Food for thought on Meachum signing....
 

This I thought was interesting. It's from ESPN.


The New Orleans Saints, for instance, have signed six of seven picks, and senior football administrator Russ Ball, the primary negotiator for the Saints, can now focus his efforts on striking a deal with first-round wide receiver Robert Meachem. The 27th prospect chosen, Meachem and his agents are basically locked into a 2007 salary cap charge of $992,630, because that's all the room New Orleans has remaining from its rookie pool allocation of $2.378 million.

I'm thinking that it would take a major snag in negotiations for meachem not to be in camp on time. And not being privy to what's happening I just don't see any other than the signing bonus maybe. ;) :o :D :cool:

How does the $982K "cap charge" translate to actual salary? Obviously they can throw a big signing bonus out there, but is that the max base salary they can give him?

In the rest of the article it points out that the $992,630 is actually about 10% higher than last years 27th pick signed for. The length and escalators are the sticking point I would guess.

Basically, yes.

Note the nice signing bonuses that our other rookies got. Also, 2 years ago Roddy White (#27 pick) got around $4.5 mill up front, and last year's 27 was Deangelo Williams, who got around the same.

Let's hope for a little more productivity than our NFC South counterparts

1st of the first rounders agrees to terms..........
 

A league source tells us that the Chicago Bears have reached an agreement with first-round draft pick Greg Olsen.

Olsen, the 31st overall selection in the 2007 draft, is the first first-rounder this year to come to terms.

The tentative terms, subject to change as the deal is fully ironed out, are as follows:

In 2007, he gets a signing bonus of $250,000, a $720,000 roster bonus, and a base salary of $285,000 in 2007.

The contract also has a one-time incentive based on minimum playing time of $578,700. For 2007, the trigger is 35 percent of the offensive snaps. For future years, it is 45 percent.

In 2008, there's an option bonus of $3.545 million and a base salary of $460,000.

In 2009, the base salary is $460,000, and Olsen is eligible for a $100,000 reporting/roster bonus that is earned at the start of training camp and paid out over the course of the regular season. (We'll explain the genesis of this new bonus later.)

In 2010, the base salary is $550,000, and the reporting/roster bonus is $140,000.

In 2011, the base salary is $650,000, and the reporting/roster bonus is $125,732.

The total value, including possible incentives of up to $2.921 million, is $10.69 million over five years.

Olsen is represented by Drew Rosenhaus, who also represents franchise-tagged Bears linebacker Lance Briggs. Apparently, the rancor between the team and Briggs hasn't affected the organization's ability to work with Rosenhaus.

Olsen played college football at Miami. He jumped into round one thanks to a sub-4.5 40-yard dash at the scouting combine in February. After he was selected by the Bears, a firestorm was sparked in Chicago due to his involvement in the rap group called the "7th Floor Crew," which had a song with profane lyrics posted on a MySpace.com page.

http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm

With Olsen being signed, I would think Meach's contract number would be set? The 1st round guys should start to fall into place like dominos.(Just a matter of time until pick #27 is signed, sealed & delivered for TC)