Category Archives: Uncategorized

College Football: Early Season Rankings and Cupcake Victories Have No Value

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During the last three weeks, college football fans around the nation have seen some pretty amazing football games.  Some fans have been happier with the results than others so far.  For instance, this past Saturday, Tennessee Volunteer fans were expecting a major SEC win (their first in a few years) over the Florida Gators.  What they got instead at a sold out Neyland Stadium was a depressing 37-20 loss.  Fans left after the game–some of them personal friends–as though they were leaving a funeral.  The Volunteers seventeen point loss was their worst to Florida since 2008, when a Tim Tebow led Gator team beat them 30-6.  So much hype was created before the game by Tennessee fans and players, to a team that, although 2-0, hasn’t posted a major win over a good SEC team since 2009 when they beat #22 South Carolina 31-13. 

Are early season cupcake games like Oregon’s 63-14 win over Tennessee Tech good indicators of how good a team really is?  I respect a fan’s love for their school, but staying quiet and humble is a must until a major victory has been achieved.  Arkansas fans must be feeling this right now, as are the sports writers and bloggers like myself who predicted last Saturday’s game to be an undefeated showdown between Alabama as prime time action. Boy were we way wrong, as the Razorbacks got hammered 52-0 and need quarterback Tyler Wilson to get healthy if they have a chance to make a bowl.

Games this week that could cause some fans to quiet their pre-BCS Championship buzz are Michigan verses Notre Dame and Clemson verses Florida State.  Notre Dame has their highest ranking in a number of years looks to stop a three game slide against the Wolverines at home on Saturday.  The Irish faithful, need to stay humble even if the Irish win, as they still must host #9 Stanford, and travel to #6 Oklahoma and #13 USC. 

The Clemson-FSU matchup will more than likely determine who wins the ACC Atlantic Division and thus make it to the BCS title game.  If Clemson can pull off the upset in Tallahassee, their remaining schedule is fairly easy and could run the table.   As this college season continues to unfold before our eyes, the pretenders and contenders will cause us fans to take a deep breath and hope we are on the winning side.

By: Craig Emmert

New NBA Rookies’ Salaries for 2012

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The 2012 NBA Draft was pretty eventful and it was fun to watch our favorite college players make a big step in their careers.  Now many people are wondering, how much are these kids going to get paid?  Unlike other leagues, the NBA has a set pay scale for rookies, and it’s based solely on their draft position.  This is why the NBA draft is so important for the NBA’s newest players.  These salaries are pretty much locked in and the NBA team has the option to retain the player for their third and fourth years. 

Notably, a team can offer a player 80-120% of the money in the scale below, and it’s almost always closer to %120, but it depends on the player and the skill of his agent. The “qualifying offer” (listed as “QO” below) is the extra percent of his third year salary that the team must offer the player to keep him from being a restricted free agent in his fourth year.  Here is what the NBA’s newest players will likely be making for the next two to four years:

