This happens at basically every big school. Since we don't pay attention and follow other schools we don't notice it.
You also have to look at the NFL rookie salary scale as major driving force. You can see in the picture below....there is very little difference between being a 3rd round pick and a 7th round pick. If you are not going to improve yourself to get into the 2nd round or earlier....most guys feel they are better off getting their service years started and getting to the 2nd contract quicker and a shot to make real money.
View attachment 52095
Monkey,
1. You should post more here.
2. That graph is a little deceiving in my opinion unless you can see it up close.
There actually is a decent difference in value, especially signing bonus and guarantees, when you get drafted in the 3rd round v. 7th round.
2016 NFL Draft (Years / Total Value / Signing Bonus / 2017 CAP) [
]2017 NFL Draft Tracker | Spotrac
Third Round, First Pick: Larry Ogunjobi 4 $3,907,264 $981,564 $710,391
Fourth Round, First Pick: Vince Biegel 4 $3,093,743 $693,743 $521,435
Fifth Round, First Pick: Jake Butt 4 $2,700,938 $300,938 $423,234
Sixth Round, First Pick: Caleb Brantley 4 $2,579,975 $179,975 $509,993
Seventh Round, First Pick: Stacy Coley 4 $2,496,680 $96,680 $489,170
As you can see, the difference in signing bonus is ~$900K (guaranteed). The difference in total contract value is ~$1.4MM. Those are real numbers and they matter.