NFL draft question

Why do rookies who don't sign their contract by the start of training camp hold out? What purpose does it serve?

Has a pick ever actually sat out the season? I don't know of any, so given that both the player and team know a signing will eventually happen, why doesn't the player just report to camp on time?

 

'Cause you're talking about a five-year deal for a first-rounder, that's a lot of years to play making less than you think you deserve. It's not like you're necessarily going to take the same contract after you hold out that you would have gotten months earlier ... but if I'm an agent, I don't hold guys out. It gets them off to a terrible start, nine times out of 10.

 

Part of also has to do with the lack of frequency of newer players getting new contracts.
Rookies seldom play and do enough in the first year to warrant tearing up a four- or five-year deal.

 

Part of it's also because of the practice of "slotting". The reasoning goes, the No. 10 pick gets a deal worth, say $20 million, so the No. 9 pick deserves $20.3 million, the No. 8 pick gets $20.5 million, and so on. A lot of times, agents and teams wait to see what other guys are going to get and base their proposals on that. So until that first guy, or the ones around your pick, are signed, no one wants to set the bar too high or too low.
With Long signing so early, we might see a few more deals than normal before training camp.