Does anyone know exactly what Dallas and Washington did that was against the rules? Was there a regulation in place that said that you couldn't do what they were doing? Normally, I'd just assume that there was one and move on, but... Roger Goodell, etc. etc. Unless the Redskins and Cowboys broke clearly defined rules that were existence at the time--and until I see exactly what those rules are, I'll be skeptical--then this is complete BS that happens to be in line with the Goodell MO.
Man, just when the Redskins thought that they were done getting screwed by the Haynesworth contract, too. Honestly, I don't see the point in punishing teams in 2012 and 2013 who used the uncapped year to gain a competitive advantage in 2010. If it was that big of a problem for the other owners, then they probably should have considered that before opting out of the previous CBA.
I do remember there being a memo directing teams not to use the uncapped year to clear cap space, but unless there is a specific rule in place stating the same, then it's just not enough. Goodell's weird memo-enforcement jihad was out of line as far back as Spygate; if it's not spelled out in the rules, then a memo isn't going to change anything. On the bright side, though, if Goodell keeps doing stuff like this, it might actually put Spygate into proper historical context.
Also, what about teams that cut a bunch of players in the uncapped year to avoid dead cap space (Jets)? Aren't they guilty of dumping cap hit into the uncapped year too, which is exactly what the memo prohibited?
