So what's the hold-up? Rookie compensation

NFL stumbling blocks: free agency, rookie wagesThe Associated PressThe holdup concerns what amounts to the one issue most people agree on: rookie contracts. Specifically, they're too big for top-end picks.This seems like an area that wouldn't be so sticky since most NFL players -- if they're being honest -- will tell you that first-round draft picks, especially those chosen in the top five, are paid more than they should be when compared to men in the league who've proven their bona fides as NFL stars.Ask a player if he agrees with a rookie salary scale, though, and the answer is different. Accepting a salary scale depends on two things: 1) Does the money that would have been going to the rookies actually wound up being spent on veterans or will teams find ways to fudge this? 2) Is the league willing to shorten the length of the biggest rookie deals?The NBA is often held up as a model for how a rookie salary scale works, and that's right up to a point. Once that ...