An Uncapped World?

[AzPatsFan]

What would an UN-capped NFL World look like? How likely is it? How do you change or modify your actions so as to succeed in such an environment?

I used to believe that the NFL and the NFLPA would never go to an uncapped environment. But as we sit here, there is no negotiations. The NFL doesn't even have anybody to talk to. The position of head of the Union is vacant and won't be filled for several months. Then a newcomer will try to be tough and show his toughness. I am coming around to the fact that the NFL players can be just as stupid as the major league players. It seems a "Perfect Storm" is brewing.

It will take the death of several teams, and the baseball jobs, already discussed in Baseball, as a shock to force some rationality back on Baseball. But that is what is happening. Only a handful of baseball teams can win. Most know Day one, of spring training that they can't ever win. Many are losing money. In this environment some teams will fold.

I now believe that an UN-capped year, and maybe more, is coming to Football.

I'll wait to post my thoughts after I see what y'all think a Patriots team ought to do to succeed in such an environment.

Comments Anyone??

 

[upstater1]

It'll destroy the sport.

That is, if the union follows up on the threat to never again agree to a salary cap.

If both happen, football will be destroyed.

 

[farn]

It'll destroy the sport.

That is, if the union follows up on the threat to never again agree to a salary cap.

If both happen, football will be destroyed.

Hard to say... some (do I sound like A. Sheffter ?) said that when baseball chose to "just" have a luxury tax, that the rich teams would be unbeatable. And, while they do seem to be more competitive, low buget teams are making the playoffs and winning the World Series.

"Destroy" seems quite harsh. From a Pats point of vue, I think the cap is what seperates them from the rest... managing player values is a strength.

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

Football as we know it would be over. I still dont see it happening, but there are some dummies that would flex there muscles.. I still think its going to get done, the leauge is the best sport around, and the joke of a sport baseball is..

I cant believe people would crucify Bill Belichick over some thing people have been doing for years, and he proved that he was smarter than most people.. While we are going to put people like Bonds, Mcguire ,Sosa, Rodriquez.. And spend all this stupid time on it... Baseball has and is a joke.. It should be a 12 team leauge...

 

[PatsFanInVa]

One thing an uncapped world provides is an opportunity for the richer teams to acquire and develop stars not just as starters but as depth.

The Pats are one of the richer teams.

Matt Cassel is currently a backup... with his franchise tag expiring in (wait for it) 2010. Would he play behind Brady hoping to compete over the next couple of years? Maybe. In an uncapped world, suddenly 2 QBs is not only doable, it's preferable.

Do I think that's the "plan"? No. But I do find it interesting.

PFnV

 

[jmt57]

There will be some changes but it's not going to be the equivalent of major league baseball.

First, the years of service a player needs to become a free agent will increase to six years. That means there will be about 170 fewer players that can become free agents.

Second, teams will be able to tag three players rather than one. Again, less players that will end up as free agents.

Third, playoff teams will be restricted in how many free agents they can sign, so it won't be a case of "the rich getting richer." The final four playoff teams cannot sign anybody else's unrestricted free agents with the exception of players that were cut. Playoff teams five through eight have a similar restriction, except they can sign one player with a salary of $4.9 mil, and any player with a salary of $3.2 mil.


Given that BB was ahead of the curve in understanding how to deal with the salary cap and build a winning team with those restraints, I'm guessing he'll again be ahead of the curve with these new rules in place.

 

[Patsrock]

One thing an uncapped world provides is an opportunity for the richer teams to acquire and develop stars not just as starters but as depth.

The Pats are one of the richer teams.

Matt Cassel is currently a backup... with his franchise tag expiring in (wait for it) 2010. Would he play behind Brady hoping to compete over the next couple of years? Maybe. In an uncapped world, suddenly 2 QBs is not only doable, it's preferable.

Do I think that's the "plan"? No. But I do find it interesting.

PFnV

Go to http://www.nflplayers.com/images/fck/NFL COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT 2006 - 2012.pdf



Article XXI Final Eight plan. Lots of restrictions placed on teams. Also next year is Cassel played under his one year franchise deal and it is a un-capped year. He will be a RFA with a tender of 16 million.

 

[upstater1]

Well, it's not going to be fun to be a fan in Buffalo, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Minnesota, Jacksonville, San Diego, Oakland, etc. if this happens.

Sure, the Patriots, Giants, Bears, Redskins and Cowboys would love it, but, something would be lost in all of it.

 

[AzPatsFan]

One thing an uncapped world provides is an opportunity for the richer teams to acquire and develop stars not just as starters but as depth.

The Pats are one of the richer teams.

Matt Cassel is currently a backup... with his franchise tag expiring in (wait for it) 2010. Would he play behind Brady hoping to compete over the next couple of years? Maybe. In an uncapped world, suddenly 2 QBs is not only doable, it's preferable.

Do I think that's the "plan"? No. But I do find it interesting.

PFnV

PatsFaninVirginia,

Good Thought.

