Ok so after reading a lot of the draft talk today and reading into the whole labor dispute, I had a question pop into my head: without a CBA, or any league rules determined, how is a draft pick bound to the team that picks him? Is it just a general agreement between the owners or is there a lawful binding of players to teams? The reason why I ask is because without all the rules and CBA I can't help but think about players being like Eli Manning and not wanting to play for the team that picked them.
I thought it was more of Eli Manning's father not wanting him in San Diego. But I'm not sure about your question. Had the lockout remained, drafted guys would just have to wait to hear from their new teams, now I'm not sure if teams can or can't have dialog after Saturday.
I see what you're saying. I think that players will still be property of the team that picks them, they just won't be able to negotiate contracts until something is in place. I think that mainly effects the top couple of picks. Because I believe last year, St. Louis already had a deal in place with Bradford before they drafted him and the same with Detroit and Suh.