Rams News

Rams, top-pick Wistrom are close in contract talks
07/15 06:38 PM

By Jim Thomas
Of the Post-Dispatch

The Rams and the agent for first-round draft pick Grant Wistrom continue to zero in on a contract. But as the saying goes, it's not soup yet.
``I'm talked out,'' Rams executive vice president Jay Zygmunt said late Wednesday afternoon. ``We had a very long conversation today. We have issues to resolve, but we are making progress. We would like to get this completed as soon as possible. I think we have a chance to get this done really soon.''
The good news from a Rams standpoint is that Wistrom's agent, Tom Condon, also wants to strike a deal. Unlike many Rams negotiations with first-round picks or higher-profile veteran players in recent years, the Wistrom discussions have been low on rhetoric and posturing.
``It's all been substantive,'' Zygmunt said.
Zygmunt and Condon have been working on a deal off-and-on since early June, with talks accelerating markedly in the past two weeks. Condon, remember, has a lot on his negotiating plate with four first-round picks this year, including No. 1 overall selection Peyton Manning, the Tennessee quarterback who was drafted by Indianapolis.
So the Wistrom talks have occasionally broken off for a day or two, while Condon meets with Colts president Bill Polian.
The main issue in the Wistrom negotiations appears to be contract length, more precisely, projecting what Wistrom might be worth in years five and six of his contract if he plays up to his lofty draft status. As has been their custom with first-round picks in the 1990s, the Rams prefer a contract length of at least five years.
Among their nine previous first-rounders this decade, running back Lawrence Phillips -- now with Miami -- is the only Rams player who didn't sign at least a five-year deal out of college. That list includes center Bern Brostek, cornerback Todd Lyght, defensive end Sean Gilbert, running back Jerome Bettis, offensive tackle Wayne Gandy, defensive end Kevin Carter, wide receiver Eddie Kennison and offensive tackle Orlando Pace.
Brostek, Bettis and Gilbert no longer are with the club. Bettis had a provision that could void his contract after four years. The Rams wanted a shorter-term deal -- and no signing bonus -- with Phillips because of his off-the-field problems.
In the Wistrom negotiations, the Rams are boxed in to an extent by the rookie salary cap -- which is a cap within the overall cap. The Rams' rookie cap for 1998 is just more than $3.5 million. With their seven other draft picks already signed, they have about $1.7 million left for Wistrom in '98. Another restriction is the fact that base salaries for draft picks can increase only 25 percent a year over the length of a contract.
That leaves incentives as one way to ease any concern Condon or Wistrom might have over committing to years five and six of any contract. What if Wistrom proves to be a star? What kind of money could he get in free agency, in this era of plentiful television dollars, if he signed only a four-year deal? (NFL players can become eligible for unrestricted free agency after four years.)
``The issues that (Condon) has raised, if he didn't raise them, he wouldn't be doing his job,'' Zygmunt said. ``Now we have to resolve them to our mutual satisfaction.''
On the flip side, what if Wistrom is a flop, or merely mediocre? Over a five- or six-year deal, the Rams could commit $5 million to $6 million of signing bonus -- guaranteed money -- even if Wistrom never registered an NFL sack. Obviously, the longer the contract, the bigger the signing bonus.
The price range in Wistrom's territory continues to be clarified as more draft picks in his neighborhood are signed. Defensive end Greg Ellis of North Carolina, drafted No. 8 overall by Dallas, signed a six-year, $11.5 million contract earlier this week. The deal included a $5.4 million signing bonus.
Ellis plays the same position as Wistrom, and was drafted just two slots later. So it doesn't take an advanced degree in economics to figure out that Wistrom is in line for more than $12 million overall, with a signing bonus of more than $5.5 million if he signs a six-year deal with St. Louis.
There's still an outside chance that will get done before Rams rookies report to training camp Saturday in Macomb, Ill.

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