Uncapped year
by Leon on Feb 29, 2008 2:20 PM CST
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PrintI've been trying to figure out the implications of the so-called "uncapped" year(s) that may or may not happen in the next few years. I yet to read a good explantation/ analysis of what it will mean to the league, but I have to assume it will be a good thing for the Boys.
So if there is an "uncapped" year, does that mean that JJ could restructure contracts and shift huge amounts of contracts to bonuses to be paid in that year? Can they simply account for money in this way, similar to language in the rules that allow for the proration of bonuses, etc? Is there a way to recover part of said bonus should a player not complete their contract for some reason, and if so, would this money be refunded to a capped year? Does an "uncapped" year nullify prior contracts or change their terms?
Does anyone here know what this will mean for our team?
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sounds like a good case for DeRat.
by BoyzRback07 on Feb 29, 2008 2:38 PM CST reply actions
Agreed
These things are beyond my understanding. I'm just a simple caveman blogger, these modern ways I can't understand.
by Dave Halprin on Feb 29, 2008 2:41 PM CST up reply actions
Thinkin' da same thing, Boyz!
Where is our resident capologist?!?!
big revenue teams wouldn''t mind it
like dallas and washington but the rest of the league dont want that to happen and wont allow it. Its not good for the NFL, you would be looking at a handfull of teams with a good chance to win the superbowl year in and year out and the rest would be trying to survive, alot like MLB, the Yankees and the Red Sox spend around 2000 million a year and teams like florida, Pittsburgh and tampa are spending 33 million for roster players on their teams.
Hah
And I thought the Tommy Kelly contract was stupid.
'Adrian Peterson and the Washington Redskins agreed to a 10 year deal today worth a reported $160 million. A full hundred and fifty million is guaranteed and will be paid during the first year of the deal. In response to Danny Snyder's reckless manuever, the Dallas Cowboys have inked wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald to an 11 year valued at a single nickel more than Snyder's offer.'
I can see it!
by BudLight @ Blogging The Boys on Feb 29, 2008 2:58 PM CST up reply actions
I take Jerry's stance.....
He is a marketing guru..and is building a 1.1+ billion dollar stadium...he should not have to share those revenue's generated with the idiots of the NFL ownership world...All stadiums make out whenever Dallas is in town...why give more ?...they all are required to spend a certain amount, cap minimum....and a maximum....so there should be no reason for Dallas to have to contribute more to the sharing pool than the next team...
He's made it sound like they have the 23 owners to go along with it...the other 9 owners blow.
put a winning product on the field, or get out of the business...No cap for '10....wooo hoooo...
by BoyzRback07 on Feb 29, 2008 3:14 PM CST up reply actions
I think that this would severly hinder the NFL
Man, Dallas could put 11 All-pros on the field at any time, but that won't win games. Dallas will be the new Yankees and won't have any chemistry. If the owners could have some kind of honor and not just unload on players it could work, but thats not going to happen.
no chemistry ???? explain.
it's called keeping the team we have now together...not making additions...every single team in this league has a 130 million to spend at any given moment...believe that...you got cheapskates...and then you have dan snyders...
by BoyzRback07 on Feb 29, 2008 11:04 PM CST up reply actions
Well
look at the Yankees. They have unlimited streams of talent but haven't won a world series in quite a while. Buying teams never wins Championships. The only way to win long term is through developing youngsters through the draft. The core needs to stay intact and only a few additions should be made from time to time.
Hopefully Dan Snyder Never Understands This :]
One Vote for a Hard Cap
Perhaps the greatest strength of the NFL is the salary cap. It would be a disaster of uncompetitive balance without it. One only has to look at major league baseball to see the effects of that. Only now, after Selig has managed to ever so slowly incrementally increase the revenue sharing among teams do you see some sort of competitive balance. The NBA is a little better, with a progressive tax if you go over the cap. But the NFL was very farsighted in this regard by implementing a hard cap many years ago. There are problems, most notably the lack of a structure for rookies that makes them vastly overpaid and a structure that sometimes penalizes veterans. All in all though, the NFL hard cap it is a great thing.
