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 In trying to answer many of your questions I think I may have started a wild fire. Thursday's post NFL Labor Issues Made Simple has lead more questions about whether there will be football in 2011 and will this mean there will be more trades.
Given the rhetoric at the Super Bowl, the possibility of an NFL collective bargaining agreement extension before the new league year begins on March 5 is all but extinguished.
Thus, the salary cap that has governed the sport so well since 1993 will be abolished. New rules, pre-established in the CBA, will be triggered automatically.
Here's a refresher course on what will happen and how the NFL will change for the 2010 off-season.
Question: How did it come to this?
Answer: Last fall, the 32 team owners exercised their option to opt out of the current CBA, which has moved to the players' favor as a result of changes won by the players union in the last extension of the agreement in 2006. The CBA has built-in provisions to govern the league in the event of the salary cap being abolished. The last season of the CBA is 2010.
Question: What about the college draft?
Answer:The draft will remain in place for 2010 and 2011.
Question: Then what?
Answer: The players union believes the owners will lock out the players in 2011 and force them to agree to a new bargaining agreement more favorable to the owners. If the players don't fold, everyone expects the league to shut down until a new agreement is reached. There would be no "replacement games" as in 1987 because it would be unlawful for the owners to do so. In '87, the players went on strike.
Question: What happens in 2010?
Answer: There is no salary cap and no minimum, also. Teams can pay as much or as little as they want.
Question: How does this affect free agency?
Answer: The new rules seek to maintain competitive balance by making fewer players eligible for free agency and limiting the playoff teams' ability to sign free agents.
Players used to qualify for unrestricted free agency after four seasons. Now they must have six. So this change directly affects 212 players from the draft class of 2005 and 2006 who are coming off their fourth or fifth season and were expecting to be unrestricted free agents.
Instead, they will be restricted free agents. It means their teams can severely restrict their ability to leave by offering a one-year contract for a pre-ascribed amount. There are five tender options. The top one would cost a new team first- and third-round draft picks to sign the player. There are also options that would cost: 1. a first-round pick, 2. a second-round pick, 3. a pick from the player's original draft round, or 4. simply the right of first refusal.
Question: Who are some of the players affected?
Answer: The re-signing of Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski and Titans guard Eugene Amano, who were scheduled to be unrestricted free agents next month, has left the number of NFL unrestricted free agents at 235. Every team has at least one. Here's a small sample of names you may recognize that could have been unrestricted free agents under the old rules but won't be now:
Linebacker Elvis Dumervil of Denver, receiver Brandon Marshall of Denver, receiver Miles Austin of Dallas, safety Nick Collins of Green Bay, linebacker DeMeco Ryans of Houston, safety Antoine Bethea of Indianapolis, guard Jahri Evans of New Orleans, running back Pierre Thomas of New Orleans, receiver Braylon Edwards and running back Leon Washington of the Jets, linebacker Kirk Morrison of Oakland, linebacker Chris Gocong of Philadelphia, receiver Malcom Floyd of San Diego, offensive tackle Marcus McNeill of San Diego, linebacker Shawne Merriman of San Diego, running back LenDale White of Tennessee and cornerback Carlos Rogers and quarterback Jason Campbell of Washington.
Question: What else changes about free agency?
Answer: The Final Eight Plan restricts the eight teams in the divisional round of the playoffs from signing free agents. In general, the four clubs making it to the conference championship games (the Jets, Minnesota, Indianapolis and New Orleans) can only replace a player lost in free agency with someone having a comparable salary. The four clubs losing in the divisional round (Baltimore, Arizona, Dallas and San Diego) can replace a player with a comparable salary and also sign one free agent with a first-year salary of $4.925 million or more. It can sign unlimited players with a first-year salary of up to $3.275 million.
Question: Could this new system result in more trades?
Answer:Yes. Under the cap system, when a team traded a player it suffered a cap hit based on the years left on the player's contract. It acted as a disincentive for trading him. Now there is no cap hit. Also, with fewer unrestricted free agents available, teams may be more aggressive in trading for players to fill needs. That may be particularly true for the teams covered in the Final Eight Plan.
Something tells me that this will cause more questions than when I tried to address this the first time. If you guy still have questions let me know and I'll try to 'splain' some more. - Keith A. Baker
Keith is a sports agent in Stamford, Connecticut. His goal is to offer a unique insight to the world of sports. Comments in his columns are for entertainment purposes only and do not reflect the views and opinions of his firm or his clients.
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