St. Louis Rams sign Michael Sam, all 2014 NFL Draft picks to contract

The St. Louis Rams were one of the busier teams during the 2014 NFL Draft with two picks in the first 13 and were the talk of the draft after using a seventh round pick on former Missouri Tiger, SEC co-Defensive Player of the Year and openly gay player Michael Sam.

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According to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Rams have signed Sam, first round picks Greg Robinson and Aaron Donald in addition to all 11 of their draft picks.

The Rams had taken a deliberate approach to signing their rookie picks unlike many other NFL teams who have signed all of their picks weeks ago, including the Chicago Bears who had signed each of their eight rookie draft picks prior to the team’s rookie minicamp less than one week after the start of the draft.

The new rookie wage scale has allowed teams to work swiftly to lock up their draft picks, but the Rams waited in part because they wanted to educate their rookies and put them through a financial orientation, according to Pro Football Talk, before handing them bundles of cash. That’s a brilliant idea for a league who sees many of its players bankrupt within a handful of years after leaving the NFL.

Today’s announcement from the NFL is another historic moment in a series of historic moments since the Rams drafted Sam late in the seventh round. Now the first openly gay draft pick is the first openly gay player to sign an NFL contract. Next up will be appearing in an NFL training camp, preseason game and if he makes the roster, the first openly gay player to appear in an NFL game.

While Sam has received a great deal of the media’s attention, it’s No. 2 overall pick Robinson and No. 13 Donald who stand to make the biggest impact on the team as they attempt to survive a loaded NFC West and make the postseason.

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