NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has criticized the high contracts being awarded to top draft picks, who have millions committed to them before they even play a down in the NFL.

Goodell has suggested that a wage scale for rookies be part of the negotiations as the owners and players try to come to terms on a new agreement. Though I agree in principle, there are two points I’d make about this:

(1) Be careful what you wish for. The NBA put in a wage scale for players in their first three years and, while it’s accomplished the stated goal of making certain that a rookie doesn’t make more than a veteran star, it’s also had an undesirable side effect, increasing the flow of very young players into the game.

As soon as that “rookie wage scale” went into effect, high school players who might have considered playing on a college team for at least a couple of years suddenly decided that they might as well turn pro immediately and get the relatively low-salary years out of the way immediately, rather than delaying them for two or three years of college ball.

The NBA has since adopted a rule saying players have to wait a year after their high school class graduates to be eligible for the NBA draft, but that may even have made the situation worse. I’m told agents now control these players, signing them while they’re still in high school and then “assigning” them to a college, which is reportedly how Michael Beasley wound up at Kansas State and O. J. Mayo at USC. As much as coaches love to have these great talents, it’s very disruptive when they’re only around for a year.

The NFL and college coaches now have an uneasy alliance, with stars staying three years in school before they leave. College coaches can live with that, and it’s better for the NFL because they’re not getting players who aren’t close to being ready for pro football.

(2) The NFL Draft’s flaws aren’t helping. The NFL has created its own monster with the draft, portraying it as the way the weak clubs can catch up with the best.

In truth, a team drafting No. 1 gains only one (supposedly) star player over the team which has just won the Super Bowl and is drafting last. Even if the bad team guesses right on its pick – and that’s no guarantee – it will take many more players for that team to achieve equality with the best team.

Building through the draft is definitely the way to go, but that can take a period of years. The draft, though, is geared for the instant gratification that so many sports fans feel is their due.

When I first covered pro football, more than 40 years ago, it was a much simpler affair. The draft was in February, there were no tryouts at the “combine,” there were no mock drafts, no Mel Kipers to advise teams on who they should pick and why.

Fans throw themselves into this game within a game wholeheartedly, stating their own opinions in emails and on blogs. So, there is tremendous pressure on a team to sign its No. 1 pick, especially, and get him into mini-camps right away. Remember the long saga of the holdout of JaMarcus Russell, who the Raiders picked No. 1 last year?

This isn’t the only time that NFL owners have been their own worst enemies. In the 80s, they fought the players’ union relentlessly on free agency. When Ed Garvey proposed a wage scale for all players, he was denounced as a Communist.

By the time their losses in court battles forced them into meaningful negotiations, they had to settle for an agreement that was more costly than Garvey’s plan.

Now, they have to convince the Players Association that any money they save on rookies’ salaries would go to veterans. If they’re just thinking what they save on rookies salaries will go into their pockets…well, lots of luck with that one.