NFL changes could cause Moreno, Stafford to leave UGA
By
TIM TUCKER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sunday, November 30, 2008
A decision made by NFL owners at a meeting in Atlanta in May could push Georgia’s
Matthew Stafford and
Knowshon Moreno toward the 2009 NFL draft.
The owners voted at that meeting to end the league’s current collective bargaining agreement early — a complicated process that basically puts pressure on the NFL and its players’ union to negotiate a new deal by March 2010.
One issue expected to be on the table in those negotiations is the current system of compensating rookie players, particularly high draft picks. Some owners have said less money should go to unproven rookies and more to proven stars, leading to speculation a rookie wage scale might be implemented to reduce the guaranteed signing bonuses that go to draft picks.
It’s anyone’s guess what will emerge in the give-and-take of negotiations with the players’ union, which currently is seeking a new leader after the death in August of long-time executive director
Gene Upshaw.
But the mere possibility of unfavorable changes in the draft for 2010 and beyond is one factor that Stafford, Moreno and other underclassmen eligible for the 2009 draft will consider.
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