings.
Sanders signing bonus four hundred and forty seven thousand is
(13:34):
less than two percent of what a top ten pick receives.
This is why analysts call his fall one of the
most financially damaging and recent NFL history. Meant to demoralize
and to humiliate him, guarantees and risk risk exposure. First
(13:57):
round QB guaranteed money risk none, Sanders guaranteed money minimal
at risk everything nothing's guaranteed because Sanders was not a
first rounder. Essentially, only his four hundred and forty seven
(14:18):
dollars signing bonuses guaranteed less than ten percent of the
total deal. If the Browns release Sanders early, which is
a possibility, and people are saying, oh, he's better than
this one, No, they keep talking about they got four quarterbacks. No,
they got six right now. Six And today Joe Flocko
(14:43):
played like a veteran who knows what he's doing. Yeah
he's not Lamar, Yeah he's not Jalen Hurts. Okay, he's
neither of them. But he's playing like a veteran who
(15:03):
knows what to do. If he gets released, he could
lose more than ninety percent of his expected rookie compensation.
He could lose ninety percent of it, illustrating how later
around rookies shoulder almost all the financial risk. It's not
(15:24):
like the NBA. It's not like the NBA where you
get that guaranteed money. So this is all humiliation. The
only thing that's saving him is his Jersey sales. But
(15:45):
the Brown salary cap advantage. Okay, Deshaun Watson thirty seven
million dollar cap hit thirty seven million, over fifteen percent
of total salary cap. Shardor Sanders one less than one
million dollar camp hit less than zero point five percent
of the Sally camp. And again, DeShawn Watson is still there,
(16:10):
and he's putting out videos every day of him rehabbing
and him running, and again, you never know. DeShawn Watson
could be reborn. He could be reborn like the phoenix,
and then what for Cleveland. This means that they have
a potential starting caliber quarterback at less than one thirtieth
(16:33):
the price of their injured veteran. Don't count the Shawn
Watson out yet. Don't count him out yet. This is
why teams dream of hitting on late round quarterbacks. The
economic leverage is staggering and the reward to cost ratio
(16:58):
is unmatched. Now the path to real payday. But again again,
Sanders played today, he got a shot. I think what
mess him up when he didn't come out the following
week because that had an oblique injury. But let me
(17:18):
tell you this. Joe Flacco came out today. He looked okay. Again,
he's not Jalen Hurts. He's not Jalen Hurts, he's not
Lamar Jackson, he's not any of these other high profile quarterbacks.
(17:41):
But he looked like a rookie. Gabriel came out today
and you better forget that he's sitting back quiet. He
looked pretty good. Can he Pickett off the injury list? Yeah,
he's not consistent, but he's a veteran. Huntley came in
on two games and let to victories. He's still there.
(18:03):
And Deshaun Watson is still there. So I don't know.
I don't know. I don't think there's a path to
real payday with the Cleveland Browns. But anyway, he's got
a rookie contract of one point one five million per year.
He's got to prove performance, must establish himself as a
starter caliber and that didn't. You know, it's not looking
(18:26):
good from today. Survive lockout period, can't negotiate until three
years second contract. Okay, let me say this for Sanders,
a rookie contract as well as an opportunity and a punishment,
an opportunity for the Browns to field a bargain quarterback
(18:47):
and a punishment for Sanders who must wait to be
paid for what he's truly worse. But let me say this,
and I'm saying this after today's performance. If by some miracle,
if by some miracle, Sanders pulls it around, and I
think he might get cut. I really think the best
(19:09):
thing for him to do is to get cut, get
picked up by another team that at least needs a
second string quarterback, and go from there. Or even better,
go play football in Canada. You'll still be in shape,
you'll still get reps, and you're gonna still get ESPN
(19:30):
views and let somebody pick you up. But I think
that the Cleveland Browns, he was sent there intentionally to
a dysfunctional organization who have no intention. And again, it's
not about what the fans feel, it's not about what
the fans want, it's not about economics. They don't care.
(19:51):
This is a concerted effort by the powers to be
the unforeseen hand, who are vindictive, who wanted to teach
that boy, Dion Sanders a lesson, and they couldn't get him,
so they'll get his sons. And they're hoping, praying that
(20:12):
he crashes at Colorado. And I'm watching the well off
media videos and i gotta tell you the loss of Shador,
the loss of that receiving corps of Jimmy Horn Laschonte,
Will Shepherd and Travis Hunter proh the loss of that corps,
(20:40):
and they don't look good at all. I'm sorry. And
even though they got too highly, you know, they got
the fresh number one freshman prospect, and they got the
guy from Liberty who in the videos look great. But
I'm telling you, for some reason, they can't get those
big dogs there, those big linemen. They can't get him.
(21:03):
But I'm telling you if any reason in the world
Shador is able to turn it around and leave them
far into the playoffs, and god forbid if he ever
won a Super Bowl, but lead him deep into the playoff.
Potential contract of one to two hundred million, forget that,
(21:23):
forget that, somebody's gonna have to pay him. I'm looking
up somewheres ofh four to five hundred million. Absolutely right
by the time he gets there, four to five hundred million, easily, easily.
But if right now, after today's performance he was fourth string,
(21:48):
I think they're gonna cut him. They're gonna cut him
and his brother, and his brother got ejected from the
final game of the season. I really think they're going
to cut him. But they may want to break him mentally,
break him like a buck and keep him on a
(22:09):
practice squad. And if someone goes down, no, it's not
gonna be Shador. Flacco goes down, it's gonna be Gabriel,
It's gonna be Kenny Pickett. And by then you also
have Huntley. They probably keep him. And don't forget Deshaun
(22:29):
Watson with that guaranteed contract. He's putting videos out every day.
He may come back, So I don't know what to
say right now, but if he's able to pull through
this year, he's gonna get the biggest contract you've ever seen,
ever seen, bottom line from forty million to four million.
(22:51):
Shardor Sanders rookie contract is the perfect case study of
how the NFL's rookie wage system works. The league has
replaced a negotiation with formulas, percentages, and caps. The Browns
may have landed a bargain, but Sanders paid the price
with at least minimum thirty six million and loss earnings.
(23:13):
And today's NFL draft position is destiny. And for Shardor Sanders,
that destiny has forced him to prove himself all over again,
but at a discount, at a discount, huge discount. And again,
I'm sorry to keep repeating this, ladies and gentlemen, this
(23:35):
is not about what the fans think. This is not
about what the dog pound thinks. This is not about economics,
This is not about what's good for organization. The boys
got the Browns to pick Shador, to put him in
(23:58):
the worst dysfunctional organization in the NFL. And again, I
think he's gonna get cut, but at a minimum, they
may keep him on the practice team to break him
mentally and again, if somebody goes down, they're not gonna
they're they're not gonna raise him up. You see how
to get good performance. He's still fourth on the depth
(24:21):
chart still and after today. Puh Gabriel's not looking like
a slouch. Yeah he's short, he's short, but he's not
looking like a slouch. Tell me what you think, leave
a comment and I'll see you on the next episode.
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