2012-2016- The Fisher Era

St. Louis Rams and draft pick Janoris Jenkins locked in contract dispute

On Thursday, July 5, Yahoo! Sports’ Jason Cole reported that the St. Louis Rams are in a contract dispute with 2012 second round draft pick Janoris Jenkins. The main issue between the two sides appears to be over who will serve as Jenkins’s financial advisor, which is something he and the club agreed to prior to the draft.

Apparently, Rams head coach Jeff Fisher wants Jenkins to employ Lou Taylor of Tri Star Sports & Entertainment Group, while the rookie cornerback wants to have his own team helping with his finances.

I have a couple problems with this situation. The Rams should have known better than to make a pre-draft agreement with a prospective player. That’s not allowed under the current collective bargaining agreement. If the team was that concerned about Jenkins’s personal issues, then it shouldn’t have drafted him.

However, Jenkins needs to back down here. The Rams took a risk on him, and I firmly believe that if they want him to hire a certain financial advisor, then he should consider it. I remember more than one expert stating that Jenkins would probably drop to the third round of the draft because of his character issues. While I doubt that would have happened, the Rams were still willing to take a chance on him. Jenkins should man up, respect the opportunity that the team has given him, and get this issue worked out.

I’m not saying that Jenkins should humbly bow to all of the club’s wishes. I think it’s unreasonable for the Rams to force him to put out a reported $120,000 over four years for their chosen financial advisor. He’s not going to make a lot of money in his first contract, and the team should respect that. If the Rams want Jenkins to use Taylor as his advisor, then they should pay for it. If not, then maybe it would be a better idea for the team to work with him in finding the right person or company to handle his finances.

Hopefully, the Rams and Jenkins resolve this problem soon. I believe that Jenkins could become the shutdown cornerback that the team has needed for years. Yet that can only happen if both the Rams and Jenkins can put their differences aside and get this contract finished.

Derek Ciapala has been a Rams fan since he was a child and the team was in Los Angeles. His favorite Rams moments include Flipper Anderson’s 336-yard receiving night against the Saints in 1989, and their miracle 1999 run to their first Super Bowl victory. You can follow him on Twitter @dciapala.

(Originally published on Yahoo! Sports)

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