Good news, rookies: You’re entering the NFL in the same year the salary cap went up $10 million per team.
Bad news, rookies: You won’t see any of it.
Per multiple league sources, the rookie pool did not change from 2013 to 2014. The only adjustment came from the mandatory $15,000 increase in minimum salary that was negotiated in 2011 as part of the new labor deal.
So what can the rookie do? The easy answer is nothing. They’re stuck with the terms of the rookie pool to which the NFLPA agreed.
The better answer is this: Ask for more of their money to be fully guaranteed.
For players taken near the top of the draft, the contracts already are fully guarantee. The only topic for discussion is whether the guaranteed money will be subject an offset if the player is cut. For other players whose contracts aren’t fully guaranteed, the agents should insist that, in lieu of an increase in the rookie pool, more of the money should be fully guaranteed.