NorthHawk wrote:It's also good for those teams that are building or re-building.
Their Salary Cap isn't dominated by an untested rookie at QB resulting from the high first round pick.
It's another plank in the parity platform that has made the NFL so competitive.
To me this is the #1 benefit.
The teams at the bottom were being HURT because very few players drafted early were meeting or exceeding the expectations based on salary.
The previous CBA guaranteed that the bottom-dwellers would add a huge contract without necessarily adding a good player.
Back before many people knew about salary cap I advocated the teams at the top just let the clock expire if there were no trade down opportunities. Most people thought that was stupid, but I thought paying $40m to a guy who hasn't played a single snap as a pro was pretty stupid.
Draft picks are about acquiring talent CHEAPLY.