
 |
|
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
|
| |
Jewish World Review
April 17, 2006
/ 19 Nissan, 5766
NFL Draftees Don't Know What They're Missing
By
Evan Weiner
| 
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Walk past any newsstand these days and you'll find an astonishing number of 2006 NFL draft publications, invariably featuring
Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart,Vince Young, or some combination of all three on the covers.
On sports talk radio, callers want the
Jets to draft Leinart, no make that Young, no make it offensive tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson - it depends on the day and the
caller. ESPN and regional cable TV sports networks will devote countless hours to researching the potential draftees and how
they will fit with their new teams.
The NFL draft has become more than a cottage industry.It's a big business that has made a star out of analysts like Mel Kiper
Jr. and brought minor celebrity to others who do nothing but watch college football games between August and January and
study players on videotape the rest of the year.
The sports press will cover the team's "War Rooms," where multimillion dollar decisions will be made. On draft day, football
fans clad in their favorite team's jersey will pour into Radio City Music Hall looking like escapees from the Halloween Day
Parade in Greenwich Village. It's a veritable football orgy in April, more than 2 1/2 months after the Super Bowl and almost
three before teams open training camp.
It's a cause for celebration.
But is the NFL draft legal? Doesn't it violate antitrust laws and artificially drive down the price that, say, a Bush, Leinart,
Ferguson, or Young could get on the open market if there was true competition for their services? Doesn't it prevent
companies, in this case NFL teams, from bidding for talent? Doesn't it intentionally keep down the salaries of the 270 or so
players who will enter the NFL through this form of entry-level hiring?
Football fans come out of hibernation in their best tailgate-stadium attire to celebrate what is essentially a restraint of trade.
NFL owners are able to stage a draft because the Players Association has given them a go-ahead through the Collective
Bargaining process. The NFL gets a statutory exemption from antitrust laws because the owners and players agreed that it was
okay to hold a draft, even though college players are left with few rights.
So it's time to salute the most perfect form of socialism ever invented. The NFL, where all 32 owners share money, has
devised a way of divvying up college athletes that under most other circumstances would be illegal.
In essence, NFL owners have perfected a system to the point at which they don't have to compete for the top college students,
who are eager to enter the unique business world that is professional football. The teams automatically get the top applicants.
Imagine accounting companies just going to Wharton or Harvard Business School and drafting students without the students
themselves getting any say about where they go or for how much. It can't be done.
The college players buy into the notion that they don't need choices. And maybe the top players don't because they are
guaranteed millions of dollars in signing bonuses after the draft. The drafted players are guaranteed jobs. Whether they keep
their positions depends on how well they do once they report the following month.
Very few players have bucked the system. Ohio State linebacker Tom Cousineau was taken as the top overall pick in 1979 by
the Buffalo Bills, but he didn't want to play for the Bills and signed with the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes. In
those days, the CFL had some money to throw around and the NFL wasn't handing out $5 million signing bonuses like it does
today.
The only way for a top athlete to exercise any control over where he goes is by insulting the city he may be going to or by
playing another sport. In 1983, John Elway couldn't stand the thought of playing for Robert Irsay's Baltimore Colts and signed
a contract with George Steinbrenner's Yankees. While Elway was patrolling the outfield for the New York-Penn League's
Oneonta Yankees, the frustrated Colts dealt his rights to the Denver Broncos.
In 1986, Bo Jackson couldn't see himself running behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offensive line, so he signed a contract
with the Kansas City Royals. Jackson did eventually play in the NFL for the Los Angeles Raiders. Two years ago, top pick Eli
Manning wasn't too pleased with the prospect of playing in San Diego, so he forced a trade to the Giants.
The last time the top college players had a real career choice was between 1983 and 1985, when the United States Football
League was in existence. Players like Jim Kelly had a choice between the USFL's Houston Gamblers and the NFL's Buffalo
Bills. He went to Houston. In 1983, Herschel Walker signed with the USFL's New Jersey Generals after his junior season
because, at that point, the NFL did not allow underclassmen to enter the draft despite being more than qualified to enter the
work force in just about any other field.
Two decades later, that option is defunct, and college athletes with highly specialized skills have no say about where they ply
their trade. Sometimes, they can't even ply it at all. When Ohio State's Maurice Clarett and USC's Mike Williams sued to enter
the NFL draft in 2002 after their sophomore years in college, they won the original case, but it was overturned on appeal and
their careers were dealt irreparable harm.
College applicants are also slotted into a sliding salary scale. The no. 1 pick will get the most money; the final player chosen
gets the least. That means players chosen in the final round would be better off not being taken because "free agents" can shop
their talents around and wind up with a higher salary than a player taken in the seventh round.
As it stands, there is very little a college player seeking entry into the NFL workforce can do to change the system until 2013,
when the present Collective Bargaining Agreement ends. Lawsuits won't work because the NFL has the antitrust exemption
thanks to its most valuable employees the players. The NFL draft is the perfect system for the owners to control costs and
limit players' options, and that alone, at least for the owners, is a cause for celebration.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Evan Weiner is a syndicated radio commentator. Comment by clicking here.
Previously:
04/10/06: Fans welcome new stadiums; will stadiums welcome fans?
04/07/06: Don't mess with a congressman/sports fanatic
04/05/06: Los Angles loses yet again
04/04/06: NCAA's highest stakes are first beginning
04/03/06: The real reason Major League Baseball is worried about cheating
03/31/06: Baseball buoyant, better than ever
03/30/06: Affording to be in the big leagues
© 2006, Evan Weiner
|
|

