All business

I'm already in need of a break from the for sale rumors. As the season progresses, it's my hope that the Rams make their next storm in the national news with their play on the field...exciting, winning play on the field that is. If you are hungry for more "for sale" talk, Bernie Miklasz has his own QnA up at the PD today, he answers some questions we didn't address yesterday in our QnA.

Be prepared, this issue will come up throughout the season as pundits will continue mentioning the Rams' situation before, during and after every game broadcast. Again, hopefully the team's play will dominate the conversation; otherwise, the discussion will start to shift to "should they sell/they should sell" as St. Louis football fans continue the unplanned, unannounced and unofficial Rams boycott. There's also that whole CBA thing too.

Speaking of the CBA, owners cited rookie salaries as a main issue in their decision to opt out. I guess Arthur Blank had a different opinion on that. Matt Ryan now has a contract for six years, $72 million, with $34.75 million guaranteed. That's a deal on par with Carson Palmer and Ben Roethlisberger. Hopefully, for the Falcons sake, Ryan doesn't have a secret penchant for cock fighting.

Deals with the Rams draft picks ought start coming this summer. The big one, Chris Long, will have a deal probably closer to what Jake Long received - 5 years, $57.75 million, $30 million in guarantees - than Ryan's deal. However, the decision to opt out of the CBA will change what those contracts look like. Long and Ryan were, as far as I can tell, the only rookies to sign deals before the owners opted out of the CBA, at least the only high profile draftees. Now, rookie deals can't last beyond 2011, when the current CBA lapses.