Do we really want Green Bay to close up shop after 75+ years as an NFL franchise? How excited would you be on Sunday morning when the Dallas Cowboys, fielding a roster of pro bowl players making a collective $300M, were slated to play the Jacksonville Jaguars whose payroll is $24M and are headlined by their best player, Rex Grossman?
One Super Bowl victory in a competitive salary cap environment is worth ten in an uncompetitive environment. I look at those Yankee world series ‘victories’ in the 1990’s and just laugh, knowing they don’t mean a damn thing – it only proved that Steinbrenner can spend money, nothing else.
by Cowboy Louie on Mar 1, 2008 7:36 AM CST reply actions
I agree with the cap system....
i also believe it needs to be tweaked a little...number one by changing the rookie salary structure..
by BoyzRback07 on Mar 1, 2008 8:26 AM CST up reply actions
You raise some good points in your previous posts
BRB07, I agree that some revenue streams, especially local ones such as stadium related sales and perhaps merchandise sales should not be shared. But I do think the primary source of revenue - TV - should be shared equally.
To address your important point about 'put a winning team on the field or get out of the business', I completely agree and I think the salary structure should have both a hard cap and a hard floor. Perhaps a window of about 10-15%, maybe 20%.
by Cowboy Louie on Mar 1, 2008 11:19 AM CST up reply actions
Louie...it does have a hard floor as well........
EVERY team is responsible to have over 102 million dollar roster salary...something like 83% of the total cap figure MUST be used..so I love the minimum cap structure...
..Tampa for instance, has to use up 22 more million just to reach that mark...That is my whole point, All teams are equal as far as roster amounts...you can spend 102 or you can spend 116 ...there lies a good structured cap...They all do share the TV money equally...there lies another good structure...it's the merchandising and stadium sales, apparal sales, etc ,etc...is where I agree with Jerry and the owners that do well marketing their own product.]
I WANT a rookie slotted scaled salary system .....This not only kills the poor teams that have to come up with this cash....but it kills college football as well...maybe all these supposed stars would think twice about coming out if they knew they were just going to be a 3rd round pick...If your considered a top round guy, then sure....come out, if not...stay in school, better your position, then reap the rewards...Should use the NBA draft system and salary structure.
by BoyzRback07 on Mar 1, 2008 2:56 PM CST up reply actions
By the NBA draft system,
are you saying that you want a lottery in the NFL? Sorry, I'm a little confused.
I am strongly for a CAP system but I do agree that it needs a couple tweaks. I think that the CAP is what puts the NFL ahead in the American sports market. It creates parody and gives any team a chance to win on any given day.
Agreed
The NFL hard cap should be the model for every big-time pro sports league to emulate (and it is, more or less). As nice as it would be to get a free out from all of our bad contracts and load up, the NFL is as popular as it is because there is true parity; any team can win in a given year and virtually every team can afford to spend as much on player salaries as every other team. I'd hate to see any cap or labor disruption in the future.
DeRat is back on line.
Sorry, I lost my internet service (Cox Cable). Seems to happen about once a month, always on a Friday or Saturday evening when internet traffic is high.
When I opened this diary, I heard a voice say....."Good morning Mr. Phelps, your mission, if you choose to except............(roll MIF theme music).
Where to start?
The short answer to your questions: An Uncapped Year will introduce FAR MORE restrictions to how teams currently operate.
Granted, the maximum Team Salary restriction will be lifted, but the way you can structure contracts and even the UFA’s you are eligible to sign ARE restricted even further.
Entering into an Uncapped year DOES NOT mean the absence of a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). The CBA has 60 Articles and 16 Appendices, most have some kind of "tweak" to the rules if the league enters into an Uncapped year. The current CBA runs through the 2012 league year (i.e. The Final League Year), regardless of any year being Capped or Uncapped.
(NOTE: there ARE provisions to void 2011 and 2012 OR 2012 only, see below).
There are three ways to enter an Uncapped year.
- From Article I, section 4, (aw)...The Final League Year shall always be an Uncapped Year.
- From Article XXIV, section 2, (a, b)...If the total Player Cost for all NFL teams falls below 46.868% of actual Total Revenues, then there shall be no Salary Cap for the next League Year or any succeeding League Year unless and until the Salary Cap again becomes effective when total Player Cost for all NFL teams equals or exceeds 56.074%.
