http://blogs.usatoday.com/thehuddle/2009/02/cnbc-estimate-a.html
CNBC estimate: Andre Smith could lose $24M in draft freefall
NDIANAPOLIS -- The early reviews of Andre Smith's combine flop suggest the Alabama left tackle may have cost himself millions of dollars.
Smith apologized on Saturday after leaving the combine unexpectedly without informing NFL officials. Draft analysts who had been suggesting he could be a potential No. 1 overall selection now say he could slide into the bottom of the first round -- or further.
CNBC's Darren Rovell estimates that Smith would lose $23.8 million in guaranteed money if he slides to the bottom of the first round, based on money given to left tackles in last year's draft. SI.com's Peter King said he can envision Smith sliding out of the first round completely.
Smith, who also was suspended from the Sugar Bowl for improper dealings with an agent and acknowledged having weight fluctuations, said Thursday that he became a left tackle because his father told him it was the "highest-paid position."
Mike Mayock, a draft analyst for the NFL Network, said teams could be leery of committing big dollars to a player who raises so many red flags.
"Best case scenario, you've got a case of a young immature kid who hopefully will learn," Mayock said. "And that's how some teams will look at it after they do a lot of homework. Worst-case scenario, you'll have the beginning of erratic behavior that you don't want to deal with over the next 4-5 years of a contract. And you take him off your board.
"Some teams will say 'Hey, he is what he is, and we're not going to take anything off what we saw at the combine.' I think other teams will say maybe he makes sense at 15, maybe he makes sense at 20, maybe he doesn't make sense at all."
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