Pats726

When one is doing something as complex as the CBA you are right it SHOULD take a long time as there are details within details and many important points. The last CBA was time constraned and it took, I believe a month before the final version was even published..LONG after gree agency. To really get it done with these large issues they do need to start sooner rather than later.

Synovia

Buffalo had an operating profit last year despite maxing out their cap. The idea that ANY team in the NFL can't compete for financial reasons is ludicrous.


Buffalo can't compete because their talent evaluation sucks.

PatsFanSince74

The Bills were one of the lowest revenue teams last year and their operating profit was less than half the league average, this despite the fact that their debt level is also less than half the league average. Given the "funny" accounting that NFL teams use, it's likely that the Bills are barely solvent. Of course, one cannot disagree with your assertion about their talent evaluation.

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It is what it is. It wasn't what it wasn't.

THE SLAMMER

The entire free agency situation is out of control.

100 million dollar deal for Albert Hanesworth......please?

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Rob0729

Well, the question is can they afford the signing bonus. What if revenue sharing goes away? What if the county they are in decide not to pick up the tab for the upkeep of the stadium like they do now?

These are HUGE factors in the Bills maintaining an operating profit. Signing bonuses are depreciated over the life of the contract. So not all the money spent on bonuses in a given year may show up on a P&L statement.

Also, with no CBA, I am pretty sure the revenue sharing agreement ends too. Buffalo gets a lot of money through that agreement where teams like the Pats help to carry them.

Also, their lease with the county ends in 2012. Right now the county has given them a sweetheart agreement where they pick up a large sum of the the maintainence, upkeep, and running of the facility. The Buffalo economy is in trouble and may not be able to offer that next time around putting it back on the Bills (hence why I think they will be in Toronto next year). We are already seeing in KC and Indy (both stadiums are run with local government assistance) where the local government are having trouble funding their end of the deal. If you read PFT, Arrowhead is in danger of getting shut down because construction workers are threatening to strike because they aren't getting paid. They going to have to raise state taxes in Indianapolis or they are going to have to shut down Lucas Oil Stadium.

CIB President: Stadium Could Close If Deal Isn't Reached - Money News Story - WRTV Indianapolis#-

Rob0729

Think about it. The average ticket cost for the Bills is less than half the Patriots' average ticket cost. How can they compete in an uncapped world? I agree the Bills do not compete in free agency because they cannot compete with real dollars. People seem to forget real dollars when talking about spending in the NFL. Smaller market teams just cannot afford to consistently shell out large signing bonuses and the Bills are willing to watch their best free agents go rather than paying the huge signing bonuses that would be needed to keep them. That is why guys like Nate Clements, London Fletcher, etc. walked out the door without the Bills even making a real effort to keep them.