Enjoy this final week of the 2009 season because the NFL you knew and loved will never be the same.
Unless the league and players come to an agreement (which doesn't seem likely right now), the NFL will go back to an uncapped system. While no one is exactly sure how this will play out, it could ruin the league. Over the past two decades, the salary cap has kept every city's hopes alive that their team can win it all. You sucked this year? You could win the Super Bowl the next year. It shortened dynasties as well as created unlikely champions.
The NFL could look a lot like baseball soon. Rich teams like the Cowboys, Redskins, Texans, Patriots, Giants, Jets and Eagles could just buy up all the talent and dominate postseason berths (just like the Red Sox, Yankees, Angels and Phillies do in baseball) and lock the Bengals, Chiefs, Bills, Jaguars and Rams out of the playoffs. This could turn into a slippery slope.
But the real kicker could come in 2011 when the current deal expires. This could mean a lockout happens and the NFL will have it's first work stoppage since 1987. That would be horrible in a lot of ways:
-NO FOOTBALL SUCKS: The NFL has become a 12 month entity. After the Super Bowl comes the combines, then free agency, then the draft, then mini camps, then OTAs, then training camp, then the preseason, then the regular season starts. Football lives all year long. Back in 1987, there was no internet that we all followed every moment of our team. Having that out of our lives would sting ... especially if games were cancelled.
-FANTASY FOOTBALL HALTS: Back in 1987, only the nerdiest of people played fantasy football. Now it seems that everyone has at least one team ... usually more ... in some fantasy league somewhere. Imagine the impact on fantasy football if we weren't sure a season would be starting? When do you draft? Who knows since free agency could be delayed. How do you construct a season? We have to decide when they start playing again. Fantasy football has become a huge part of so many people's lives that I cannot even imagine not having it for a full season.
-A NEW NFL MAY NOT BE A BETTER NFL: The NFL of today seems unstoppable. Over the last three decades, it has emerged as America's Game. Yeah, baseball die-hards still think that their game is still the pasttime ... but no one brings in the passion like the NFL. Rich or poor root for their teams. Men or women live and die with their favorite teams. The league is the most diverse league that it fits everyone. A new NFL will most likely price out the poor folk (it's been doing that already), gouge the networks and may not guarantee equality among franchises. It also may not be a luxurious as before for players. Contracts could be made shorter, monies made smaller and the popular idea that an uncapped season equals the Cowboys acting like the Yankees and buying up everyone will fool everyone. Truth is that along with the uncapped season come a bunch of rules limiting a free for all on free agents. I'm telling you that these new rules that will come into effect with an uncapped season are quite daunting.
For one, unrestricted free agency will only be for guys with at least six years of NFL experience ... not the current four. That means guys like Brandon Marshall and Miles Austin won't be the free agents they thought they were going to be. Also, playoff teams will be limited to when they can start signing free agents. Add into the fact that an uncapped season would also mean a no minimum cap and teams could start tanking their payroll to embarrassing depths.
Then realize that the richest teams can easily withstand a work stoppage while the smaller market teams will beg to get back to games. Because of that, the big market teams can out-bluff the smaller guys and get what they want in the CBA ... which could cripple the smaller teams.
The thing is that we have no idea how this will play out and the nice, neat NFL we now know could all be gone in a short amount of time. I'm a Redskins fan and I know that all of this is actually good for my team. I just don't think it's good for the league.
Unless the league and players come to an agreement (which doesn't seem likely right now), the NFL will go back to an uncapped system. While no one is exactly sure how this will play out, it could ruin the league. Over the past two decades, the salary cap has kept every city's hopes alive that their team can win it all. You sucked this year? You could win the Super Bowl the next year. It shortened dynasties as well as created unlikely champions.
The NFL could look a lot like baseball soon. Rich teams like the Cowboys, Redskins, Texans, Patriots, Giants, Jets and Eagles could just buy up all the talent and dominate postseason berths (just like the Red Sox, Yankees, Angels and Phillies do in baseball) and lock the Bengals, Chiefs, Bills, Jaguars and Rams out of the playoffs. This could turn into a slippery slope.
But the real kicker could come in 2011 when the current deal expires. This could mean a lockout happens and the NFL will have it's first work stoppage since 1987. That would be horrible in a lot of ways:
-NO FOOTBALL SUCKS: The NFL has become a 12 month entity. After the Super Bowl comes the combines, then free agency, then the draft, then mini camps, then OTAs, then training camp, then the preseason, then the regular season starts. Football lives all year long. Back in 1987, there was no internet that we all followed every moment of our team. Having that out of our lives would sting ... especially if games were cancelled.
-FANTASY FOOTBALL HALTS: Back in 1987, only the nerdiest of people played fantasy football. Now it seems that everyone has at least one team ... usually more ... in some fantasy league somewhere. Imagine the impact on fantasy football if we weren't sure a season would be starting? When do you draft? Who knows since free agency could be delayed. How do you construct a season? We have to decide when they start playing again. Fantasy football has become a huge part of so many people's lives that I cannot even imagine not having it for a full season.
-A NEW NFL MAY NOT BE A BETTER NFL: The NFL of today seems unstoppable. Over the last three decades, it has emerged as America's Game. Yeah, baseball die-hards still think that their game is still the pasttime ... but no one brings in the passion like the NFL. Rich or poor root for their teams. Men or women live and die with their favorite teams. The league is the most diverse league that it fits everyone. A new NFL will most likely price out the poor folk (it's been doing that already), gouge the networks and may not guarantee equality among franchises. It also may not be a luxurious as before for players. Contracts could be made shorter, monies made smaller and the popular idea that an uncapped season equals the Cowboys acting like the Yankees and buying up everyone will fool everyone. Truth is that along with the uncapped season come a bunch of rules limiting a free for all on free agents. I'm telling you that these new rules that will come into effect with an uncapped season are quite daunting.
For one, unrestricted free agency will only be for guys with at least six years of NFL experience ... not the current four. That means guys like Brandon Marshall and Miles Austin won't be the free agents they thought they were going to be. Also, playoff teams will be limited to when they can start signing free agents. Add into the fact that an uncapped season would also mean a no minimum cap and teams could start tanking their payroll to embarrassing depths.
Then realize that the richest teams can easily withstand a work stoppage while the smaller market teams will beg to get back to games. Because of that, the big market teams can out-bluff the smaller guys and get what they want in the CBA ... which could cripple the smaller teams.
The thing is that we have no idea how this will play out and the nice, neat NFL we now know could all be gone in a short amount of time. I'm a Redskins fan and I know that all of this is actually good for my team. I just don't think it's good for the league.
No comments:
Post a Comment