It is a whole new world when it comes to signing rookies in the NFL. Thanks in fat purple parts to JaMarcus Russell, top rookies this year are going to make far less than the rooks from recent classes. It would then track that this is the year that the Raiders do not have a first round pick to sign.
The new rules are going to lead to teams saving a bunch of money on rookies, and having a much easier time bringing them into camp. Thanks to ESPN we have the expected amount of money each AFC West team will likely have to spend for their rookies this year.
Denver: $8,118,404
Kansas City: $5,184,520
San Diego: $5,039,209
Oakland: $3,957,552
Obviously, rookies are free to accept less than there slotted amounts, but they can not exceed it. Sucks for the rookies, but I think almost everyone agrees it is good for football. As a side note: JaMarcus Russell will gladly take bottles of cough syrup or house payments as a show of gratitude for this rule.