[College Football] Bradford coming back, Sanchez going pro

Whoa I must have missed that. Gresham staying is extremely surprising! Its obvious now. They are paying players again. Wonder what car dealership is employing Gresham.

 

There's a chance Leinart is not even in Arizona next year given his performance and injury issues combined with Warner's success... I don't know how you can argue this.

 

Really Sam? How long can Warner last though, isn't he like 38 or 39?

DD

 

how much guaranteed money does lieanart get or better yet, how much did he pass up

 

who knows....Leinart's future in AZ was in doubt even prior to Warner's success, he was abysmal in the preseason and there was talk that his broken collarbone that ended 2007 had permanently robbed him of his arm strength.

 

They aren't going to dump Leinart without giving him a chance - same as Vince. They are now behind veterans who are performing well but are nearing the ends of their careers.

But regardless of that - this assumes the player does reasonably well to keep their contract. If he sucks with the Arizona receivers, he was going to suck even more in San Francisco (plus he'd have had 1 less year of college development).

 

They probably won't because Bidwell is legendarily cheap - but remember Leinart was the starter for his first two years and sucked majorly....he combined Vince Young's NFL passing with Matt Leinart's running....WITH the Arizona wide receivers. If he continues his trajectory (which also apparently includes not working very hard), the likelihood of him finishing out the non guaranteed years on his deal is slim to none. If he's going to be a bust in any event, better to bust a year earlier and a few million richer.

 

I don't see how this is a good decision for Bradford. You don't want to play for the Lions? Fine. Pull an Eli Manning and force a trade. The Lions shouldn't go qb with the first pick anyway (If they were smart, they'd trade down for more picks). Don't pass up the opportunity to be #1. He's coming back to an inexperienced OL and inexperienced WR's. The chance for injury is much greater. Yeah, there's insurance but it doesn't cover nearly what he will make as the #1.

IMO, it was the wrong move.

 

Isn't Goodell looking to cut rookie contracts drastically? If this cut happens in '10, wouldn't these decisions to stay in college cost these players a lot of money? I'm sure all these guys have advisers who lay out all the options infront of them.

 

He didn't have that much arm strength to begin with...wow....

To me, Bradford is making a Lienert decision here.....

DD

 

if we're talking from a strictly financial standpoint, sure it's probably the wrong decision. but, i don't think his family's hurting for cash either (from what i gathered from the heisman ceremony). sure, there's a chance he'll get injured, but there's a better chance he won't. it's not like ou is going to suck and the new ol is going to be completely porous. i don't blame the kid at all for wanting to go back with a chance to a) win the mnc and b) win a second heisman.

 

That is very much on the table. That's why I'm surprised that there haven't been more eligible players declaring. They stand to make substantially less money in the 2010 draft than they do this year. This is another reason why Bradford and Gresham made a huge mistake.

 

i have no idea what the particulars would be, but i doubt they cut that money by half. even if they do, so bradford goes from making $25 million guaranteed to $12 million. some would look at that has a huge dropoff while others would look at it like they're making $12 million to toss a pigskin around.

the only worry is injury, but realistically, what are the chances of him suffering a major injury. that risk is offset by what he could accomplish at ou. it's not always about money.

 

Not so much. It was already announced last month that 2010 wouldn't have a rookie scale...

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3795154

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell says fears of a looming rookie wage scale are unfounded and collegiate underclassmen should not be misled into thinking such a system will be in place by 2010 as they weigh their decisions to forgo their eligibility to enter the NFL next year.

"There will be no change in our current [rookie pool] system, at least until 2011," Goodell told ESPN on Saturday. "I've explained that to some college head coaches, athletic directors and league commissioners. Any underclassman who is hearing differently is probably hearing it from an agent or from another source who is misinformed."

...

 

I hadn't seen that. Thanks for posting it.

 

I would bet the house on him not winning a 2nd Heisman absent some weird split-vote situation. I guarantee you voters remorse carries over from this past postseason after the anointing of Tebow as Jesus and Colt's heroics in the Fiesta.

 

Or gave them.

 

Leinart's contract totals a maximum $50M, I don't think he'll see anywhere close to that given his performance. It isn't just about being on the team (which he is likely to do), the contract most likely encompassess the number of games played, win totals, etc...But also, Smith got $24M in guaranteed while Leinart got $14M, that's a pretty big difference.

Arizona is having a great year and the future does look pretty good but let's not forget that they were a bottom feeder team for a long long time, just like the 49ers. The 49ers made a back pick with Smith but there is no guarantee that Leinart takes over after Warner, Leinart has played pretty damn bad when given the chance.

Like I said, I agree that Leinart was probably pretty happy with his decision to stay (being a superstar at USC is probably ridiculous) but I would be that he does think about the money he left on the table, especially considering he hasn't played up to his billing.

 

i think you have the words "great" and "horrible" confused... of course, this coming from the guy who sees "no real major downside" from bradford staying an extra year

 

what are the chances he suffers a major injury? what are the chances that ou will be terrible next year?