Decent article here, despite my previous hatred for La Canfora http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer...etter-for-lael-collins-that-he-went-undrafted
As I said in the thread running n the main forum - Should reach out and like others I thought offer a decent contract but as pointed out league rules set out the size of the offer - from his point of view we should be a good landing spot as our RT is not great and our LT is getting older so a chance to get playing time in 2015 as a RT with a possible shot at LT if he works hard - ALL ASSUMING HE IS NOT CHARGED Also saw this well written explanation elsewhere Every undrafted rookie is locked into signing a three year contract. The three year contract will contain the minimum Paragraph 5 salary in each year, which will equal payouts of $435,000 in 2015, $525,000 in 2016, and $615,000 in 2017. These are the same numbers as rookies drafted after the 3rd round and many of the players drafted in the third round, so it explains why Collins tried to force his selection. The UDFA’s are very limited in terms of signing bonus money. I don’t have the final number in front of me but IIRC each team can spend, in total, about $88,000 on all their undrafted rookies. That usually means a large number of players receiving signing bonuses that will not exceed $8,000. So that is a limiting factor for a player who is not drafted. The smallest signing bonus a 7th round pick will receive likely to be about $52,000. So that is a pretty big loss considering for many players the bonus is the only salary they will ever receive. We have 7 UDFAs but at least 4 will have little if any money assigned. This gives us a better shot than teams who have signed 10+ UDFAs if the team try to land him At the end of the three year contract, every UDFA will be a restricted free agent while a drafted rookie will have a fourth contract year. Teams select from one of three RFA salaries for the UDFA’s. The smallest tender for that year will be $1.785 million. Every drafted rookie (except punters and kickers) is also eligible to see their contracted salary rise to the smallest tender level based on playing time. So if Collins does not have a great career but is ok he will basically trail every drafted rookie that is ok by the signing bonus. However if he excels and earns the 2nd or 1st level tender he will earn at least $2.73 or $3.88 million in the final year. No drafted rookie can do that, so that would allow him to move his overall salary take back into the 2nd round level of the draft. Every UDFA is extension eligible after just two seasons, so a very good player can get extended much earlier than the draft pick who must play three years. If I was Collins agent and that was a goal of mine I would strongly consider signing with a team like the Bengals, 49ers, Packers, or Patriots among others. These are the teams that typically like to extend talent early if possible and you may get that quicker extension from them if you do play like a first rounder. Similarly teams like the Texans and Giants have already proven they will avoid the RFA process for great talent like Arian Foster or Victor Cruz. Those are the kind of teams you may get that faster value from. Where the team who signs him can WIN - HINT HINT Now there is nothing in the process that prevents a team from guaranteeing large amounts of salary to UDFA. This is how many teams lure a UDFA while complying with the signing bonus rules. It is not uncommon to see a UDFA receive a salary guarantee equal to a Practice Squad salary (slightly over $100,000) and in some cases double that. For Collins that presents an opportunity to attempt to receive a three year guarantee of $1,575,000. That guarantee would be equivalent to a late 2nd rounders guarantee through his signing bonus and salary guarantee.
La Canfora is making all kinds of bad assumptions in his interpretations, most notably. 1. He ignores time value of money. Even if you make similar amounts of total money over 4 years, getting most of it up front is much better, you get it when it is worth more, and you gain value on it through investment. 2. He makes the assumption that Collins would have signed if drafted 4-7, which he probably wouldn't. If drafted in the 1st next year, he'd easily make more because of the much higher 1st round bonuses and guarantees, it would place him a year behind, but NFL careers tend to be measured in years played rather than age, especially for linemen.
So is this enough for people to start calling him? The cops still say he's not a suspect. Ian Rapoport retweeted Jerit Roser @JeritRoser 2h2 hours ago Email from BRPD: La'el Collins met with police this morning, fully cooperated & is still not considered a suspect.
Per Rotoworld After his Monday meeting with Baton Rouge police, LSU T/G La'El Collins is still not viewed by investigators as a suspect in the death of Collins' former girlfriend. Collins "fully cooperated" during his hour-long meeting with police. Collins is expected to be a hot commodity if he's cleared by the investigation. There has never been the slightest indication that Collins was the culprit. Due to the uncertainty of his situation, Collins was not drafted this past weekend. He is seen as a consensus first-round talent at tackle or guard. Until there is full clarity it is unlikely after the scandals that hit the league last year - do not forget ALL contracts need to be registered by the league. Probably happens later this week after they review the case after his answers if he is in clear, as is appearing more likely
There was an article in my local newspapers yesterday that Collins coming out of the draft is what screwed up the Panthers in the 1st round. They were planning on taking him, and when the furor happened, they were left scrambling. If being able to start at LT immediately means anything, I'd say they were probably the front runners, as he would start there immediately at LT. With the Jets, he'd be playing either OG or RT this year, then moving to LT next year.
Once he gets cleared every team is going to be interested. He will get to pick who he plays for, how many prospects get that luxury? Albeit poor circumstances.
Every team but New England..can you imagine? Although those conceited bastards might just try to sign him anyway.
He reportedly had dinner in Baton Rouge with our old buddy Rex. The guy has his pick of whatever team he wants. What an interesting story. If cleared he can be our guard for next year then replace Ferguson in future, fingers crossed...
So, his lawyers are crying foul on Ryan and saying it was an unsanctioned meeting. All we can hope for now is that he just eliminated the Bills because of it. http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/12822309/bills-coach-rex-ryan-lael-collins-meet-baton-rouge
jeez...are we just ignoring this kid? Jeff Darlington @JeffDarlington 4m4 minutes ago Miami makes move. RT @ChadSabadie: Source: Former LSU teammates Jarvis Landry, Anthony Johnson & Kelvin Shepard will meet with La'el Collins
Per Rotoworld Profootballtalk reports teams can't officially meet with LSU G/T La'El Collins until May 9. It explains why the Dolphins are sending only players, and not coaches or executives. It's unclear how Bills coach Rex Ryan was able to host Collins for dinner. It means the race for Collins might not really heat up until Saturday.
This whole situation is nothing less than a complete clusterfuck. The handling of this matter by the police was insane. They had no right or reason to drag his name thought the mud. Would it have killed their investigation to patiently wait a few days while they not only new that he was out of town but where he would be and when he was coming back? Seriously, contact his agent, make an appointment for him to come to the station and shut the hell up. Instead they wreck his future and literally cost him millions of dollars when he was not even a suspect. The NFL has been equally stupid and irresponsible. Collins and his agent clearly did not understand the rules as first they tried to move to the supplemental draft (only to be told no) and then advised teams not to draft him after a certain point (not knowing that he had to be drafted this year to be eligible for next year's draft). It also did not seem that the NFL made any information about the investigation available to teams or that they fully understood the rules either. While it would be a breach of the rules to allow Collins to enter the Supplemental draft it would not only be the best thing for Collins but also for the competitive balance of the league. In addition of essentially rewarding one team with what is essentially a free first round pick (by signing Collins) that team will also have his services for 2-3 years at almost no cost and little use of cap space. I sure hope Collins signs here but my worry is that some team like the Patriots will get him and keep him for the next ten years. Finding Tom Brady in round six is hitting the lottery, Collins going to a team that won the SB last year as an UDFA is just not fair.
