Imagine a golfer showing up for the Masters and a person in a green jacket pulls him aside. The golfer is handed a golden coupon. It reads: You are entitled to a pair of mulligans in this event.
Gee, thanks, the golfer says, and glides to the first tee.
Likewise every April, when the NFL draft arrives, a San Diegan bestows a golden coupon.
The San Diegan is Philip Rivers. The recipient is his employer. The golden coupon allows Rivers’ team to bypass the sport’s most important position with impunity, and to have more draft choices at other spots because other teams decide they must invest in football’s most important position.