ALLEN PARK -- Be warned, Lions fans: The life vest the NFL is about to toss you comes with hidden weights.
At 0-15 after Sunday's 42-7 loss to the Saints, the Lions clinched the No. 1 overall pick in April's draft. And while that could be the silver lining amid the dark clouds of this season's record-setting futility, there's also a catch.
"Some years, there isn't a first pick in the draft," said Charlie Casserly, a former NFL general manager with the Redskins and Texans. "So sometimes you can be unlucky as to the year and the talent."
In 2005, for instance, the 49ers cast their lot with Utah quarterback Alex Smith with the No. 1 pick, signing him to a six-year, $49.5 million contract with nearly half of that money guaranteed. Three injury-plagued seasons later, Smith has thrown just 19 touchdown passes with 31 interceptions, and he hasn't played a down since November 2007.
It's a cautionary tale, but it's hardly the only one in today's NFL, where top-end rookie salaries have skyrocketed over the last decade. Michigan's Jake Long signed a five-year, $57.75 million contract -- with $30 million guaranteed -- as last year's No. 1 pick. That trend hasn't gone unnoticed, either, as league owners and the NFL Players Association brace for a labor fight in 2010-11. Responding to Long's contract, among others, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told the Associated Press in June, "There's something wrong about the system."
Likewise, if you think the easy solution is to simply trade the No. 1 pick for a stockpile of lower draft choices, think again.
"You can't trade the pick," said Casserly, now an analyst for CBS Sports. "There was a time you could. You can't trade it. Nobody wants it. Now, that's a generalization, I know. But it's holding true, because of the money involved."
Just Kidding