NFL enters an era of no salary cap

BuddyLee

BuddyLee

Football addict
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NFL enters an era of no salary cap


Thursday, February 25, 2010

Column by RICK GOSSELIN / The Dallas Morning News | rgosselin@dallasnews.com



INDIANAPOLIS – The late Gene Upshaw cautioned the NFL owners that if they ever fumbled away the salary cap, they would never get it back.

DeMaurice Smith, who replaced Upshaw as head of the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), repeated that warning this winter.

Starting today – for the first time since 1994 – there is no salary cap. The NFL owners and the NFLPA have failed to negotiate an extension of their collective bargaining agreement (CBA). So the deal heads into its final season in 2010, and there will be no salary cap as the free-agency signing period opens next Friday.

That means NFL teams can spend as much as they want on players. Last year, there was a salary cap of $123 million. Without a cap, there's nothing to prevent the high-revenue teams such as the New England Patriots and Washington Redskins from spending $200 million if they so choose – like the New York Yankees do in baseball.

But in addition to no ceiling, there is no floor. Last season NFL teams were required to spend a minimum of $107 million on players. Now there's nothing to prevent a financially ailing team such as the Jacksonville Jaguars from spending $70 million if it so chooses.

The Yankees spent twice as much money on their payroll in 2009 as did the Seattle Mariners and more than three times as much as the Washington Nationals. The Yankees won the World Series, the Mariners failed to qualify for the playoffs and the Nationals won a baseball-low 59 games.

But the owners and players have already taken steps to prevent such a competitive imbalance in football in an uncapped season.

In the salary cap era, players became eligible for free agency after four seasons. In the uncapped year, players must accrue six seasons before they can be eligible for free agency.

That takes more than 200 players from the draft classes of 2005-06 out of the marketplace this winter. Instead of unrestricted free agents, they become restricted, which means it could cost potential suitors draft picks as compensation for any signings. Pro Bowl wide receiver Miles Austin of the Cowboys is one of those players affected by the new landscape.

Also, the rich won't necessarily get richer thanks to a Final Eight Plan. That restricts the activity of the eight teams that advanced to the conference semifinal round. That group includes the Cowboys.

The four teams that played in the conference championship games – Indianapolis, Minnesota, New Orleans and the New York Jets – can sign a player only to replace one lost in free agency. And the size of the contracts must be comparable.

The four conference semifinalists – Arizona, Baltimore, San Diego and the Cowboys – are allowed to sign players to replace those they lose in free agency. In addition, they are allowed to sign one more free agent with a first-year salary of $5.5 million or more. But they also can sign any number of free agents for less than $3.7 million apiece.

The uncapped year will impact the players in other negative ways. The clubs will not bankroll health care, pension, 401k or severance for the players in 2010. Also, there will no longer be any performance-based pay.

Negotiations will continue between the two sides for an extension of the CBA. The players received almost 60 percent of the total revenues in 2009. With the increased stadium debt – there have been 21 new stadiums built since the original CBA was negotiated in 1993 – the owners want a more equitable split of that revenue.

If the two sides cannot reach an agreement, a lockout looms in 2011.
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This will be an interesting off-season.
 
G1G4

G1G4

Find em Hot, Leave em Wet
It's nice, but I don't like the top eight only signing one player per free agent they lose. I think everyone should be able to pursure anyone they want.
 
BuddyLee

BuddyLee

Football addict
G1G4 said:
It's nice, but I don't like the top eight only signing one player per free agent they lose. I think everyone should be able to pursure anyone they want.
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Yeah, I thought that was an interesting tidbit. I'm guessing that's the deal to help with parity issues.
 
thurley42

thurley42

HY;FR
G1G4 said:
It's nice, but I don't like the top eight only signing one player per free agent they lose. I think everyone should be able to pursure anyone they want.
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You mean you WANT more teams like the Yankees? I love the fact the top 8 can't make more moves than other teams.....there needs to be some regulation....not having any could kill small market teams.

I see this as another step in the wrong direction for pro sports....but as long as we keep buying I guess it will keep happening....
 
BuddyLee

BuddyLee

Football addict
otter said:
What interesting is all the skins whining about being tendered, its not like any of them have done much with their careers.
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Yeah, I hope some other team is dumb enough to pick Los up. Maybe the Raaaiduh's.
 
Beta84

Beta84

They're out to get us
the top 8 thing will be very interesting. IMO it should have been top 12 (all playoff teams), but whatever no big deal. Most teams probably won't go free spending anyway, as they've all said they will have "self-regulated" caps, but these caps might be $150-175 mil or something which isn't much of a cap :lol:
 
BuddyLee

BuddyLee

Football addict
Peter Forsberg said:
Snyder is licking his chops. :killingme
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:lmao:

Twas the night before free agency and all thru Skins Nation,
Not a Skins fan was sleeping due to great anticipation.
Soon old Danny Claus will be writing more checks,
Signing new players to fix another train wreck,

As Skins fans awake they dash down the stairs,
Checking the ESPN ticker to see who is now theirs,
It's Peppers, It's Dansby, It's Robinson and Sproles,
Five new offensive linemen to fill all of our holes.

As I jump up and down in front of my wife and kids,
They look at me as if I've flipped my lid.
I then run to my closet to dust off my Skins hat,
The pride of being a Redskins fan has instantly come back.
 
MrSnyder

MrSnyder

Member
BuddyLee said:
:lmao:

Twas the night before free agency and all thru Skins Nation,
Not a Skins fan was sleeping due to great anticipation.
Soon old Danny Claus will be writing more checks,
Signing new players to fix another train wreck,

As Skins fans awake they dash down the stairs,
Checking the ESPN ticker to see who is now theirs,
It's Peppers, It's Dansby, It's Robinson and Sproles,
Five new offensive linemen to fill all of our holes.

As I jump up and down in front of my wife and kids,
They look at me as if I've flipped my lid.
I then run to my closet to dust off my Skins hat,
The pride of being a Redskins fan has instantly come back.
Click to expand...

:burning:
 
Larry Gude

Larry Gude

Strung Out
thurley42 said:
You mean you WANT more teams like the Yankees? I love the fact the top 8 can't make more moves than other teams.....there needs to be some regulation....not having any could kill small market teams.

I see this as another step in the wrong direction for pro sports....but as long as we keep buying I guess it will keep happening....
Click to expand...

Never happen. There simply is no comparison between baseball and football.

Football players don't last anywhere near as long and get hurt far, far more often. There are dozens of career ending injuries in the NFL. Death is about the only one in MLB.

You can have two top line starters in baseball; they all play. No NFL team is going to end of with Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. Who is gonna sit? Neither would be willing to.

Lower salary, well run teams like the Steelers have been kicking everyone else's ass as it is, including the teams that already act like there is no cap. Just imagine what they will do to prima donna heavy teams like the Redskins have even worse chemistry and even more players telling coaches what they will and won't do.

As long as the NFL stays at 53 man rosters, salaries can be whatever Daniel Snyder's wants and he, we, will still get beat by better run teams. If salary = wins we'd already long been one of the top teams.

:buddies:
 
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