Sam Bradford Will Not Sign Contract Before Draft

The closer we get to next week’s NFL Draft the more likely it seems that former Oklahoma Sooner quarterback Sam Bradford will be the first-overall selection and newest member of the St. Louis Rams. However, don’t expect Bradford to have a contract signed before he is selected.

A source told NFL Fanhouse that Bradford is “not doing a deal, period, until he is drafted.”

Fanhouse wrote:

"That would represent a change in recent trends. The last two No. 1 picks — Matthew Stafford of the Lions in 2009 and Jake Long of the Dolphins in 2008 — agreed to contracts before they were selected, as did Mario Williams of the Texans in 2006. The Raiders took JaMarcus Russell at No. 1 in 2007 without signing him beforehand, and that resulted in a complete fiasco in which Russell didn’t sign until September.Now, that’s not to say that Bradford, who appears to have both a brain in his head and an idea of how to order a salad, will turn out to be another Russell. But his refusal to sign a pre-draft deal does bring up some issues that indicate the Rams have a thornier issue on their hands than you may think.The main thing Bradford gains by not signing pre-draft is leverage. If the Rams take him No. 1, they have to sign him. Given the current, miserable state of their franchise, they can’t blow the No. 1 pick. There’s no way they could face their fans and say, “Sorry, we picked the franchise quarterback we needed, but he was asking for too much, so we didn’t sign him.” Bradford’s agents (the same agents who represented Stafford a year ago) are determined to get him more than Stafford got (six years, $72 million with $41.7 million guaranteed), and they know their chances of getting it from the Rams will increase sharply after the Rams pick Bradford."

The lack of a pre-draft contract could cause some extra drama for the St. Louis Rams. A common thought is that Bradford is refusing to sign a contract because he would prefer to not play for the Rams. There are people around Bradford who were hoping the Redskins would have worked out a deal for the top pick so he could develop under Mike Shanahan. Washington’s trade for McNabb has all but ruined any hope for that scenario.

There is still a chance that the Rams will look to trade back or select another player if they feel they won’t be able to get a deal done with Bradford, so stay tuned as the drama unfolds.