Arnold Ahlert
Mitch Albom
Jay Ambrose
Michael Barone
Barrywood
Tony Blankley
Lori Borgman
Stratfor Briefing
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Richard Z. Chesnoff
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Alan Douglas
Larry Elder
Suzanne Fields
Frank J. Gaffney
Bernie Goldberg
Jonah Goldberg
Julia Gorin
Jonathan Gurwitz
Paul Greenberg
Argus Hamilton
Victor Davis Hanson
Betsy Hart
Ron Hart
Nat Hentoff
Marybeth Hicks
David Horowitz
Jeff Jacoby
Renee James
Paul Johnson
Jack Kelly
Ed Koch
Ch. Krauthammer
Michael Ledeen
John Leo
David Limbaugh
Kathryn Lopez
Rich Lowry
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Ann McFeatters
Dale McFeatters
Dana Milbank
Jeanne Moos
Dick Morris
Jim Mullen
Deroy Murdock
Judge A. Napolitano
Bill O'Reilly
Kathleen Parker
Star Parker
Dennis Prager
Wesley Pruden
Tom Purcell
Sharon Randall
Robert Robb
Cokie & Steve Roberts
Heather Robinson
Pat Sajak
Debra J. Saunders
Martin Schram
Culture Shlock
David Shribman
Roger Simon
Michael Smerconish
Thomas Sowell
Ben Stein
Mark Steyn
John Stossel
Cal Thomas
Dan Thomasson
Bob Tyrrell
Ben Wattenberg
Diana West
Dave Weinbaum
George Will
Walter Williams
Byron York
ZeitGeist
Mort Zuckerman

Robert Arial
Chuck Asay
Baloo
Chip Bok
Dry Bones
Lisa Benson
John Branch
John Cole
J. D. Crowe
John Deering
Brian Duffy
Everything's Relative
Mallard Fillmore
Glenn Foden
Jake Fuller
Bob Gorrel
Joe Heller
David Hitch
Jerry Holbert
Lee Judge
Steve Kelley
Jeff Koterba
Dick Locher
Jimmy Margulies
Rick McKee
Michael Ramirez
Kevin Siers
Jeff Stahler
Ed Stein
Danna Summers
John Trever
Gary Varvel
Kirk Walters

Mr. Know-It-All
Dr. Peter Gott
GET A JOB! by Marty Nemko
Richard Lederer
Frugal Living
Tech Maven
On Nutrition
Bookmark These
Bruce Williams
|