Let me start by saying that the MLB draft is entirely too long to begin with. There are over 1,200 players drafted, in a normal year, most of whom will never sniff the freshly cut grass of a MLB stadium. This year we got to experience, for the first time, a 5-round draft where every pick mattered. It was pretty exciting to watch (even though no one knows who half these guys are) but what transpired after the 5-round draft is something that made me scratch my head.
Teams were able to sign as many players as they wanted for only $20,000. In a league that makes billions of dollars they could only sign guys for $20,000(!) and a lot of players took these deals for some strange reason.
To me it makes no sense to sign one of these contracts. I totally understand that you are trying to live out your dream but it was pretty apparent that there would be no minor league baseball season this year. So signing for pennies on the dollar to sit at home makes absolutely no sense to me. Especially considering that minor league players make no money during the season as is. The signing bonus is everything.
Given the state of college baseball and the NCAA giving another year of eligibility to all players was another reason why no one should have ever signed one of these deals. Even if you are a senior about to have another senior year, you could get way more than $20,000 as a senior sign in next year's draft. Plus you also have a chance to boost your draft stock for 2021. College Baseball runs from February - June meaning that even if you go back and play another year of college you would still start your Professional career at the same time, summer of 2021. Guys who signed these contracts will start their careers no sooner than that.
I am no sports agent and I am sure there is more to these signings than I am seeing on the surface but in my opinion whoever is advising these guys to sign these minimal contracts is very bad at their job.
IF you even make it in 4 years to the major leagues, which is a huge if, surviving on $20,000 in that amount of time is impossible. I really hope that any player who has signed these contracts have very supportive families from a financial perspective or this “dream” may become a nightmare very quickly.
With that being said, congrats to all!
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