Rookie pay Question.....

[Oshkoshpackfan]

Say we draft a rookie OL and he looks to need some refinement after training camp and get put on the practice squad ( like datko did ), does he get paid under his rookie contract for the rookie minimun, or does he get paid as a practice squad player? Just wondering and hoping someone knows.

 

[TJV]

A player has to be waived and then clear waivers before going to the PS so Datko's rookie contract was no longer in force at that point. After getting PS compensation for the year, he signed a new deal in January in order to be added to the active roster. rotoworld.com says he got a three year contract which will pay him $405K this year if he makes the team.

 

[Oshkoshpackfan]

Ok, thanks, that helps alot with my question. That 405k is "if" he makes the team stipulation...right? So, what if he does not make the active roster? Will he go back to PS or just be released?

 

[TJV]

Yes, the $405K is only if he makes the team. If he doesn't make the final 53, he will be waived and the 3-year deal will be voided. He can then join any team or he would still be PS eligible so he could join the Packers' PS, if they want him, at PS compensation.

 

[HardRightEdge]

Fast facts first:

1. Before a player can be signed to PS he must first be released during cut downs, at which point he is free to sign with somebody else without compensation.

2. Once he's on PS, anybody can sign him away without compensation provided they place him on their 53 man roster.

3. PS guys don't count against the cap.

Assuming you re-sign your pick after release, he'll typically be paid the PS minimum salary...$5,700 per week for each of the 17 weeks, or $96,900 for the year if he sticks for the entire season. A guy might get paid more if there's some competition for him as a PS player. If (foggy) memory serves, I believe we paid Shaky Smithson about double the PS minimum, though I couldn't begin to explain way. Every once in a while you'll hear of a PS guy getting paid around the rookie minimum, but this is pretty rare.

Getting to your example, lets say we drafted an OT in the 3rd. round (or higher?) because of Sherrod uncertainties, but Sherrod performs through pre-season like the second coming of Chad Clifton. MM wants to carry 7 O-Lineman. So, can we stash the 3rd. rounder on PS, even if we paid him a lot more than the PS minimum? Probably not. It's highly likely one of the other 31 teams would think enough of that high of a pick to find a spot on their 53 man for him.

Part of the reason we kept Boykin on the 53 man last year rather than putting him to PS might have been because they thought another team was sniffing around him.

 

[TJV]

I don't remember Shaky being paid more than the PS minimum but I do remember both Diondre Borel and Tori Gurley were paid extra to stay on the Packers' PS.

 

[Oshkoshpackfan]

Interesting, thanks for the replies.

 

[HardRightEdge]

I don't remember Shaky being paid more than the PS minimum but I do remember both Diondre Borel and Tori Gurley were paid extra to stay on the Packers' PS.

I believe you're right. I might have been thinking of Shaky's injury settlement, not his salary.

 

[HyponGrey]

He makes PS bank.

 

[El Guapo]

A player can choose to stay on the current team's practice squad, despite an offer to be on the 53-man roster from another team. This was the case for Gurley and Borel. They both thought that they'd have a better opportunity by staying on the Packers PS and then making our 53-man the following season. Unfortunately, both guys washed out of the following camp so the gamble didn't work for either player. However, it's a good lesson in how PS moves can work.

Probably the best example here is Jamon Meredith. He was drafted in the 5th round of the 2009 draft. He didn't make the 53-man roster so he was cut by GB. Nobody picked him up so he resigned onto the Packers' PS. In late September he was lured away by the Buffalo Bills and played in 8 games as a rookie. The Packers declined to match the offer made by the Bills.