Of all the things that make the NFL such a great league and such a great business over the years is their long standing concept of the salary cap and revenue sharing. Now we have a situation were a number of owners are unhappy with the NFL's current CBA and they've created a scenario that has the potential to kill off the league's greatest asset: the salary cap.
As it stands right now, there is a very real possibility that the 2010 season could be un-capped, meaning teams can spend what they want. In 2008, the NFL salary cap is $116 million. In 2009, the cap rises to $123 million. If there is labour peace, the cap is pegged at a whopping $130 million for the 2010 season.
Sportsnet NFL analyst Chris Landry is one of many who don't think it will ever get to the point were there's an un-capped season. However, Chris was quick to point out that "teams with lots of financial resources will have the opportunity to pay unlimited amounts to players." An un-capped season would be a great thing for teams like the Cowboys, Patriots, and Redskins. But it's bad news for any small market team in the NFL.
An un-capped season could also be good news for cities like Toronto and Los Angeles that are vying for NFL teams. It would also make life a lot tougher for franchises like the Bills, Bengals and Jaguars. Landry added that the financial divide separating large market and small market teams in the NFL will just get bigger if anything happens to the sanctity of the league's salary cap.
I spoke to someone who has a high ranking front office position on an NFL team. On the condition of anonymity, he said that un-capped season would affect teams on a franchise-by-franchise basis. "Instead of a universal salary cap, caps would be set on a team-by-team basis". Simply put, teams with the deep pockets would have more money to spend on high end free agents. That means teams that are not able to generate the massive revenue like the Patriots, Redskins and Cowboys would be in big trouble.
Other NFL teams I attempted to speak with flat out refused to make any sort of comment, politely suggesting I go and ask the commissioners office.
After all is said and done, the NFL owners and the players have too much to lose to not get a new deal done. That means Gene Upshaw of the NFLPA and the league's owners have to hammer out a new deal before the start of the 2010 season. Upshaw feels March of 2010 should be the deadline to get a new deal done.
If the two sides can not find a way to divvy up the league's multi-billion dollar booty, then the 2010 season will be un-capped. If it ever gets to that point, the NFL will have a hard time putting the genie back in the bottle and restarting the salary cap. Once the uber-wealthy owners of the NFL get a taste of life without a cap, Roger Goodell might not have the muscle to put things back the way they were. Landry put it best when he said a deal will eventually get done at the last minute because of the serious long term ramifications to the NFL if league has an uncapped season.
It is estimated that the NFL produces yearly revenues around $8.5 billion. So, in theory, there's plenty of money for everyone. However, greed and a lust for power can do strange things to a man.
