The NFL is a horrible comparison though. The top talent in the NFL can walk on to the field from day 1 and help the team while in baseball even the best players generally still need a year or more to reach the majors. In my opinion though, the player’s union more than makes up for it later on for the players who get shafted during the draft. I wish the MLB draft was a little more like the NBA I suppose if I had to pick a system. I like how the order is determined in baseball but like how picks can be dealt and contracts are slotted in the NBA.

I do however like the financial structure in the NFL despite ticket sales being ridiculous. I think it leads more towards parity but if it can be proven that their financial structure directly leads to those ticket prices then I’d have to consider changing my opinion but I think it has more to do with the popularity of the league, TV contracts, sponsorships, etc than the fact that they have such extreme RS, caps, etc.

Anyhow, as far as the topic at hand, it’s much better than say what Kendry Morales got from the Angels. His 6 year, $45 million dollar contract was pretty ridiculous. It’s sort of a shame that these teams can go down there and find this raw, untapped talent and sign them to contracts so far below market value simply because of the situation they are currently in and how little they have to begin with.

It rewards past performance. The NFL rewards future performance. That’s far more rational.

Also, find me an NFL first round pick who has “never stepped on the field.” Seriously. Most of these guys have been playing on national television for years before they sniff the NFL. There are a couple of undrafted free agents who didn’t play in college but every pick who gets big guaranteed money has been vetted extensively. If anything, the problem with that system is that it exploits the college players so badly. You seem to be suggesting that it doesn’t exploit them enough.