- From Article LVIII, section 3, (a)...Either the NFLPA or the Management Council may terminate both of the final two Capped Years (2010 and 2011) by giving written notice to the other on or before November 8, 2008. In that event, the 2010 League Year would be the Final League Year, and the Agreement would continue in full force and effect until the last day of that League Year; (b) Either the NFLPA or the Management Council may terminate the final Capped Year of this Agreement (2011) by giving written notice to the other on or before November 8, 2009. In that event, the 2011 League Year would be the Final League Year, and the Agreement would continue in full force and effect until the last day of that League Year.
There is already some "saber rattling" occurring with regards to the Article LVIII provision above. Gene Upshaw is on record as saying that if the owners exercise one of these options, the NFLPA will De-certify the union, and initiate an Anti-trust law suit. Several "small market" teams claim they are struggling to meet the minimum CAP requirements and want to void the CBA. The minimum Team Salary was a new feature of the current extension of the CBA.
From Article XXIV, section5, (a)."There shall be no Minimum Team Salary in the Final League Year".
Thus the push by small market teams to get to the Final League Year as soon as possible.
Now let me try to answer some of your specific questions.
From Article LVIII, section 3, (a)...If otherwise in compliance with this Agreement upon execution prior to notice of early termination, a Player Contract may not be found to violate this Agreement solely by reason of a subsequent early termination of this Agreement. (b)...Except as otherwise provided in Article XXIV, the Salary Cap accounting treatment accorded to Player Contracts executed, or any options or other rights exercised, prior to any notice of early termination of this Agreement will not change, and such contracts will not be re-valued, solely by reason of such early termination. (c)...Contracts executed or renegotiated after any notice of early termination of this Agreement, as well as the exercise after such notice of any pre-existing option or contract rights shall be governed by the then-existing Salary Cap rules, taking into account the consequences of any such early termination (e.g., the conversion of 2009 to the Final Capped Year and the conversion of 2010 to an Uncapped Year).
So...looks like current contracts stay the same.
Affects of Uncapped Years on NEW contract structure:
- from Article XXIV, section 7, (b), (i), (1) Maximum bonus proration entered into in the Final Capped Year shall be 5 years (currently 6 years is allowed).
- from Article XXIV, section 7, (b), (i), (4) If a multiyear contract is entered into in a Capped Year (prior to the last capped year) and the contract extends into any Uncapped Year, then perform the following: (a) sum the salary, roster bonus, and reporting bonus, (b) Calculate the signing bonus proration, based on the full term of the contract. If (a) IS LESS THAN (b), then the difference between (a) and (b) is equally deducted from the proration's allocated in Uncapped years and reallocated equally into capped years. If there are fewer than 3 capped years, then this will apply to the first 3 years of the contract. For purposes of this Subsection only, a renegotiation shall be treated as if it is an entirely new Player Contract.
- from Article XXIV, section 7, (b), (iv), (12) For contracts, renegotiations, or extensions executed in the Final Capped Year, will count any of the following as a signing bonus (if scheduled to be paid in the Final League Year): (a) any Salary advance which the player is not and cannot be obligated to repay; (b) any off-season workout bonus that is contingent upon the player’s participation in less than 32 days of the Club’s off-season workout program; (c) any off-season roster bonus; and (d) any off-season reporting bonus.
- from Article XXIV, section 7, (d), (i) If a contract is entered into in a Capped Year that includes guaranteed salary for league years after the Final Capped year, AND the final Capped Years salary in not fully guaranteed, THEN the guaranteed salary for years after the Final Capped year must be included in Team Salary for preceding League Years in which a salary Cap was in effect (in any manner the team chooses).
There are numerous changes to negotiated monetary values (player per diem, workout bonus, minimum salary increases, RFA tenders, meal allowances, etc), If the league enters an Uncapped year some values go up, others down, most change by only a few percent.
So where’s the Beef?
ARTICLE XXI
FINAL EIGHT PLAN
Section 1. The provisions of this Article shall apply in any Uncapped League Year .
Section 2. The final 4 teams in the playoffs (NFC and AFC Championship games) the prior League Year shall not be permitted to negotiate and sign any UFA, except (a) any UFA as a result of being cut by his prior team, (b) any UFA that was with the signing team on the last date of the last League Year, and (c) any UFA signed pursuant to Section 4 below.
