News Flash: NFL owners unanimously reject the players’ union proposal. As a result, the salary cap will stand at $94.5 million for the 2006 season. With free agency set to begin tomorrow, hundreds of players are in danger of being cut. Commissioner Paul Tagliabue calls the situation “about as dire as dire can be.�
Teddy’s Take: The two sides are engaging in a dangerous game of chicken here, one that threatens to permanently alter the way the league does business. As one anonymous owner put it earlier this week, “we’re going to kill the goose that laid the golden egg.�
Right now, ownership appears to have the upper hand. But a closer look shows the players winning in the long run and teams potentially losing millions in value. Despite the spin being put out there about players getting cut on "Bloody Thursday" as a result of the failed labor talks, most of those guys were going to be cap casualties anyway. Perhaps a star or two in his prime is released, or a current free agent won’t get as big a score as in years past, but that’s a one year proposition.
Fast forward to 2007, a year without a salary cap. Think owners who’ve had the benefit of fixed salary costs might be in for some culture shock when there are no limits on what a team can spend? Think the players, after years of slavery compared to the Club Med environment MLB and NBA players live in will ever go for a salary cap again?
If the difference, as reported, is only 4-percent, then two sides that have lived in labor peace for 12-years should be able to bridge that gap without a problem. Unfortunately, I think the real issue here could be a revenue sharing battle between big and small market teams, with players refusing to settle on their cut before knowing exactly what that cut entails. True, owners are entitled to as much money as they can get from whatever revenue sources are out there. But if they think the players and the product aren’t the main reason that money comes in and their franchises values have skyrocketed since 1993, they’re about to find out, and find out the hard way, that they are flat out wrong.
That’s my take……what’s yours?
Comments (1)
By now you must have heard the latest.....The NFL owners are pushing back their deadline 3 more days.
AS EXPECTED....the "poison pill" clauses (no salary cap)which the Owneers and Players put into the last deal were designed specifically to get both sides back to the bargaining table which is what looks like is happening now.
The NFL is the best run sport there is....I find it hard to believe they let 4% of profit sharing take down the Mighty NFL.
IF somehow the NFL goes forward without a salary cap, George Stienbrenner buys a franchise TOMORROW!!!!!!
How does this affect our Patriots??... My sources say That Big Willie will indeed be a casualty if a deal is not struck, even with only 1.5mil of his deal hitting the cap. I certainly hope that it doesn't get that far.
Posted by RobzRantz | March 2, 2006 5:29 PM
Posted on March 2, 2006 17:29