Aaron Curry = $34,000,000

by Brock Huard

The largest guaranteed dollar amount to any rookie non-quarterback in the history of the league, the history of the league. Aaron, good luck.

Can someone please add this up for me:
Lofa Tatupu (3 Consecutive Pro Bowls, SB Visit) 6 Years, $18 MM Guaranteed
Leroy Hill (4 year starter, franchise tag, SB visit) 6 Years, $15.5 MM Guaranteed
Total $33,500,000 Guaranteed

Walter Jones (Hall Of Famer, 9 Pro Bowls) 7 Years, $20 MM Guaranteed
Matt Hasselbeck (3 Pro Bowls, SB Visit) 6 Years, $16 MM Guaranteed
Total $36,000,000 Guaranteed

Aaron Curry (_________) 6 Years, $34 MM Guaranteed
Total $34,000,000 Guaranteed

Am I missing something here? Again, congratulations Aaron and I have no issue at all with you and the work your agent did to care for generations of the Curry family, but this rookie draft/slot/salary pool is broken. Guarantees of tens of millions of dollars to someone yet to contribute to one win for an organization is unhealthy to all parties, and smells much more like the broken business model of the NBA than it does to the brand of the NFL shield.

Lastly, I will be shocked if the holdouts and payouts resulting from this draft class are not the final impetus for the league and the players association to rectify this situation in the next bargaining agreement.