New England Patriots first-round pick Devin McCourty, with Patriots owner Robert Kraft, signed with the club today.

With rookies from 11 clubs already reporting to training camp and the remaining 21 rookie reporting dates in the next four days, more than three-quarters of the players selected in the 2010 NFL Draft have signed contracts.

Through July 28, based on official notification to the NFL office, 195 of 255 draft choices have signed with their clubs (up from 171 of 256 on July 28, 2009). In addition, nearly half (45 of 98) of those chosen in the first three rounds in 2010 have signed contracts (vs. 45 of 100 last year).

For the complete list of training camp dates and locations, click here.

The San Francisco 49ers tonight will hold their 2010 State of the Franchise event, giving fans an opportunity to speak with the team’s top decision-makers. In addition to those in attendance, all 49ers fans can submit questions on 49ers.com and watch the event live on the site.

49ers fans will hear from chief executive Jed York, head coach Mike Singletary and vice president of player personnel Trent Baalke. 49ers radio voice Ted Robinson will serve as master of ceremonies.

For more on the event, click here.

Commissioner Roger Goodell (right, with fans at 2010 NFL Draft) this week begins his preseason travel visiting with fans, players and coaches with a pair of stops in the Midwest.

On Thursday he will host a fan forum at Lambeau Field, taking questions from 120 Green Bay Packers fans.  All fans can watch the forum later that night on NFL Network at 8:00 PM ET.

The Commissioner will then join the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday at the New Arrowhead Stadium for the dedication of the Founder’s Plaza honoring Chiefs and American Football League founder Lamar Hunt.

Founder’s Plaza will welcome fans to the stadium and a statue of Lamar Hunt, designed by noted sculptor Bruce Wolfe, will be unveiled at the ceremony. Founder’s Plaza also commemorates the history of the AFL, featuring eight fountains representing the league’s original franchises.

Training camp is already underway for some teams and all clubs kick off camp by next Sunday. For the complete list of training camp dates and locations, click here.

Through Saturday (based on official notification to the league office), 71 percent of the players selected in the 2010 NFL Draft (182 of 255) have signed contracts.

As always, the impact of the rookie class will be closely watched in training camp. Following is a sampling of training camp preview articles written this weekend. Read more

Longtime Philadelphia Eagles season ticket holder Mark Esposito is pictured on the game ticket for the team’s October 17 home game against the Atlanta Falcons (right) with the words “I may have never seen a game, but I’ll never miss one.”

Esposito is blind, but attends each game.

Photos of such 10 die-hard season-ticketholders with inspirational stories are featured on Eagles 2010 home tickets, the Philadelphia Daily News reported.

“The stars that never change year in and year out are the fans,” said Tim McDermott, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of the Eagles. “They’re really the centerpiece of who the Eagles are. The fans are the ones that really own the team.”

The team also announced that it will distribute applications for fans to be selected for a 30-person advisory committee, which will meet once a month with members of the Eagles staff.

“It provides everyone a chance to hear directly from the fans on different items that may come up,” McDermott said.

For the complete story, click here.

As the first training camp opens today with Cleveland Browns rookies reporting, signings of this year’s draft choices are up 29 percent over last year at this point.

Through July 22 (based on official notification to the league office), 163 of the 255 players  selected in the 2010 NFL Draft have signed contracts up from 126 of 256 draft choices signed as of July 22, 2009.  Among players selected in the first three rounds – 26 have signed this year vs. 20 at this time last year, an increase of 30 percent.

In addition, the Dallas Morning News reported today that Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant (above left) became the first player selected in the first round to agree to a contract, which includes more than $8 million guaranteed. (Note: Bryant is not included in the above signing count as the league office did not receive official notification by yesterday afternoon).

Below is a team-by-team list of the players drafted in 2010 who have signed with their clubs (based on official notification to the league office by July 22). Read more

“Our commitment to everyone – to our fans, to all of the clubs and the players – is to work as hard as we can to reach a new agreement. There will be an agreement. I am very confident of that,” NFL Executive Vice President of Labor/League Counsel Jeff Pash (right) said today on Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN Radio.  

 “When someone tells you that they’re happy with the deal and we should just extend it without changing a thing, that’s a code for saying it’s a pretty one-sided deal,” Pash said.

“Let’s come up with a system that builds the game, that grows the game and that delivers better value for fans, and that’s going to take some changes,” Pash continued. “Commissioner Goodell has a vision for this league which is fundamentally optimistic: more football for more fans in more markets, more international games, more television and more use of new media, social media and digital media, which is exploding all over this country. He wants the NFL to be at the forefront of that. If we can do that, if we can continue to build and continue to grow, it’ll be better for everyone.” 

Following is the complete transcript of Pash’s interview with Mike and Mike. Read more

“Frankly, I can’t spot the downside,” ESPN.com’s Patrick Hruby writes on the enhanced 18-game regular season concept.

“In a nutshell, here’s the league’s big scheduling idea,” Hruby writes. “Increase the regular season from 16 to 18 games. Decrease the preseason from four games to two. Tinker with roster sizes and injured reserve rules accordingly. Shazam! Just like that, more football. Read that last part again. More. Football… Everyone wins.”

For the complete story, click here.

NFL players are well represented on Sports Illustrated’s seventh annual list of the 50 highest-earning American athletes, which was released today on the magazine’s website.

“The NFL has its most prolific showing ever on our list: an unprecedented 15 players, thanks to a rash of contracts that pay out big in a 2010 season without a salary cap,” writes SI.com’s Jonah Friedman. Nine NFL players were on last year’s list.

Five 2009 rookies – Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford (No. 11 with $27.7 million in total income, above left), Oakland receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey (No. 28, $21.5 million), St. Louis tackle Jason Smith (No. 33, $20.6 million), Kansas City defensive end Tyson Jackson (No. 42, $18.2 million) and New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez (No. 48, $17.0 million) – were among the 15 NFL players on the list.

Other NFL players on the SI.com list include Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning (No. 9, $30.8 million), San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers (No. 17, $25.9 million), Baltimore linebacker Terrell Suggs (No. 19, $25.0 million), Washington defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth (No. 20, $24.8 million), New England nose tackle Vince Wilfork (No. 38, $19.0 million) and Washington cornerback DeAngelo Hall (No. 40, $18.6 million).

For the complete story and list of the “Fortunate 50,” click here.

Players from 12 clubs will experiment with newer, lighter knee, thigh and hip pads during training camp and preseason games, writes USA Today’s Michael McCarthy in a front page sports story.

“Many NFL players have abandoned knee, thigh and hip pads to try to gain a speed edge,” McCarthy explains. “Many wide receivers, defensive backs and linebackers wear little more than helmets and shoulder pads. But Commissioner Roger Goodell wants to make the game safer for players … The league also wants to set a safety example for college and high school players.”

“It’s not mandated for 2010. But we anticipate we’ll need to mandate it going forward,” said Ray Anderson, NFL executive vice president of football operations. “We’re not going to relinquish on player safety.”

For the complete story, click here.