Does anybody understand how UDFA works?

[Muhast]

How are they able to work out that many contracts that quickly?

I know they have a fixed amount they can use as signing bonuses for the UDFA's. Is there basically no negotiation at all, and the first team that calls a player lands him? Or are they negotiating and calling players during the last rounds of the draft?

I'm hoping somebody knows, I've always wondered how it works, where they can land 20+ players in an hour.

 

[Doomsday101]

How are they able to work out that many contracts that quickly?

I know they have a fixed amount they can use as signing bonuses for the UDFA's. Is there basically no negotiation at all, and the first team that calls a player lands him? Or are they negotiating and calling players during the last rounds of the draft?

I'm hoping somebody knows, I've always wondered how it works, where they can land 20+ players in an hour.

Teams will contact these guys even before the draft. Good thing about being UDFA is if you have 2 or 3 teams interested you have the chance to determine where you want to go.

 

[Muhast]

Teams will contact these guys even before the draft. Good thing about being UDFA is if you have 2 or 3 teams interested you have the chance to determine where you want to go.

Wasn't Romo choosing between Dallas and Denver?

 

[The30YardSlant]

Many times a team will contact players before the draft and tell them "we aren't going to pick you, but if you don't get drafted you'll be getting a call from us immediately".

Also, almost all UDFA contracts are identical. Between that and the fact that most of these guys are just desperate for a chance after not being drafted there is typically no negotiating. Players generally just accept the first offer they receive unless in the rare case of multiple teams pursuing them heavily in which case they get to choose.

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

I guess I don't understand the process all that well but why would you tell someone we want you if you aren't drafted but we won't take you in the draft? Why not just draft them as flotsam in the 7th round or something?

 

[The30YardSlant]

I guess I don't understand the process all that well but why would you tell someone we want you if you aren't drafted but we won't take you in the draft? Why not just draft them as flotsam in the 7th round or something?

Because you either don't have a draftable grade on him or know that he is so far under the radar he isnt worth using a pick on because he'll still be there.

 

[JD_KaPow]

I guess I don't understand the process all that well but why would you tell someone we want you if you aren't drafted but we won't take you in the draft? Why not just draft them as flotsam in the 7th round or something?

Well, you have only one 7th round pick, and you might sign more than 20 guys as UDFAs.

 

[Yeagermeister]

I guess I don't understand the process all that well but why would you tell someone we want you if you aren't drafted but we won't take you in the draft? Why not just draft them as flotsam in the 7th round or something?

I would imagine some of it has to do with money. A 7th round pick is gonna cost more than an UDFA.

 

[silverbear]

I guess I don't understand the process all that well but why would you tell someone we want you if you aren't drafted but we won't take you in the draft? Why not just draft them as flotsam in the 7th round or something?

ACtually, some teams have been known to draft the player they most want in undrafted rookie free agency in the 7th round, if they think they might wind up bidding against other teams and miss out on signing that player...

Of course, most teams have more than one player they like as an undrafted rookie free agent...

 

[sago1]

3 teams were bidding for Romo: Cards, Broncos & Cowboys. Shanahan & Peyton had both graduated from same college (at different times)Romo attending so both kept an eye out for any player from their school who might have pro talent. Don't know if Shanahan did but Payton established relationship with Romo earlier in his college career & very much pushed Romo with the Giants.

When Payton signed w/the Cowboys, he immediately started pushing Cowboys to draft Romo but we didn't. Instead w/Parcells agreement, Jerry called Romo asking him to sign with us & offered him $10,000; Romo impressed Cowboy owner personally called him so he accepted the offer. Shanahan had offered Romo $20,000; don't remember what Cards (Wisenutt(sp?) offered.

 

[Illini88228]

3 teams were bidding for Romo: Cards, Broncos & Cowboys. Shanahan & Peyton had both graduated from same college (at different times)Romo attending so both kept an eye out for any player from their school who might have pro talent. Don't know if Shanahan did but Payton established relationship with Romo earlier in his college career & very much pushed Romo with the Giants.

When Payton signed w/the Cowboys, he immediately started pushing Cowboys to draft Romo but we didn't. Instead w/Parcells agreement, Jerry called Romo asking him to sign with us & offered him $10,000; Romo impressed Cowboy owner personally called him so he accepted the offer. Shanahan had offered Romo $20,000; don't remember what Cards (Wisenutt(sp?) offered.

Would have been Denny Green in AZ then, but otherwise that's pretty close to what I remember.

 

[Risen Star]

Wasn't Romo choosing between Dallas and Denver?

Yes. Denver offered him two times the signing bonus ($20,000) but he chose Dallas because he felt he had a better chance to stick.

It's not first come, first serve. As long as the player has multiple offers, he's got the leverage.

I know teams will work their phones on UDFA before the draft is even completed.

 

[Risen Star]

I guess I don't understand the process all that well but why would you tell someone we want you if you aren't drafted but we won't take you in the draft? Why not just draft them as flotsam in the 7th round or something?

You don't have enough picks to draft every player you like. The Cowboys brought in 21 UDFAs. I'm sure they like something about each of them, as well as their 7 draft picks. You simply don't have enough draft choices to secure everybody.

Plus you have a guy like Leary that you don't feel comfortable using a draft pick on due to the injury, but if he's still there in UDFA we're interested.