Jets Draft Picks receiving Tenders

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NFL draft picks receiving tenders from teams, amidst lockout

Published: Tuesday, May 03, 2011, 11:15 AM Updated: Tuesday, May 03, 2011, 11:21 AM

Jenny Vrentas/The Star-Ledger By Jenny Vrentas/The Star-Ledger The Star-Ledger

miket.jpgChris Faytok/The Star-LedgerJets GM Mike Tannenbaum and his team have extended tender offers to at least one draft pick, defensive tackle Kenrick Ellis, to protect his rights.

While the on-again, off-again lockout is on again, teams are moving forward with a normal procedural step for their draft picks: extending one-year tenders at the minimum salary.

The purpose is to protect their drafted players' rights. But the tenders were met with some measure of surprise by some agents.

"Received tender offer from the Jets for Kenrick Ellis, surreal since we are in a lockout," Howard Shatsky, the agent for the Jets' third-round pick, wrote on Twitter this morning. "What would they do if I accepted?"

Per agents, the Jets are not the only team to extend such offers. But while it may seem "surreal," the explanation is this: the NFL was permitted to conduct the college draft, per Article 16 of the recently expired collective bargaining agreement. That means all sections of the article can be applied, including Section 3, which stipulates the use of such tenders before or immediately following the draft.

Now, players would be ill-advised to accept such offers, which don't contain the hefty signing bonuses many will receive. And they can't.

"It’s a procedural matter that is part of the 2011 Draft that was included in the expired CBA," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello wrote in an e-mail message. "They cannot be signed at this time."