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The Detroit Lions seem to have an overall strategy, that has more to do with the business side of things then it does the winning, losing, and talent level of the roster that fans seem to care more about.
It is a very savvy move for the Lions and General Manager Martin Mayhew to use the hype surrounding DT prospect Ndamukong Suh to work a trade to avoid having to pay another huge contract to an unproved rookie.
Just before the 2009 draft the Lions negotiated a six year 78 million dollar deal, with 41.7 million dollars of that being guaranteed. It was the largest rookie contract every singed. Last year's number two pick, OT Jason Smith, got a six year deal worth 61 million dollars, with 35 million of it guaranteed.
It seems that the Lions do not want to be in the position of having to pay out that kind of money to another unproven rookie. While it seems that Stafford will eventually be worth his contract, that hardly eliminates the risk involved in signing a player like Suh to a massive deal.
As a lifelong Detroit Lions fan, I would love to see my team sign a guy with the apparent skill level of Suh. However it is not like the Lions have all the money in the world to spend, uncapped year or not, this is a team that has not made a lot of money in recent years.
According to Forbes Sports money over the last three years the Lions have been operating at a loss. While their revenue made a nice turnaround in 2009, they still have nearly 60% of their revenue tied up in player salaries.
Since the team is still rebuilding from the devastation of the Matt Millen years, and the economy in Michigan is still in the toilet committing another Stafford sized contract to an unproven player would not be financially responsible.
It makes far more sense for the Lions to use the market for Suh to trade down, get more picks to help rebuild their team, and avoid another huge contract. Plenty of teams covet Suh, and since the St. Louis Rams seem likely to spend the first overall pick on a QB, the Lions are really sitting in the cat bird seat.
They have been very aggressive in free agency, and have added a lot of pieces to their roster. They have also built up some, much needed goodwill with their fan base, and it seems that while they may not like passing on Suh they would certainly understand it.
On top of all that Mayhew proved in last year’s draft that he and the Lions scouting department can use lower round draft picks to find players who can come in and start for this team. The 2009 draft netted OLB DeAndre Levy in the third round and DT Sammie Lee Hill in the fourth round. Both players figure to start for the 2010 Lions.
While late round draft picks still carry a lot of risk, there is not nearly the financial commitment by the team to get them signed. Let us also not forget that this is probably going to be the last NFL draft that does not contain some form of rookie salary cap that would eliminate a lot of the risk to bad teams with high first round draft picks.
Given all the available evidence, it makes the most sense, form a business standpoint for the Lions to avoid using the 2nd overall pick in the 2010 NFL draft to draft a player with such a financial commitment required to get him signed.
Related Links:
• Detroit Lions news and notes
• The Business of the NFL
• Lions fan view
• MTR Football.com
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