1.  Anthony Davis – Hornets

Year 1                Year 2              Year 3           Year 4          QO

$4,286,900 $4,479,800 $4,672,700 26.10% 30.00%

2.  Michael Kidd-Gilchrest – Bobcats

Year 1                Year 2              Year 3           Year 4          QO

$3,835,600 $4,008,200 $4,180,800 26.20% 30.50%

3.  Bradley Beal – Wizards

Year 1                Year 2              Year 3           Year 4          QO

$3,444,400 $3,599,400 $3,754,400 26.40% 31.20%

4.  Dion Waiters – Cavaliers

Year 1                Year 2              Year 3           Year 4          QO

$3,105,500 $3,245,200 $3,385,000 26.50% 31.90%

5.  Thomas Robinson – Kings

Year 1                Year 2              Year 3           Year 4          QO

$2,812,200 $2,938,700 $3,065,300 26.70% 32.60%

6.  Damian Lillard – Trail Blazers

Year 1                Year 2              Year 3           Year 4          QO

$2,554,200 $2,669,100 $2,784,100 26.80% 33.40%

7.  Harrison Barnes – Warriors

Year 1                Year 2              Year 3           Year 4          QO

$2,331,700 $2,436,600 $2,541,600 27.00% 34.10%

8.  Terrence Ross – Raptors

Year 1                Year 2              Year 3           Year 4          QO

$2,136,100 $2,232,200 $2,328,300 27.20% 34.80%

9.  Andre Drummond – Pistons

Year 1                Year 2              Year 3           Year 4          QO

$1,963,600 $2,052,000 $2,140,300 27.40% 35.50%

10.  Austin Rivers – Hornets

Year 1                Year 2              Year 3           Year 4          QO

$1,865,300 $1,949,200 $2,033,200 27.50% 36.20%

11.  Meyers Leonard – Trail Blazers

Year 1                Year 2              Year 3           Year 4          QO

$1,772,100 $1,851,800 $1,931,600 32.70% 36.90%

12.  Jeremy Lamb – Rockets

Year 1                Year 2              Year 3           Year 4          QO

$1,683,500 $1,759,300 $1,835,000 37.80% 37.60%

13.  Kendall Marshall – Suns

Year 1                Year 2              Year 3           Year 4          QO

$1,599,300 $1,671,300 $1,743,200 42.90% 38.30%

14.  John Henson – Bucks

Year 1                Year 2              Year 3           Year 4          QO

$1,519,400 $1,587,800 $1,656,100 48.10% 39.10%

15.  Maurice Harkless – 76ers

Year 1                Year 2              Year 3           Year 4          QO

$1,443,300 $1,508,200 $1,573,200 53.30% 39.80%

16.  Royce White – Rockets

Year 1                Year 2              Year 3           Year 4          QO

$1,371,200 $1,432,900 $1,494,600 53.40% 40.50%

17.  Tyler Zeller – Cavaliers

Year 1                Year 2              Year 3           Year 4          QO

$1,302,600 $1,361,200 $1,419,800 53.60% 41.20%

18.  Terrence Jones – Rockets

Year 1                Year 2              Year 3           Year 4          QO

$1,237,500 $1,293,200 $1,348,900 53.80% 41.90%

19.  Andrew Nicholson – Magic

Year 1                Year 2              Year 3           Year 4          QO

$1,181,800 $1,235,000 $1,288,200 54.00% 42.60%

20.  Even Fournier – Nuggets

Year 1                Year 2              Year 3           Year 4          QO

$1,134,500 $1,185,600 $1,236,600 54.20% 43.30%

21.  Jared Sullinger – Celtics

Year 1                Year 2              Year 3           Year 4          QO

$1,089,100 $1,138,100 $1,187,100 59.30% 44.10%

22.  Fab Melo – Celtics

Year 1                Year 2              Year 3           Year 4          QO

$1,045,600 $1,092,700 $1,139,700 64.50% 44.80%

23.  John Jenkins – Hawks

Year 1                Year 2              Year 3           Year 4          QO

$1,003,800 $1,049,000 $1,094,100 69.70% 45.50%

24.  Jared Cunningham – Mavericks

Year 1                Year 2              Year 3           Year 4          QO

$963,600 $1,007,000 $1,050,300 74.90% 46.20%

25.  Tony Wroten Jr. – Grizzlies

Year 1                Year 2              Year 3           Year 4          QO

$925,100 $966,700 $1,008,400 80.10% 46.90%

26.  Miles Plumlee – Pacers

Year 1                Year 2              Year 3           Year 4          QO

$894,400 $934,600 $974,900 80.30% 47.60%

27.  Arnett Moultrie – 76ers

Year 1                Year 2              Year 3           Year 4          QO

$868,600 $907,700 $946,800 80.40% 48.30%

28.  Perry Jones III – Thunder

Year 1                Year 2              Year 3           Year 4          QO

$863,300 $902,100 $941,000 80.50% 49.00%

29.  Marquis Teague – Bulls

Year 1                Year 2              Year 3           Year 4          QO

$857,000 $895,600 $934,100 80.50% 50.00%

30.  Festus Ezeli – Warriors

Year 1                Year 2              Year 3           Year 4          QO

$850,800 $889,100 $927,400 80.50% 50.00%

Draft position is everything.  As you can see, there’s a HUGE drop-off between the first and the tenth picks in the draft–about $2.4 million per year.  But still, going in the first round is a big deal, as this money is guarnteed for at least the first two years.

Second round players are not guaranteed any money and often make only the league minimum.  Yet, early second round picks can often sign guaranteed contracts for more than the league minimum.  About the mid-second round, all bets are off.  Obviously, being drafted in the second round is nowhere near as good as being drafted in the first.

By: Todd Davis
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Todd Davis is former college basketball player and is currently a business litigation attorney in Miami.  He graduated law school with an emphasis in sports law.