The change to rookie compensation occurred in the NFL during the spring of 2013 – right before the season that the Minnesota Vikings bottomed out with head coach Leslie Frazier. Salaries were slashed and players were allotted five-year deals if drafted in the 1st Round while all other drafted rookies welcomed four-year deals.
Since then, various general managers raced to the philosophy that surrounding a young, productive passer for five years with supreme veteran talent was the way to go. The first five years are interpreted as “cheap,” and other established players can suck the salary cap dry.