I just heard about this; what do y'all think of it?
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Under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, teams can make a qualifying offer -- the average of the previous year's top 125 salaries -- to any impending free agent. This year's number is $13.3 million. If the player declines the one-year deal, he can still re-sign with the team at a different price.
Should the player sign elsewhere, the team that lost the free agent receives a compensation Draft pick made between the first and second rounds. The compensation pick is determined by reverse order of winning percentage, and the signing team loses its first-round pick. The top 10 picks of the Draft are protected, however, so any team holding a top 10 pick forfeits its second-round selection if it signs a player who received a qualifying offer. The Pirates' No. 9 pick is also safe, as it is compensation for failing to sign their first-round pick this year.
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Seems utterly retarded to me. Why the **** should, for example, the Yankees be "compensated" for Nick Swisher signing elsewhere after his contract with them ran out?? And who the hell's gonna give up a 1st-round pick to sign him?
This seems like a horrible idea all around. Any player who declines an offer runs the risk of no one wanting to sign him because of the draft-pick loss. Of course, players will realize that, & may take the offer, so it seems like a risk for teams to offer it.
What is the point?