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It is that time of the year again once again.  Time to speculate when Brett Favre will show up at Vikings training camp.  Time to discuss what locker room can handle T.O.  Time to place your future bets on who will win the Super Bowl. 

But with training camps only weeks away from opening, it is also time for another perennial NFL rite of passage –time for the number one overall draft pick be paid.  The names and faces change every year, but the outcome is the same.  A young man is about sign one of the richest contracts of all time without every stepping foot inside a professional stadium. 

This year that man is Sam Bradford.  The St Louis Rams signed Bradford’s fate when they drafted him with the first pick of the NFL draft.  Representatives of both parties began talks Friday to iron out a deal before the start of training camp.  According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the deal is expected to be signed within 10 days. 

People close to the negotiations say that Bradford is expecting between $45-50 million in guaranteed money.  An amount, without any doubt, he will receive.  Every year the price for that year’s prize possession increases without any true reason.  Matthew Stafford was signed by the Detroit Lions last year for $72 million; $41.7 million was guaranteed.  Unlike Stafford’s contract, Bradford’s contract will have far reaching affects on two of the top quarterbacks in the NFL.

Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are both expecting new contract extensions with their respective teams.  The amount that Bradford signs will only make him the riches NFL quarterback for a short time.  Tom Brady is expected to only receive $3 million in his final year of the salary cap friendly contract he signed in 2005.  Manning’s extension that he signed in 2004 included a $34.5 million signing bonus.  The Colts are all ready on record saying they are expecting to pay Manning handsomely. 

Manning and Brady both deserve their new paydays.  They have broken records, won awards and have Super Bowl rings.  But Bradford hasn’t even thrown a pass in a game.  With the player’s union and the NFL negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement, Bradford might be the last rookie to be paid this well.