Patriots and first rounder McCourty get deal done

Somehow the New England Patriots now have all 12 of their 2010 draft picks under contract. That is important because this is a team that takes players and expects them to make the team. They are the second NFL team to reach agreements with all of their 2010 draft picks, and just the second NFL team to get their first round pick signed. CB Devin McCourty, the 27th overall pick, gets a five year deal for 13.2 million dollars with 7.825 million dollars guaranteed.

It seems that McCourty and his agent used last year’s draft as the guide for their negotiations. The 27th pick in last year’s draft, Donald Brown, got a five year deal for 12.835 million dollars with 6.845 million of that guaranteed. This is another indicator that a rookie salary cap is needed as rookie contracts even at the bottom of the first round are growing at a higher rate than NFL team revenue.

In total dollars this deal is almost the same deal 2010 24th overall draft pick Dez Bryant got. It shows that Bryant left some money on the table to get his deal done and get into camp. For once I think we have to give Dez a little credit there. After not playing much in 2009 due to NCAA rules violations he wanted to get into camp and that cost him some cash.

So what we are seeing here is 2010 rookie deals for first round picks are costing teams about a million and half more dollars in total money, and about a million dollars in guaranteed money. That probably means that first overall draft pick, Sam Bradford, is in line for a 80 million dollar deal. That is a big price to pay for a guy who has yet to throw one pass in the NFL.

Related Links:

•New England Patriots news and notes
•2010 NFL Draft Initial Team Grades
•The Business of the NFL
•MTR Football.com