NFL could try to cap individual player contracts

FortressX · Mar 29, 2026

NFL could try to cap individual player contracts

Will owners ask for NBA-style max contracts?

www.nbcsports.com

Huckleberry1 · Mar 29, 2026

Lmao. This reminds me of the time when Tom Hicks, the filthy rich owner of the Texas Rangers went on a screed about how irresponsible his fellow owners were in signing players to mega contracts, then signed Alex Rodriquez to a 250 million contract a few days later. The billionaires need someone to be their daddy because they can't control themselves. The players should respond with an offer to limit owner profits and donate the rest to good causes.

Ross12 · Mar 29, 2026

Huckleberry1 said:
Lmao. This reminds me of the time when Tom Hicks, the filthy rich owner of the Texas Rangers went on a screed about how irresponsible his fellow owners were in signing players to mega contracts, then signed Alex Rodriquez to a 250 million contract a few days later. The billionaires need someone to be their daddy because they can't control themselves. The players should respond with an offer to limit owner profits and donate the rest to good causes.

I get it, but to a certain extent, if individual players at the top take up too much of the cap the it ends up choking out the cap money available for the guys lower on the ladder. I’m sure the top 10% of the NFL balk at the concept but the guys that make up the majority of rosters in the NFL would surely like to see some of that excess made available to them instead, and it is those players that the union is supposed to represent the interests of.

A control where one player contract cannot exceed, say, 15% of the cap, seems like a start. It at least stymies the QB contract inflation.

ctpatsfan77 · Mar 29, 2026

Ross12 said:
I get it, but to a certain extent, if individual players at the top take up too much of the cap the it ends up choking out the cap money available for the guys lower on the ladder. I’m sure the top 10% of the NFL balk at the concept but the guys that make up the majority of rosters in the NFL would surely like to see some of that excess made available to them instead, and it is those players that the union is supposed to represent the interests of.

A control where one player contract cannot exceed, say, 15% of the cap, seems like a start. It at least stymies the QB contract inflation.

FWIW, though, that's basically where we are now.

Also, there's the question of what the owners are going to give up in exchange.

Ring 6 · Mar 29, 2026

ctpatsfan77 said:
FWIW, though, that's basically where we are now.

Also, there's the question of what the owners are going to give up in exchange.

They wouldn’t give up anything, they are saying one player taking up that much hurts other players.

patfanken · Mar 29, 2026

I am all for that kind of system, just as long as there is a floor that owners have to reach to be sure that the money that ISN'T going to the QB or other prime positions is spread amongst the rest of the team. As it is it is getting harder and harder to root for players who make generational wealth several time over EACH year while 95% of the rest of the country is struggling to put gas in the tank and praying, they never get sick.

Fifteen percent of the current cap is roughly $45MM/yr and that number is only going up for the next few years. Also remember that the visibility that playing the game opens up a MYRIAD of business opportunities to add even more money. Christ, just putting that money in a savings account at 3% adds another $1.4MM/yr

Just sayin'

Ross12 · Mar 29, 2026

ctpatsfan77 said:
FWIW, though, that's basically where we are now.

Also, there's the question of what the owners are going to give up in exchange.

Yup, that's why I picked that number, because I doubt players will want to back off where they are already but they may agree to at least hold at the current rate. IIRC, I think some QBs may exceed 15% but it would only be a couple.

Pat the Pats Fan · Mar 29, 2026

I’m for putting a floor, or minimum salary for all players. As a percent of the total salary cap. That could slow down the ridiculous contracts we see,

Ring 6 · Mar 29, 2026

Pat the Pats Fan said:
I’m for putting a floor, or minimum salary for all players. As a percent of the total salary cap. That could slow down the ridiculous contracts we see,

There already is one

40yrpatsfan · Mar 29, 2026

Pat the Pats Fan said:
I’m for putting a floor, or minimum salary for all players. As a percent of the total salary cap. That could slow down the ridiculous contracts we see,

A max salary level and/or increased salary floor would be good for the game. As it is now, as the team cap goes up, the QB gets almost all of the increase.

Ring 6 · Mar 29, 2026

patfanken said:
I am all for that kind of system, just as long as there is a floor that owners have to reach to be sure that the money that ISN'T going to the QB or other prime positions is spread amongst the rest of the team. As it is it is getting harder and harder to root for players who make generational wealth several time over EACH year while 95% of the rest of the country is struggling to put gas in the tank and praying, they never get sick.

Fifteen percent of the current cap is roughly $45MM/yr and that number is only going up for the next few years. Also remember that the visibility that playing the game opens up a MYRIAD of business opportunities to add even more money. Christ, just putting that money in a savings account at 3% adds another $1.4MM/yr

Just sayin'

95% of the country isn’t poor.
Over 80% of workers have access to insurance through employment.
If you drive 200 miles a week gas is about $20.
Let’s keep the conversation to football, not political rhetoric, misrepresentation and bs.

Wozzy · Mar 29, 2026

A hard cap already exists. It’s malleable and it rises just about every year with increased revenue, but it’s there.

QB’s need to realize the amount they insist on diminishes the ability of the team to retain great players around them.

They need to supplement their money with endorsements. If they aren’t smart enough to understand this, then what you have is a culture issue. Choose smarter players, players with better character and big picture understanding.

