XFL to have tier-one quarterbacks allocated and not a part of the draft process?

[Dynamofan1]

These potential tier 1 QB's ARE FREE AGENTS. They aren't under contract to anyone. Becuz of that ,they can sign anywhere . So if a guy is deemed tier 1 and isn't picked up or ALLOCATED then he simply remains a free agent and signs for less than tier 1 money, or, he enters the XFL DRAFT and gets selected. How else can this be done? All of these players are literally FREE AGENTS.

[nick1091]

I think the issue with that is that I'd imagine for the QB's especially their interest in the league may be elastic on what contract tier they're at. So if you're a younger QB, whether to take the money from the XFL or just stay ready as a FA in case of the inevitable injury becomes more of a personal decision than if you're guaranteed to get top tier bucks.

The problem here with the salaries being structured in tiers and all contracts centralized against the league is you're really shrinking the parameters of competitive bidding between teams. Also the XFL would likely want to avoid paying top tier money to a QB that doesn't have a more likely than not chance of being a team's week 1 starter.

Here's a totally top of my head idea;

1. After NFL cut downs, the XFL assembles a list of potential QBs and circulates the list to all the teams. The top 8 in terms of interest (meaning at least one team indicates they'd be happy with him as their QB Allocation) become your Tier 1 guys.

2. Once that list is finalized, each team ranks the QBs in order from 1-8.

3. If a team is the only one who has that QB at their top spot, they get him, which is sort of a no brainer.

4. In case of multiple teams having the same guy at their top position, there are a few ways to go;

a. Just allow the QB to choose their desired location (based on scheme fit, location, coaching staff, etc.)
b. If QB's aren't going to have a say in the matter, have the "bidding," be the number of rounds in the draft you are willing to swap pick order in the upcoming player draft with the "losing," team.

So for instance, let's say both St Louis and Los Angeles indicate their preferred QB is, I don't know, Landry Jones. In order for LA to get him, you'd have to agree to a certain number of rounds where you'd swap your picks (where yours is higher, which could vary obviously if the draft runs serpentine) with St Louis in order for the privilege.

It brings in a certain amount of strategy, so if you're LA, you'd have to gauge how much better Landry Jones is in your eyes than your next slotted QB that you'd be willing to sacrifice other areas in order to get him.

[Tank55]

I don't think that's a bad proposal, I just think straight free agency is going to yield nearly same results with a lot less administrative work. Why not just let Landry Jones decide if he wants to play in St. Louis or Los Angeles?

[MikeMitchell]

I don't think that's a bad proposal, I just think straight free agency is going to yield nearly same results with a lot less administrative work. Why not just let Landry Jones decide if he wants to play in St. Louis or Los Angeles?

No need to overthink it. The league uses their top salary to lure quarterbacks to sign on. The league allows the quarterbacks, the freedom to negotiate and choose which team, they want to play for. It's the only aspect that should be free agency driven in the league. The other 700 players go into the draft.

No need for an allocation or some forced league designation. The 8 players themselves can decide. Each team only gets one. You can frame it as all 8 teams getting a negotiation window for the 8 Tier-One players if you want. No need for us to know, which teams failed in their attempts to bid on a player. It will be similar to free agency or recruiting, except we don't get the details of the process. Only the end result.

The league itself may identify 12 separate quarterbacks that they will consider giving the top tier salary to, and only be able to get 8 of them to agree to contracts. Remember an XFL contract, guarantees that these quarterbacks can't leave until after the XFL season. So once you sign on, there's no, let me wait and see if there are any injuries in the NFL. You are locked in. That could be a deterrent for some of the prospective signees. So the salary and the choice of team, may be the deciding factor in getting these types of players to commit to the league.

[Dynamofan1]

[MLS has done well with a centralized single entity structure.

Tier 1's are like MLS DP's. The difference here is we don't know how XFL will allocate.

I believe having so single entity structure with central leadership works in sports. Especially when starting from scratch. Salary cap etc...all positives imo

[nick1091]

No need to overthink it. The league uses their top salary to lure quarterbacks to sign on. The league allows the quarterbacks, the freedom to negotiate and choose which team, they want to play for. It's the only aspect that should be free agency driven in the league. The other 700 players go into the draft.

No need for an allocation or some forced league designation. The 8 players themselves can decide. Each team only gets one. You can frame it as all 8 teams getting a negotiation window for the 8 Tier-One players if you want. No need for us to know, which teams failed in their attempts to bid on a player. It will be similar to free agency or recruiting, except we don't get the details of the process. Only the end result.

I think that works out well provided the league is willing to either cede "control," of who the 8 are or at least strongly gauges individual teams' interest to ensure at least one team would be happy to have them. So for instance in the Geno Smith/Paxton Lynch camp battle, I'm assuming that's something that wouldn't have been mentioned specifically unless someone mentioned they'd want one or the other.

[MikeMitchell]

No need to overthink it. The league uses their top salary to lure quarterbacks to sign on. The league allows the quarterbacks, the freedom to negotiate and choose which team, they want to play for. It's the only aspect that should be free agency driven in the league. The other 700 players go into the draft.

No need for an allocation or some forced league designation. The 8 players themselves can decide. Each team only gets one. You can frame it as all 8 teams getting a negotiation window for the 8 Tier-One players if you want. No need for us to know, which teams failed in their attempts to bid on a player. It will be similar to free agency or recruiting, except we don't get the details of the process. Only the end result.

I think that works out well provided the league is willing to either cede "control," of who the 8 are or at least strongly gauges individual teams' interest to ensure at least one team would be happy to have them. So for instance in the Geno Smith/Paxton Lynch camp battle, I'm assuming that's something that wouldn't have been mentioned specifically unless someone mentioned they'd want one or the other.

It's a good point, because the league is in a one for all, all for one mode, when it comes to transparency. I would suspect that the league and the teams would get together behind closed doors to iron out all the details.

[Shooter McGav1n]

After giving this some thought, I think the best way to handle tier 1 qb allocations would be:

XFL provides each team with a list of possible tier 1 candidates. Teams use the list to submit their top choices to the league office which then assigns the selected players to teams. In cases where a player is listed as the top choice of only 1 team, that team is awarded the rights to the player. In cases where there are multiple claims on a player as a top choice, the league would make the decision. They could take into consideration numerous factors, including regional ties, coaching ties, scouting grades of other players on the lists, etc.
once all 8 teams have been awarded a qb, the league then negotiates contracts with the players.

This would allow the teams to select their franchise players, and would also allow the league an opportunity to assign in demand players to optimum locations.

https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/sta ... 23041?s=17
A little more clarity provided by June Jones on the tier 1 process, and I may not have been far off in my assumption of how the process would play out. It appears as though each team has provided the league with a ranked list of QBs and the league will make the decision on tier 1 players based off those lists. Also worth noting, he mentions Johnny Manziel's name appeared on several lists.

[johnnyangryfuzzball]

I don't think he plays anymore.

Sam has some knee issues. He's made his money, and though he hasn't officially retired, he's probably never playing football again. Besides, based on his past contracts, he, like Kaepernick, is probably WAY out of the XFL's price range.

[Xtremedb3]