I say this goes down as the NFL's Danny Ferry rookie contract. Were I a GM, I either let the clock lapse or take Smith for $32M. Unbelievable situation, especially given the state of Michigan's economy.
Yeah, but I don't think fans look at it that way. Mario was controversial, so that was probably a bad example. What if we had picked Reggie Bush, supposed NFL game-changer and expected to be the franchise's biggest star? The problem is a slow creep in inflation. I believe the pick 2 years ago got something like $35 million guaranteed. So that sets the baseline, and NFL salaries have increased since then - so let's suppose the equivalent would be $37M guaranteed. You're going to have to tell fans you let your #1 overall pick and supposed franchise player go over $4 million spread out over 6 years. Even though we all know there's a decent chance of them being a bust and all that, fans of the worst team in football always want hope. You'll lose your fan base if you keep not signing top 1st round picks. I do agree that it's a financial disaster for the franchise though. If I were a team, I would always try to trade down and try to get multiple mid-first rounders. I was huge proponent of that during the Mario-Reggie-Vince debate, because if you have the #1 pick, it probably means you have a ton of holes on your team.
