All of the Jaguars' draftees and UDFA's will show up for the official team meeting today, prior to tomorrow's opening of training camp. All that is, except first round selection Eugene Monroe. It is very unlikely he'll be in camp by Monday, but I sure hope he gets into camp before the Oklahoma Drill. It will be quite a welcome to the NFL moment for him.
My favorite receiver of the draft and number 7 overall selection, Darius Heyward Bey, signed a contract worth a whopping 23.5 million guaranteed on a five-year deal. For those of you keeping score at home, the agent won this one. That is an increase of over 20% from Sedrick Ellis' contract at number 7 a year ago. Not a good sign for the Jags and Monroe.
Harvey signed with 17.7 million guaranteed last year, so if we apply the same 20% raise that DHB got over last year (which I promise the Agent will push for), then we all of a sudden find ourselves at an absolutely scary number... 21.3 million guaranteed.... on a five year deal... We can't afford to keep getting top ten draft picks!! If we are lucky, we'll get Eugene for 20 million, which is closer to a 15% raise. A 10% raise over last year's contract would put the deal at 19.4 million, and that is the LEAST that the Jags will get him to sign for.
Just to give you an idea of the skyrocketing salaries these players are getting... the number 8 overall selection in 2007 only netted 15.3 million guaranteed. Harvey's contract was about 15% higher than that, and now it seems that 15% is the least we'll get Monroe for... 20 million guaranteed is too much for a man who's never played a down. I sure hope this holdout doesn't reach into double digits... Check back for the latest!
-Collin Streetman