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Published: June 28, 2008
Goodell says rookie salaries high
CHAUTAUQUA, N.Y. -- Roger Goodell, the commissioner of the NFL, said that its "ridiculous" to reward untested rookies with lucrative contracts and wants the issue addressed in contract talks.
"There's something wrong about the system," Goodell said yesterday. "The money should go to people who perform."
Goodell referred to Jake Long's five-year, $57.75 million contract -- with $30 million guaranteed. Long, a tackle out of Michigan, was the No. 1 pick by the Miami Dolphins in April.
"He doesn't have to play a down in the NFL, and he already has his money," Goodell said. "Now, with the economics where they are, the consequences if you don't evaluate that player, you can lose a significant amount of money.
"And that money is not going to players that are performing. It's going to a player that never makes it in the NFL. And I think that's ridiculous."
Goodell said he favors lowering salaries offered to rookies but allowing a provision for those players to renegotiate their deals after proving themselves on the field.
Speaking to reporters before his appearance at sports symposium at the Chautauqua Institution, Goodell said he plans to open negotiations with the players union on a revamped labor deal this fall after listening to concerns from all 32 owners in meetings over the past month.
More football
■ Three Appalachian State football games will be broadcast live in the fall as part of SportSouth's Southern Conference television package. Appalachian's home game against The Citadel (Oct. 4) and road games at Georgia Southern (Oct. 18) and Western Carolina (Nov. 22) will be televised, with all three games start at 3 p.m.
Appalachian will have two other TV games -- at LSU on Aug. 30 (ESPN) and home against Wofford on Oct. 31 (ESPN2).
■ Running back Marshawn Lynch of the Buffalo Bills will temporarily lose his drivers license and pay $150 in fines after admitting yesterday that he was driving his SUV last month when a woman was hit crossing a street.
Lynch, who left the scene, apologized to the victim yesterday before pleading guilty to a traffic infraction -- failure to exercise due care.
■ A foreclosure sale on the home of Adam "Pacman" Jones has been postponed until July 28.
The office of Attorney J. Phillip Jones, who has been appointed trustee of the property in a suburb of Nashville, Tenn., declined to say why the sale was postponed. Jones has defaulted on the terms and conditions of a mortgage, according to a notice of foreclosure sale.
Basketball
■ The Minnesota Timberwolves traded No. 3 pick O.J. Mayo to the Memphis Grizzlies for Kevin Love in an eight-player, early yesterday morning.
The Timberwolves also received shooter Mike Miller and frontcourt retreads Brian Cardinal and Jason Collins from Memphis in exchange for the draft rights to Mayo, forward Antoine Walker and guards Marko Jaric and Greg Buckner.
Miscellaneous
■ Big Brown's trainer, Rick Dutrow Jr., has taken responsibility for a positive drug test on another horse he trains but is still appealing his 15-day suspension. Salute the Count was found to have more than the allowable limit of Clenbuterol -- a drug that allows horses to breathe easier -- after a second-place finish in a race in May.
"It's just a mistake in the barn that happened," Dutrow said.
Dutrow said yesterday that he was appealing because "I need to be with my horses now."
■ Floyd Landis will learn Monday whether he can reclaim his 2006 Tour de France title. The Court of Arbitration for Sport said yesterday that it will announce the result from a five-day appeal hearing held in New York City in March. Landis appealed to CAS after an American arbitration panel ruled last September that he used performance-enhancing substances during his victory.
■ Chip Beck, a native of Fayetteville, and a four-time winner on the PGA Tour, and Happ Lathrop, South Carolina's "Mr. Golf," will be inducted into the Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame in Pinehurst on Aug. 25. Beck also was the second player in tour history to shoot 59, at the 1991 Las Vegas Invitational. Lathrop has been the executive director of the South Carolina Golf Association for nearly four decades.
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