Driskel signs with Red Sox

[msstate7]

Says he's still gonna play football for gators. The article doesn't say how much he signed for, but this situation confuses me. He says he'll still pursues a career in the nfl. Why would the Red Sox sign him if he's gonna continue to play football and wants to play in the nfl?

[ShotgunDawg]

The Red Sox want to sign him in order to own hit rights. They probably offered somewhere in the $50,000 to $100,000 dollar range, and Driskel said, "Huh... thats an extra $50,000 to $100,000 that I get for doing nothing." Therefore, its obvious why Driskel would do it, however, it makes sense for the Red Sox as well, because, they must have viewed him, in his high school playing days, as pretty good prospect, and by signing for a relatively inexpensive price, compared to his talent level, they open up the opportunity, that should Driskel flame out in football, they will have own his rights and have a chance to acquire a pretty good player for little money. Smart move by the Red Sox, especially with the new MLB CBA

[msstate7]

If driskel does happen to make it to the nfl, does he have to pay the Red Sox back to sign with nfl team?

[ShotgunDawg]

No, the money is his in exchange for his rights. So if Driskel gets hurt, cut, or whatever in the NFL he can go play baseball but only in the Boston Red Sox organization. Driskel is basically waiving his opportunity to get drafted again, and sign for more or less money at a later date.

[msstate7]

Must be a nice life. Starting qb at Florida and now gotta nice little check to play around with

[ShotgunDawg]

Must be a nice life. Starting qb at Florida and now gotta nice little check to play around with

That is correct, and you will probably see more of it in years to come. MLB teams are just beginning to figure out how to handle the new collective bargaining agreement, in which, in the first 10 rounds you can only spend the total of the slotted money allocated for your picks. After the 10th round, rounds 11-40, you can't spend more than $100,000 dollars on a player.

This has changed how teams do business, because teams used to draft "tough signability guys" in the late rounds of the draft and then offer them $1 million or more to try and buy them out of going to college or playing another sport. They wouldn't want to draft them early in the draft because they couldn't afford to waste their top round picks on players that may not sign. The thought process was, "Who cares if we waste a 25th round draft pick on a player that won't sign... We will just throw $1 million at him and see what happens."

However, this strategy no longer works because teams can't spend more than $100,000 on a player after the 10th round. Therefore, teams are having to become creative on ways to acquire and increase their chances of acquiring talent. Since MLB teams, due to the new CBA, now lack the ability to buy high school football players out of playing college football, there will be more Cord Sandberg types that go to college to play football instead of going to play minor league baseball. What you saw today with Driskal is part of the movement in answering this problem.

[BeastMan]

Driskell ain't makin it to the NFL. He is a barely average college QB. At best

[msstate7]

Driskell ain't makin it to the NFL. He is a barely average college QB. At best

I don't think so either. Just wondered what would happen if he happened to

[ShotgunDawg]

Correct, and thats what make this move is even better for the Red Sox. There is a pretty good chance Driskel never plays in the NFL, or, if he does, its not for a very long time. Lets say Driskel was a 3rd round type talent out of high school, that would mean he would likely have signed, in the draft, for somewhere around $650,000 - $800,000. If the Red Sox acquire that same talent for $50,000 - $100,000, then that is a major bargain, and, furthermore, they are guaranteeing that Driskel doesn't play for someone else, like the Yankees.

[Todd4State]

If I was a MLB team, I would consider Tyler if he didn't get a shot in the NFL. He probably wouldn't make it, but it would be worth a flyer.

[ShotgunDawg]

Yea, I guess I just assumed that you guys knew that Driskel was a well thought of baseball player out of Hagerty High School near Orlando in 2011. He would have been drafted out of high school. This isn't a QB that someone thought may make a good baseball player. Maziel was the same way out of high school. I fully expect someone to draft him in next years baseball draft. Manziel was a very good high school baseball player the would probably be aTm's starting SS right now if he played both sports.

Here is his Perfect Game profile:
http://www.perfectgame.org/players/playerprofile.aspx?ID=225018