Section 3. Each of the 4 playoff Clubs that lost in the immediately preceding playoff games (to the 4 Clubs from Section 2 above) shall not be permitted to negotiate and sign any UFA to a Player contract, except: any UFA as a result of being cut by his prior team, (b) any UFA that was with the signing team on the last date of the last League Year, (c) any UFA signed pursuant to Section 4 below.; and (d) any Unrestricted Free Agent as follows: (i) One such player for a Player Contract that has a first year Salary of $4,925,000 or more; and (ii) Any number of such players for a Player Contract that has a first year Salary of no more than $3,275,000 and an annual increase in any future contract years of no more than 30% of the first contract year Salary, not including any amount attributed to any signing bonus.
In addition, each such Club and each such player entering into a Player Contract pursuant to this Subsection may not renegotiate to increase the amount of Salary to be paid during the term of the Player Contract for a period of one year after the signing date of such contract.
Section 4. Replacement of Free Agents Signed by Other Clubs: Each of the eight Clubs subject to the provisions of this Article shall be permitted to negotiate and sign one UFA to a Player Contract ("New Player") for each UFA who was under contract to such Club on the last date of the prior League Year, who has signed with another Club ("Previous Player"), so long as the Player Contract for the New Player shall have a first year Salary of no more than the first year Salary of the Player Contract signed by the Previous Player with the New Club, and an annual increase in any future contract years of no more than 30% of the first contract year Salary, excluding any amounts attributable to any signing bonus. In addition, each such Club and each such player entering into a Player Contract pursuant to this Subsection may not renegotiate to increase the amount of Salary to be paid during the term of the Player Contract for a period of one year after the signing date of such contract.
Section 5. The amounts specified in this Article ($4,925,000 and $3,275,000) shall increase each League Year following the 2006 League Year by the same percentage as the increase in Projected Total Revenue (TR) over the prior League Year’s TR (as defined in Article XXIV (Guaranteed League-wide Salary, Salary Cap & Minimum Team Salary)). Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event shall the amounts specified in this Article increase if the Projected TR for the League Year in question is not greater than the highest TR of any previous League Year.
Section 6. For purposes of this Article, "Salary" means Paragraph 5 Salary, roster and reporting bonuses, pro-rata portions of signing bonuses, likely to be earned incentive bonuses, and other payments in compensation for the playing of professional football, as defined in Article XXIV below.
Section 7. No Club subject to the provisions of this Article may, for one League Year, trade for a player it otherwise would not be permitted to sign as an UFA as a result of the provisions in this Article.
Section 8. Clubs subject to the Final Eight Plan are permitted to negotiate with and sign Transition Players and Franchise Players who otherwise are permitted to negotiate and sign with other Clubs.
Section 9. Each of the 8 teams subject to the Final Eight Plan may, after the later of July 15 or the first scheduled day of the first NFL training camp, in any League Year in which the Final Eight Plan is in effect, sign any UFA whose team did not make the June 1 Tender or whose team subsequently withdrew that Tender.
In conclusion, an Uncapped Year is not the same as "NO CBA". If the current CBA expires, then we will probably suffer through a season without the NFL (or at least a shortened season). IMO we won’t see the NFL become MLB. The goose that lays the golden egg is TV revenue. What fuels the TV revenue is high ratings. What fuels ratings is Competitive Balance. That’s where the CBA comes in.
A season without the NFL?
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
I don't even want to think about that.
by Nelson @ Blogging The Boys on Mar 1, 2008 1:40 PM CST up reply actions
I still remember the strike season of '82
when teams played with replacement players (scabs) when the NFL players went on strike.
Thankfully
that was before my time.
by Nelson @ Blogging The Boys on Mar 1, 2008 4:46 PM CST up reply actions
Scabs in '87
I remember the replacement players in 1987.
Boooooring. The big winner? The guys who sold dope on the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater campus!
by Cowboy Louie on Mar 2, 2008 9:00 AM CST up reply actions
that was '87, not '82
when there were repacement players. Thanks Louie, I knew it was in the '80s.
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