A Green Bay Packers star weighed in on the likelihood that an NFL owner would give into Caleb Williams’ reported demand of partial ownership to whatever team takes him in the 2024 NFL Draft.
According to a July report by Mike Florio with NBC Sports, Williams has made those wants known to prospective agents this summer:
“Per multiple sources, the representatives of USC quarterback Caleb Williams had been making it known to prospective agents that Williams wants partial ownership of the team that selects him in 2024, if he declares for the draft.”
The report resurfaced on social media after USC’s loss to Notre Dame on Saturday. Williams threw three interceptions in the first half for a 48-20 blowout. Many NFL fans mocked Williams’ demands to league ownership following the worst performance of his college career.
Green Bay Packers star weighs in on Caleb Williams’ demand
NFL pundit Dov Kleiman tweeted about the report on Tuesday night. He asked if an NFL player would eventually be able to negotiate ownership terms as a part of a contract agreement.
I wonder if it will actually work for someone one day.
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) October 18, 2023
Packers start left tackle David Bakhtiari responded to Kleiman’s question. Bakhtiari said it would depend on how desperate an owner would be to win.
Depends how desperate an owner(s) is to win. Only need ☝🏼
— David Bakhtiari (@DavidBakhtiari) October 18, 2023
Bakhtiari might have a point with the way that money is currently flowing into football.
Will NIL money change the rookie wage scale?
With NIL money in college sports, it might come sooner rather than later. The NFL instituted a rookie wage scale in 2011 to artificially curb the market for newcomers into the league. The rule came as part of the collective bargaining agreement, which only included current NFL players at the time, which took away the rights of incoming players.
With the NIL, a top draft prospect could theoretically receive more money to stay in college than what an NFL team could offer through the rookie wage scale. That could be an issue for a team that picks first overall if the prospect they want has a year of eligibility left.
The prospect could forgo the draft to make more cash in college, leaving the NFL franchise without a top prospect and thus cementing that the player would go to a league rival in the next draft. A desperate owner might find a way to give the prospect more cash than what the rookie wage scale would guarantee. And partial ownership could be the ticket for a can’t-miss prospect.
Will that happen with Williams? It could, but it’s unlikely in the current political climate. Owners might not want to feed more player empowerment by giving away partial ownership to players as a part of contract negotiation.
But then again, owners will be more desperate next spring than they are this fall.
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