2013 Arizona Cardinals rookie pool money set

Remember the Matt Leinart preseason holdout that forced him to miss mini camps and organized team activities because evidently a "gift from Heaven" doesn't come cheap?

Or the Wendell Bryant absence? Calvin Pace or Bryant Johnson?

With the new CBA agreed to by both the owners and player's union, those types of contractual differences are ending. It was done primarily to save the owners from themselves in spending huge signing bonuses (or other guaranteed non-cap money) on first round picks that have either worked - Matthew Stafford (26 million), or not - Jamarcus Russell (32 million). All teams are given a ceiling and a floor amount of "pool" money which must be spent on the first year players. For the Cardinals, the minimum is 5.1 million, while the maximum is 6.8 million. It doesn't count against the team salary cap, (it's basically a cap within a cap) but once those players are signed they will if - they are in the top 51 of the club's salaries. (With the slotting, only Jonathon Cooper's inking should affect the team's salary cap.)

So, after next week's rookie camp, expect many of the newbies to be official Arizona Cardinals. In fact, last season after the practices, all were signed except for third rounder Jamell Fleming and first round guy, Michael Floyd - and they signed the day before mandatory mini camp last June. I would think the same would be true come this year's mandatory on June 11th.

Website Over the Cap has a really good chart that shows the approximate signing bonuses and the predetermined numbers that each round choice will receive over their mandated 4 year contract, another new CBA provision.

With the hard numbers giving the player's agent and the team's negotiators a firm base and limit - training camp holdouts should be going the way of the Wildcat offense - extinct.