Wednesday Whys

Why are many veterans being released so soon after the Draft?

They’ve been replaced by the events of last weekend. The Not For Long league is in full swing -- in with the new and out with the old. Many veterans have been, or will be, told their services are no longer needed, including Chris Perry, John Beck, Levi Jones, Brian Young, Rod Hood and now, as predicted here Tuesday, Edgerrin James. In addition to these better known names, there are many other younger players being released, as they will be replaced by draft picks who are now the favored pets of teams. It’s a tough thing for younger players who have been working out at their teams’ facilities for two months to hear they’re not even allowed to participate in training camp, but this is a cold business. They will be thanked for their time and effort and wished the best.

Why were some teams stockpiling second-round picks in the draft? As analytics become more and more a part of sports, we’ll see their increasing presence in football. We’ve long witnessed this phenomenon in baseball, with “Moneyball,” Sabermetrics and now many fielding statistics that tell teams additional information about players’ strengths and deficiencies.

In studies done on valuations of draft picks and the cost of these picks compared to the productivity of the player, there appears to be a sweet spot somewhere in the second round in terms of receiving optimal value on a cost efficiency model on draft picks.  These analytics fascinate me, as they serve to provide teams even more data in trying to take emotion and impulse out of the decision-making process. 

Why is the NFL now talking about a three-part televised draft, scheduled to start on Thursday night and continue through Friday night and Saturday?

This is the logical extension of what we’ve started this year. The start time for the draft has been steadily moved back the past two years, with more of the event in prime time and less of the overall draft on Saturday. The next step is to have the first round featured as a prime time event, potentially starting next year on a Thursday night with the same television partners, ESPN and NFL Network. With the first round timed at 3½ hours this year, the feeling is that it creates a nice window for television.

The TV ratings for the draft continue to rise, a phenomenon that never ceases to amaze me about the power of this league. In what amounts to the reading of names followed by interviews and analysis, people are drawn to watch. It represents hope for all teams and the culmination of a process that, for some, has been going on for months. Monday, I asked the students in my Sports Law class if they watched, expecting a few hardcore fans to raise their hands. Instead, the whole class did! On a beautiful sunny day on a college campus, they were all watching the draft. Thus, according to my informal survey, we can’t get enough of this stuff.

Why would a minor-league football team offer a contract to Mike Vick? To the Albany Firebirds, this kind of publicity, whether it’s good or bad, can’t be bought.   They would get the ultimate ROI (return on investment) for the $200-a-week salary they would pay Vick, and their franchise would forever be known for this move.

The chances of Vick playing there after his release from prison, even if barred from the NFL, would appear remote, but you never know. Vick represents a textbook example to all young athletes about how to fritter away millions of dollars -- and $200 a week won’t do much to satisfy his expensive tastes or his creditors.

I believe we’ll see Vick playing football again some day in the NFL, but the question that will need to be answered is, “For what price?” For a no-risk contract that allows a team to shed him without liability or cost, he would have some attraction. To receive a contract with terms beyond that would only be the result of leverage created from multiple bidders. Could it happen? Never say never, I guess.

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