Hammer of Thor · Mar 29, 2026

Ring 6 said:
There already is one

Not as a percentage of total cap though, instead there are flat dollar amounts spelled out in the CBA. Increases of 3.5% to 5% annually depending on service amount; salary cap has been increasing at a higher rate, so over time the discrepancy has grown. In 2020, 7 year veteran minimum contract represented 0.53% of the salary cap. In 2026, it’s 0.43%.

Of course, this is on the NFLPA to correct.

RobertWeathers · Mar 29, 2026

Ross12 said:
I get it, but to a certain extent, if individual players at the top take up too much of the cap the it ends up choking out the cap money available for the guys lower on the ladder. I’m sure the top 10% of the NFL balk at the concept but the guys that make up the majority of rosters in the NFL would surely like to see some of that excess made available to them instead, and it is those players that the union is supposed to represent the interests of.

A control where one player contract cannot exceed, say, 15% of the cap, seems like a start. It at least stymies the QB contract inflation.

I hear you but there are a 100 ways to Sunday to circumvent that potential regulation.

At the end of the day teams have a hard cap and can spend up to it and on whom (or not) at their choosing.

If the NFL wants to adopt some kind of NBA-ish supermax 5/25% rule or a Bird rule as the article implies, then I get it.

Hammer of Thor · Mar 29, 2026

Pat the Pats Fan said:
I’m for putting a floor, or minimum salary for all players. As a percent of the total salary cap. That could slow down the ridiculous contracts we see,

As mentioned above, there is a minimum salary but it’s not tied to the cap, and has slightly decreased as a percentage of the cap over time.

The real way to do what you want is to increase the minimum as a percentage of the cap — up from the 0.43% today to nearly 1%. But the players are going to have to vote for that. And there’s a bit of an agency problem here; the players that make closer to the minimum are likely to have shorter NFL careers and thus not be elected to the NFLPA’s board of representatives who authorize contract negotiations. The ones on the higher end of the pay scale tend to get voted onto the board, and they’re going to have more of an interest in looking out for players like themselves than the journeymen who play for 4 years on the fringes of a roster. And those fringe guys usually aren’t in a position to speak up for themselves because they’re worried about just making an NFL roster.

That said, ultimately all players vote to ratify or reject a contract so those lower paid guys do get a say, but just noting some potential roadblocks to your idea.

patfanken · Mar 29, 2026

Ring 6 said:
95% of the country isn’t poor.
Over 80% of workers have access to insurance through employment.
If you drive 200 miles a week gas is about $20.
Let’s keep the conversation to football, not political rhetoric, misrepresentation and bs.

I never said 95% of Americans are poor. Just that they aren't "rich". They are people who ARE affected by the current policies of the US government.

BTW assuming your 80% number is correct, that means 33 MILLION Americans have no access to health care insurance and given the cost of health care and medication in America that means no access to health care for the vast majority of these people. But I guess you're OK with this number. Your boss certainly is.

And finally, I know you are ass burnt because you king is having a rough time getting away with his constant lying and bad policies, but in my post wasn't political, it was just an observation and pointing out that a cap on NFL players might be good for the overall membership of the NFLPA. But admit THIS paragraph is political.

BTW- google estimated that there are a 165MM working Americans, hence the 33MM number of uninsured workers

Huckleberry1 · Mar 29, 2026

Ross12 said:
I get it, but to a certain extent, if individual players at the top take up too much of the cap the it ends up choking out the cap money available for the guys lower on the ladder. I’m sure the top 10% of the NFL balk at the concept but the guys that make up the majority of rosters in the NFL would surely like to see some of that excess made available to them instead, and it is those players that the union is supposed to represent the interests of.

A control where one player contract cannot exceed, say, 15% of the cap, seems like a start. It at least stymies the QB contract inflation.

If the union wants to do this I don't have a problem with it, if it's the owners imposing it then it's just the owners trying to save themselves from themselves

XLIX · Mar 29, 2026

I don't care whether they do this or not, but all it will accomplish is superstar players will demand more money in the early years of their contracts, so the notion of giving a premium player a huge signing bonus plus League minimum for 1 or 2 years, thus creating a very low cap hit in thos early years, will go out the window.

Ring 6 · Mar 29, 2026

patfanken said:
I never said 95% of Americans are poor. Just that they aren't "rich". They are people who ARE affected by the current policies of the US government.

BTW assuming your 80% number is correct, that means 33 MILLION Americans have no access to health care insurance and given the cost of health care and medication in America that means no access to health care for the vast majority of these people. But I guess you're OK with this number. Your boss certainly is.

And finally, I know you are ass burnt because you king is having a rough time getting away with his constant lying and bad policies, but in my post wasn't political, it was just an observation and pointing out that a cap on NFL players might be good for the overall membership of the NFLPA. But admit THIS paragraph is political.

BTW- google estimated that there are a 165MM working Americans, hence the 33MM number of uninsured workers

You said 95% of people are struggling to put gas in their tank.

I’m not sure what math you use but 33 million is not 95% of people, as you claimed.
I didn’t know you knew my boss, he’s a nice guy, isn’t he.

Your political paragraph is neither accurate or clever. Oh and by the way, the other 20% don’t have no access to health care insurance. In fact taxpayers are subsidizing a large portion of them.

Toofy · Mar 29, 2026

I also agree to every 53 player making at least 1% of salary cap for that year which will be prorated based on games he or she plays. If they are in PS they will make 0.25% of salary cap for that year and 12% max limit of cap space for any player. All said it's a team game and the team is 53 players. No point for one superstar player to be making 50 million while the poor 5th round rb hits tacklers and makes 1 million a year while risking concussions.

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