I found this story concerning draft hold outs....from 2002;
The Chargers took CB Quentin Jammer was the fifth overall pick, and he has stayed away from camp. So have sixth pick DT Ryan Sims of the Chiefs, seventh pick OT Bryant McKinnie of the Vikings and 12th overall selection DT Wendell Bryant of the Cardinals. All four players have reputable agents, most of whom I've done deals with in the past.
The hangup for Jammer, Sims and McKinnie seems to be the contract the Bills worked out with the No. 4 pick, Mike Williams. The deal has clauses and escapes the others all desire but there is no way the Chargers are going to surrender to those demands, and why should they?
Last year, San Diego had the exact same spot in the draft and its selection, RB LaDainian Tomlinson, received $9.75 million over the first three years of the contract, which is a tremendous deal for the player. The Chargers have $12.6 million on the table over the first three years to Jammer, which is a 30 percent increase from a proven 1,200-yard back in a year when the cap didn't go up 30 percent
12.6 mil for the first three years....and they are talking about the 5th player taken in the 2002 draft....so how much more for the 2nd player in the 2005 draft.
And here's something more concerning signing bonus's...and how they are figured in...and I believe would be close to what the Dolphins would have to pay a 2nd picked player from the draft;
Let's just look at Portis for instance as it compares to
Bailey, who was traded to get Portis. As I said, Bailey was on the cap ledger for a $6.8 million tender. He moves on, and Portis, who signed an eight-year deal for $50 million -- got a $13 million bonus. Take that and divide it by six years (you can amortize only through 2009), and the cap charge for the signing bonus alone will be ($2.166 million). Add that to a salary that could be as low as $380,000 (because Portis has only two credited seasons). Now his cap charge is $2.55 million, which is $4.25 million less than Bailey was on the books for.
