re: If JaMarcus wouldn't have held out, would his NFL career be different?

quote:

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) It's crazy that the Raiders let it get to that point. The team holding the 1st pick can negotiate with players they're looking to select. So they should've at least known the parameters of what Jamarcus and his agents were looking for, if not had the contract done prior to the draft (the Texans had Mario Williams signed before the draft began the year before).

I don't even think Jamarcus's demands were out of line with what top overall picks - and especially QBs - were getting at the time. Matt Ryan got more money overall and guaranteed on his deal the next year, and he was the 3rd pick.

Of course, this is Al Davis and the Raiders, so...

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His hold out was entirely due to Al Davis deciding he was going to be the one to break the rapidly increasing rookie pay scale.

JR's rookie deal was 13% or so more than Mario Williams' the previous year, with a large 21% increase in guaranteed money.

As you said, Matt Ryan - taken 3rd overall the next year - got a deal worth 14% (only 2% guaranteed though) more than Russell's.

The next #1 overall QB was Stafford. His deal was 18% larger than Russell's with a 28% increase in guaranteed money.

And then the guy who actually broke the rookie pay scale, Sam Bradford's rookie deal was 9% higher than Stafford's, with an 18% increase in guaranteed money (21/56% larger than Russell's, respectively).

In 2011, Cam Newton (only) received a $22mil fully guaranteed contract.