The Draft; Rewarding teams for losing since '65!

by JasonB on Apr 16, 2007 10:10 AM EDT in Philadelphia Eagles News

Your team sucked last year, Congratulations!

This subject has cropped up in recent weeks due to some teams in the NBA tanking games in an attempt to get the top draft pick. I'm not sure it's quite as big a problem in the NFL, but I figured it was worth talking about leading up to the draft in just 2 weeks.

The point of the draft is, like much of what the NFL does(salary cap, revenue sharing ect), to create parity. The NFL has always tried to sell itself as the league where every team can compete every year. The worst teams every year get first pick of the best college players. However, can you have parity when teams aren't trying to win games? Aren't we just rewarding losing?

Further, do fans even care? If you're a fan of bad team, would you rather see them win that last game or lose and get the #1 pick? Had Detroit not beaten Dallas in that glorious final game of last year, they'd have had a coin flip for the first pick in the draft. If the Raiders pick Jamarcus Russell and he becomes a great QB, was that Dallas win a bad thing for the Lions? I found myself rooting for the Eagles to lose down the stretch the year they picked McNabb. It's understandable, but is it right?

That leads me to the question. Should something be done to create more of a desperation to succeed? With revenue sharing and a salary cap, NFL owners are all but guaranteed to make money. Really only bad accounting or bad investments could lose you money in the NFL. Despite the fact that the owners split billions of dollars in TV revenue and all teams spend the virtually the same amount of money on players... the top 15 revenue producing teams still have to pay the smaller teams.

In European soccer, the worst teams in the top league get relegated to a lower league every year. They are literally kicked out of the league! For example, imagine if instead of being rewarded with the #1 pick in the draft and a share of billions of dollars in TV money for being the worst team in the NFL, the Raiders were sent to the CFL next year and replaced with the British Columbia Lions(last year's CFL champs) in the NFL?

Imagine the desperation to win and compete every team would have every year if getting relegated to a lower league was a possibility? Fans sure as hell wouldn't be rooting for their team to lose their last game or two and teams sure as hell wouldn't be resting guys with minor injuries in the last game.

There are obviously less harsh options... Maybe teams could get a smaller cut of the revenue sharing if they are bad? Maybe the first round of the draft could be a lottery where all the teams have a shot at the #1 pick?

Does any of this make any sense? Am I filling up space with inane ramblings because it's a slow news day? Am I just annoyed that the only teams the media talks about right now are the 10 worst teams from last year?

Tweet Comment 10 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

i'm with you...

for years i've shared your sentiment about teams obviously loosing on purpose. Do you remember how ridiculous that whole thing with Lebron James was a few years back? Like you said the NFL isn't as bad as the NBA.

That would definitly be an interesting scenario, replacing the best CFL team with the worst NFL team... no well in hell that ever happens, but what if there was a way penalize teams another way. For instance what if there was a by law that said if you lost the last 4 or 5 games of the regular season you automatically drop 3 spots in the draft. This would be harsh on teams that are really terrible, but it would definitly put a stop to teams throwing in the towel on purpose.

700 Level

by 700 Level on Apr 16, 2007 12:40 PM EDT reply actions

I guess it could all be lottery

But then people would scream that its fixed (The whole Patrick Ewing frozen envolope conspiracy theory).

And if the lottery ever were rigged, let's face it, the Eagles aren't a team that the league would probably choose to "help."

I just can't ever root for the Eagles to lose, no matter what the draft implications.

by BrianS on Apr 16, 2007 1:57 PM EDT reply actions

me either...

although, tell me if you're a lions fan how you feel right now... obviously as eagles fans we revelled in the fact that dallas lost that game... but they probably dont hate dallas like we do, and lets face it, they need MAJOR help!

