With the clock ticking and reporting day for training camp at the University at Albany set for tomorrow afternoon, the Giants find themselves in a situation similar to many other teams. Many of their draft choices are signed, but there is no contract yet for their first-round pick.
First-round signings have been sluggish throughout the league this year, and the Giants thus far have not agreed to terms with Will Allen, the cornerback from Syracuse taken with the 22nd selection. Allen’s agent, Tom Condon, and his partner Ken Kremer, represent a record six first-round picks and that may be slowing things a bit.
At the moment, the Giants have agreements with four of their seven draft picks, with all agreeing to three-year deals for the rookie minimums ($209,000, $298,000, $389,000). Cornerback William Peterson (third round) received a signing bonus of $481,000, kicker John Markham (fifth round) got a bonus of $104,500, receiver Jonathan Carter (fifth round) got a bonus of $103,000 and defensive tackle Ross Kolodziej (seventh round) got a bonus of $28,000.
All rookies are supposed to report in Albany tonight.
There is no secret as to Allen’s market value. All along, it was anticipated he would receive a signing bonus of about $3 million, and that appears to be a close estimate. At No. 19, nose tackle Casey Hampton signed a five-year, $6.8 million deal with the Steelers, including a bonus of $3.1 million. Hampton’s annual average is $1.36 million. Safety Derrick Gibson, the 28th overall pick of the Raiders, signed for an annual average of $1.22 million. Figure Allen will come in at an average of about $1.3 million on a five-year deal worth about $6.5 million.