The rookie fifth-year option
The fifth-year option may not be going anywhere, but it could be experiencing a change according to one report. This rule change takes some of its inspiration from the Rose Rule in the NBA. First-round picks may get paid more, but they are also penalized if they perform well because teams have fifth-year options they can pick up. Those players are forced to play under their market value while players selected in later rounds are already on to their second contract. This was happening in the NBA with their rookie wage scale and the answer was simple: if a player reaches certain accolades they should be able to cash in on those accolades. In the NFL’s version, a rookie who has hit certain escalators may be eligible for franchise tag money in their fifth-year option. Not a bad deal since the owners aren’t going to simply give up the fifth-year option and often times rookies are the last thought of active union members.