Player Access Plan For Houston Approved
By Dustin Murray January 4, 2002

A player access plan for the Houston Texans expansion franchise that begins play in 2002 has been approved by a vote of NFL clubs, the National Football League announced today.

The veteran access draft will be held on Monday, February 18. It will require the existing 31 clubs to submit a list of five veteran players for selection by the Texans. Each club can expose only one player who was placed on injured reserve after the start of the 2001 regular season, only one player who has 10 or more years of free agency experience, and no more than two players with 'spiked contracts' in 2002.

A 'spiked contract' is defined as a contract in which: A. The 2002 salary cap value is at least $1.2 million and represents an increase of at least 75 percent over the 2001 salary cap value; AND B. The 2002 cash value is at least $1.2 million and represents an increase of at least 75 percent over the 2001 cash value.

The Texans must select between 30 and 42 players in the veteran draft or a fewer number of players with total salaries of 38 percent of the cap. An existing club can recall one player from its list after one of its players is selected. After a second player is selected from a club, that club can pull back both of its remaining players.

Houston will have 28 choices in the NFL Draft over the next two years, 14 in 2002, and 14 in 2003. If the Texans make the playoffs in 2002, the team will not have extra picks in 2003.

In the 2002 draft, the Texans will receive the first pick in each of the seven rounds. They will also receive seven additional picks to be allocated in the following manner.

* One selection in each of Rounds two, three, four, five, six and seven after all teams with a 2001 regular-season winning percentage of less than .500.

* Final selection in Round 7.

The 2002 Houston Texans access plan is basically the same as that followed by the Cleveland Browns in 1999, with the following exceptions:

* There were no limitations on 'spiked contracts' in the Cleveland Browns' 1999 Player Access Plan.

* Players with prior injuries who are exposed in the Veteran Draft must be physically able to play by June 1, 2002 (as opposed to July 1 under the Cleveland plan).

* The existing clubs have reserved the right to adjust the number and/or position of Houston's extra picks in the 2003 NFL Draft if Houston were to lose more than the 14 games Cleveland lost in its first season.

* In addition to the 2002 extra roster spots listed above, Houston will receive a number of exemptions equal to the average number of roster exemptions earned by other NFL clubs under the provisions of the NFL Europe League Allocation Policy.