First round draft picks operate under a different set of rules?
Yes. There’s a strict salary scale for first round draft picks and their first contracts. They do this because it was previously common for rookies to hold out, not signing with their team until they got the contract they wanted. There was also backlash from the veteran players who saw rookies with no NBA experience getting more money than they were. The last year without a salary scale was 1994, when it was rumored that first overall pick Glenn Robinson was going to hold out for $100 million, and he eventually signed a 10-year, $68.15 million contract.* Beginning in 1995, salaries for first round picks were set according to a strict scale, determined by their exact draft position. The salary scale is determined for all picks in all seasons when the CBA is written. Rookie scale contracts are always for two seasons, with team options for the third and fourth seasons.
Yes. There’s actually a very strict salary scale for first round draft picks and their first contracts. They do this because it was previously common for rookies to hold out, not signing with their team until they got the contract they wanted. In addition, there was backlash from the veteran players who saw rookies with no NBA experience getting contracts that were bigger than theirs. The last year without a salary scale was 1994, when it was rumored that first overall pick Glenn Robinson was going to hold out for a $100 million contract, and he eventually signed a 10-year, $68.15 million contract. Beginning in 1995, salaries for first round picks were set according to a very strict scale, determined by their exact draft position. In the previous CBA, this was calculated using a weighted average of the first year salary of the same pick in the previous seven drafts. In the first year of the current CBA (98-99), salaries were computed using this same weighted average. In subsequent year
