I couldn't care less about the PR. Some team is going to offer him first round money ... and it's going to happen in the next 48 hours. And that team is going to get him. There is no standard rookie free agent contract. Rookie free agents are no different than any other free agent - the only difference being the veterans minimum (which doesn't matter in this instance).
There is also a limit on the amount of gtd. money teams can spend on UDFAs, which is $80,362. I wonder how much of that we've used up so far.
He is going to talk to police and give all the information he has tomorrow from what I heard last so im assuming after that he will go to a team
I would stay clear of this guy. Even if the cops say he is not a person of interest (at this time) it could mean he will still be a potential suspect down the line. I know the NFL will not allow him to re-enter the draft in 2016 so he has to sign as a UFA. Unless he goes to the CFL and then I guess he could sign for a bigger ticket contract.
The Police said he isn't a suspect....some teams had him on the first round big board.Its amazing he didn't get drafted.Everyone owes him an apology when they arrest the person responsible assuming he really isn't a suspect
everyone can basically play him the same. the most us or anyone can do is promise him a starting job. he is basicaly going to choose where he wants to play, not the other way around i doubt he comes here, i doubt its even an option. once, and only once he is cleared you make an offer for whatever udfa money you have left its pretty cut and dry
not being a suspect doesnt mean innocent on all accounts. he could have been covering it up. he could have help aid a getaway. no one knows ths situation. it also isnt uncommon for somone not initially a suspect to get charged later down the road. until he is completely cleared, we dont know what went on and we shouldnt pretend to
When the cops say he isn't a suspect: I've heard this a million times and then they eventually arrest the guy when they have more evidence. It is cop speak for he might be a suspect down the line. We have something on him but not enough. No apology needed for this guy. No one's saying he's guilty. So for the Jets: most of us criticized the Patriots for dealing with a guy like Aaron Hernandez. I'd hate to see our team embroiled in a similar fiasco by signing a guy just because he has talent. We don't need this guy. If he's totally cleared that's another story.
Assuming that there's no Hernandez v2.0 link to the crime, I'd like to see us taking a look at him. He would fill a need. There's a good article on his potential financial situation (cheap in the short-term, expensive in the long-term) as a UDFA here: http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer...etter-for-lael-collins-that-he-went-undrafted
W/out doing any homework on the NFL rules, it's seems like an odd stance for the the league to not force him into a draft (either supplemental or 2016) situation as becoming essentially a FA is a huge benefit to the player...presuming he's cleared of the charges of course...as if that's the case, they'll be a bidding FA frenzy on him, and one that doesn't encumber the teams using one of their precious draft picks...what player, especially one with 1st round talent, wouldn't want to be in the situation to solicit his talent to all NFL teams and be able to go to the highest bidder. If he goes from "person of interest" (which is the police way of saying "we don't have enough proof to actually call him a suspect" but he's more than just a "witness") to suspect then he'd lose out anyway...But as opposed to someone w/ long term issues (i.e. gregory), if he's cleared of any wrong doing, there's no reason some team wouldn't invest in him for the long term
He should sue the fuck out of Goodell and his PC stormtroopers, if he is exonerated. The right thing to do would have been to allow him to pull out of the draft or be in the supplemental draft.
doesn't work like that. there is a restriction to how much UDFA's can make and it's basically the league minimum
Thanks for that info, now that makes much more sense in why the league forced the kid's hand...so he's a free agent w/ essentially a cap on his maximum salary...not a good place to be for him at all then...
His agent made it pretty clear he wasn't signing if taken after the 3rd round. He has some leverage and can do better financially by signing somewhere as a FA.
As I posted elsewhere his options are better as a FA than they would have if he was picked late in the draft. Per PFT: Ultimately, Collins can salvage the early portion of his career by signing the standard three-year deal as an undrafted rookie. While he’d be eligible for restricted free agency after three years, the numbers suggest that he’ll do fairly well, given the current amount and the historic growth of the restricted free agency tenders. If the tenders continue to increase at a rate of five percent annually, Collins could make more than all drafted players except the top 41 picks, based on three years of minimum salaries and the first-round tender for 2018. With the second-round tender, he’ll make more than all but 52 of the picks. With the original-round tender, he’ll make more than all but 65 of the picks. It’s a formula that demonstrates how little draft picks make beyond round one, relative to undrafted playera. That said, the balloon payment in year four requires the undrafted player to earn one of the three RFA tenders. But Collins already has a leg up on the guys who typically slide through seven rounds; he has skills that would have potentially made him a first-round pick but for the unusual circumstances that unfolded in the past few days. The analysis has one important caveat. Players taken in rounds three through seven are eligible for the proven performance escalators, which bumps their salary for the fourth year of their rookie deal into the range of $1.5 million. Still, Collins can end up getting a decent four-year rate of pay even as an undrafted player — and he’ll be eligible for a new contract after only two seasons. Drafted players have to wait for three. Also, and perhaps most importantly, Collins gets to pick his NFL team. No drafted player gets to do that. For now, none of this matters until he’s cleared. That process begins Monday
Him not being drafted in the later rounds was a blessing. If he was drafted his contract amount would be pretty set and so would his destinatioon, but as a FA he can determine his worth and sign anywhere he wants.
So...I wonder what the "rules" are if he goes to the CFL and then comes back after a year..seems nobody is talking about that...yet.