700 Level

by 700 Level on Apr 16, 2007 2:11 PM EDT reply actions

Right

I'm talking about that situation where you are out of the playoffs, there's a game or two left... At that point winning actually "hurts" your team. Because if you aren't in the playoffs, the next best reward is a top draft pick. It's like the scale of success goes in opposite ways. If you aren't really good, you might as well be really bad. Being 6-10 or 7-9 doesn't seem to help you all that much.

I wish there could be a way this wasn't true.

Bleeding Green Nation Philadelphia Eagles Blog

by JasonB on Apr 16, 2007 2:35 PM EDT up reply actions

BTW

This is exactly the debate raging with the Sixers right now.

In the NBA, the worst thing you can be is mediocre. The Sixers, thanks to their late season "success" will probably end up picking at around 11. Why are they penalized for playing better and the Celtics are rewarded for tanking?

Bleeding Green Nation Philadelphia Eagles Blog

by JasonB on Apr 16, 2007 2:38 PM EDT up reply actions

A few thoughts

I agree that the tanking issue doesn't seem to be as big a problem in the NFL as the NBA, but I still favor a lottery for all non-playoff teams. This would help mitigate any potential tanking, while also not arbitrarily favoring one terrible team over another terrible team. For example, I believe that the Lions were superior to the Raiders last year. However, as you rightly point out, a loss to Dallas would have given them a 50/50 chance to get the top pick over a clearly inferior team. If that's the case anyway, why not go to a lottery system and let fate decide the issue? At least that way it would be luck and not tanking that decides the #1 pick.

Having said that, however, I don't think any big changes will be imminent. I certainly won't be heartbroken if the system stays as it is. And there are very, very few "sure things." With the spotty track record of high draft picks (Mandarich, Mirer, Blair Thomas, Leaf, Ki-Jana Carter, Emtman, Coryatt, Trev Alberts -- disclosure: I am a Colts fan -- etc.) paying upper 1st round money is a daunting prospect. Look at what the Raiders face now: Calvin Johnson is by most accounts the best player on the board. But as the team is stocked at WR, A: should they pick him anyway, and B: is it worth it to pay 1st pick money to a guy who will touch the ball about 6-9 times a game?

Last, some teams have bad seasons because they just stink through and through, and some have bad seasons because they have bad luck (injuries, close losses, decent team but in the wrong division/conference, etc.) I'd like to see the bad luck teams have a shot at picking first as much as I'd like to see the horribly mismanaged teams be rewarded.

Sorry to ramble so, I guess to sum up I'd say:

I don't think it's a huge problem and would be surprised to see radical changes soon
If/when changes come I would like to see them in the form of a lottery system
Teams (in any sport) should always play to win. If not for the integrity of the game, then for the paying fans. If I'm paying NFL prices, I expect to see an NFL product. Any owner, coach, or player who would support tanking to gain a long-term benefit had better be ready to pay back all those fans who are hoping for a win today.

by ctnyc on Apr 16, 2007 6:22 PM EDT reply actions

Agree

I kind of didn't mention that I also don't hate the NFL's system the way it is either. Just sort of brainstorming on a slow day...

Bleeding Green Nation Philadelphia Eagles Blog

by JasonB on Apr 16, 2007 7:01 PM EDT up reply actions

I'm with you, but...

I don't think it's an issue in the NFL at all. Like you said, the Lions beat the Cowboys this year, a couple of years ago the Cardinals beat Minnesota on a hail mary in as time ran out, that cost them a spot or two in the draft.

For some reason NFL teams and players have pride that doesn't exist in the NBA. That's where there needs to be a reverse incentive for completely sucking.

Great post, slow news day or not.

www.depressedfan.com

by depressedfan on Apr 16, 2007 8:52 PM EDT reply actions

The lottery...

the lottery is fun... and that win over dallas might mean the difference of a few ping pong balls as opposed to passing on a hall of fame quarterback.

good post.

Fly Eagles Fly!
The Eagles Chronicles

by klkatz on Apr 16, 2007 9:18 PM EDT reply actions