Despite being in the middle of the NFL lockout and a court battle to keep the lockout on, reportedly the NFL franchises are doing a little business with their newly drafted players. Lockout protocol currently has any contact between teams and players prohibited. However, despite this, draftees are receiving tender offers from their new teams.
Why would teams be doing this when they are supposedly closed for business? It appears that it is simply something that they technically must do.
The draft was run using the expired CBA and it requires that teams tender offer to their picks or they will lose the draft rights to those players. The agent for at least one draftee has confirmed this. Howard Shatsky represents Jets third-round pick Kenrick Ellis and tweeted that Ellis received his tender.
The bigger question is whether or not these newly drafted players would sign? They have crossed over into the land of the players and doing so would likely cause a rift between current and new players.
Viably we could see draft picks signing contracts, but I just don't see that happening.