One of the items that will be most hotly debated during the upcoming negotiations over the next collective bargaining agreement is the draft pick compensation tied to prospective free agents via the qualifying offer.
Under the current CBA, teams can make a qualifying offer to prospective free agents, a one-year deal at a predetermined number every year. This year, that number is $17.8 million. Players can either accept that QO and play under that contract, or decline it and test free agency.
The kicker is that any team that signs a free agent who has declined a qualifying offer must forfeit a second round draft pick as compensation.