That is a thought that struck me as too, I watched what was going on. Belichick is usually one step ahead of every one else. Why tag Cassel at the earliest moment? Why did Cassel accept the Tag at the earliest moment?

Just Suppose... He has decided to act on an assumption that there will be a UN-capped year or more.

Stockpiling two franchise QBs like San Francisco did in the pre-CAP years doesn't sound all that dumb at all, as you point out.

Could Belichick be trying to do what San Francisco did with Montana and Young, and be what he is trying to do? If he is, what other signs should we look for to ascertain that is his scheme?

What would you do with your other players?

 

[AzPatsFan]

There will be some changes but it's not going to be the equivalent of major league baseball.

First, the years of service a player needs to become a free agent will increase to six years. That means there will be about 170 fewer players that can become free agents.

Second, teams will be able to tag three players rather than one. Again, less players that will end up as free agents.

Third, playoff teams will be restricted in how many free agents they can sign, so it won't be a case of "the rich getting richer." The final four playoff teams cannot sign anybody else's unrestricted free agents with the exception of players that were cut. Playoff teams five through eight have a similar restriction, except they can sign one player with a salary of $4.9 mil, and any player with a salary of $3.2 mil.


Given that BB was ahead of the curve in understanding how to deal with the salary cap and build a winning team with those restraints, I'm guessing he'll again be ahead of the curve with these new rules in place.

Aren't those only temporary rules, agreed to in the last CBA? Things would probably change in 2012. How do you manage the transition years 2010, and then 2011 and 2012? What do you need to do different post 2012, when it could be wide open??

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Expect a busy offseason with the potential of an uncapped 2010 season

Expect a busy offseason with the potential of an uncapped 2010 season

3. Stockpile draft picks

As one general manager told me at the Super Bowl, "I'm trying to get as many draft picks as I can right now." Why is that? With the probable uncapped season just one year away, the volatility of contracts and player movement will make for an unstable environment -- so getting young players is the way to go.

Recent drafts have shown that second-, third- and fourth-round draft picks are inexpensive players with as good of a chance as any to become stars. Look for smart teams to hold onto their draft picks and parlay them into extra selections.

 

[Jimke]

The players are assuminmg that if the salary cap ends, the

rich teams will be able to spend at will and the player's share

of total revenue will go way up. Actually, owners with new

stadiums are upset that the players are able to dip into revenue

used for paying off stadium debt. In addition, the poorer teams are

upset that they are forced to spend a certain minimum amount of

money under the salary cap. With no cap they will spend as little as

they please.

 

[tanked_as_usual]

an uncapped year will likely result in NFL players walking the street as they will be locked out until they agree to a new cap

 

[Jimke]

an uncapped year will likely result in NFL players walking the street as they will be locked out until they agree to a new cap

The frustrating thing about this situation is the inability of the

players to choose a new union head. The names of possible

successors to Upshaw keep getting added to the mix.

 

[godef]

Discussions about global warming belong on the political board.

 

[CanadianPat'sFan]

an uncapped year will likely result in NFL players walking the street as they will be locked out until they agree to a new cap

This is what I see happening.

 

[jmt57]

The players are assuminmg that if the salary cap ends, the rich teams will be able to spend at will and the player's share of total revenue will go way up. Actually, owners with new stadiums are upset that the players are able to dip into revenue used for paying off stadium debt. In addition, the poorer teams are upset that they are forced to spend a certain minimum amount of money under the salary cap. With no cap they will spend as little as they please.

I can see a situation where a couple of the relatively poorer teams elect to bottom out for a season in an attempt to better their financial position. If a team like the Bengals slashes payroll to $40 - $50 million, the money saved could be well more than the revenue lost in ticket sales and money spent at the stadium. Teams will still share revenue from television contracts and licensing (apparel, video games, gatorade, etc.) From what I have read in the pre-salary cap days the Tampa Bay Bucs were one of the most profitable teams in the league at the time despite being a laughingstock on the field, and the lowest attendance in the league.

 

[AzPatsFan]

I think that the Draft itself is in danger. While the present CBA runs through 2012, and even has an uncapped provision for 2010 and 2011 and 2011 and 2012. Then it runs out entirely.

If it is wide open, 2013 and beyond, than the NFLPA could and would sue to end the draft.

 

[jmt57]

I think that the Draft itself is in danger. While the present CBA runs through 2012, and even has an uncapped provision for 2010 and 2011 and 2011 and 2012. Then it runs out entirely.

If it is wide open, 2013 and beyond, than the NFLPA could and would sue to end the draft.

Does that mean we can expect to see Keanu Reeves in The Replacements II in a few years?

 

[mgteich]

We have bingo.

It is possible for the league to hobble along for another two years, but I don't think the owners will wait.

IMHO, abolishing the cap long term will end the sport as we now know it. Parity will be over. Many teams will lose money. And no one will win, except a few overpaid players. The union has always stood for the proposition of backing up the average player and the less than average player. A league without a cap is a league that reqards the very few.

an uncapped year will likely result in NFL players walking the street as they will be locked out until they agree to a new cap