NFL Salary Cap

[Sea Ray]

I came across this and found it interesting:

Schefter reports that the Cowboys will lose more than $10 million — and that the Redskins will lose $36 million. (And now we know why the Redskins got the Griffin deal done last week; the Rams likely would have wanted even more for the second overall pick now.)
The teams can divide the cap losses between 2012 and 2013 in any portion they want. As of Sunday, the Redskins more than $30 million in cap space in 2012. The Cowboys had less than $5 million.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...-in-cap-space/

To get stripped of $36mill in cap space in one yr is pretty rough. I'm no fan of Jerry Jones and Daniel Snyder but I thought it was fair game to take advantage of the uncapped yr. Apparently Goodell feels ifferently. I'd think those two owners would be livid about now. Thoughts?

[NJReds]

Not sure what to make of it. I thought the league approved all contracts. Also, didn't the Bears give Julius Peppers an outrageous deal, too?

I think a lawsuit might be in order. Although the Cowboys could defer the hit to next year, when they have a lot of dead money expiring, and the cap is expected to go up due to the TV deal.

Wouldn't be collusion if the league told teams that they couldn't spend freely in year without a salary cap? I would think that the NFLPA would get involved, too.

[RichRed]

I definitely smell a lawsuit.

[Puffy]

Nope, no lawsuit coming.

The NFL and the NFLPA agreed on this. Also, this is not the league pushing for this - its the owners themselves. They were told not to do this and all the teams who obeyed are the ones who want teams that didn't to pay this.

What people seem to be missing here is what the Cowboys and Redskins (and to a lesser extent the Raiders and the Saints) did was to sign multi-year deals with players and front loading them to 2010. The punishment is not for uncapped year in 2010, it's for now having players on team at lower than normal cap numbers - in other words, circumventing cap.

Again, teams were warned not to do this - 28 teams listened. 4 didn't.

[NJReds]

Nope, no lawsuit coming.

The NFL and the NFLPA agreed on this. Also, this is not the league pushing for this - its the owners themselves. They were told not to do this and all the teams who obeyed are the ones who want teams that didn't to pay this.

What people seem to be missing here is what the Cowboys and Redskins (and to a lesser extent the Raiders and the Saints) did was to sign multi-year deals with players and front loading them to 2010. The punishment is not for uncapped year in 2010, it's for now having players on team at lower than normal cap numbers - in other words, circumventing cap.

Again, teams were warned not to do this - 28 teams listened. 4 didn't.

Smells like collusion. Agreement not to spend. Also, the contracts were approved by the league, and there was (reportedly) no written warning from the league.

[Sea Ray]

Not sure what to make of it. I thought the league approved all contracts. Also, didn't the Bears give Julius Peppers an outrageous deal, too?

I think a lawsuit might be in order. Although the Cowboys could defer the hit to next year, when they have a lot of dead money expiring, and the cap is expected to go up due to the TV deal.

Wouldn't be collusion if the league told teams that they couldn't spend freely in year without a salary cap? I would think that the NFLPA would get involved, too.

Are you sure they have an option to defer it to next yr? I haven't seen that written anywhere. In order to keep the Players Assoc happy they raised the other team's cap a proportional amount so the total cap money has not changed. Of course there's no floor this year so I really don't know what that accomplishes

[NJReds]

Are you sure they have an option to defer it to next yr? I haven't seen that written anywhere. In order to keep the Players Assoc happy they raised the other team's cap a proportional amount so the total cap money has not changed. Of course there's no floor this year so I really don't know what that accomplishes

Yes. The teams can defer the penalty to next year, or spread it over this year and next. I'm on an iPad, so it's a pain to post a link, but that is the case. The Cowboys have $20M in dead money coming off next year, so this shouldn't hurt them that much.

[Sea Ray]

Yes. The teams can defer the penalty to next year, or spread it over this year and next. I'm on an iPad, so it's a pain to post a link, but that is the case. The Cowboys have $20M in dead money coming off next year, so this shouldn't hurt them that much.

No problem. Don't worry about posting a link. Thanks for the info!

[Chip R]

It's a good thing the NFL has a salary cap. It sure kept the New York Giants from winning it all.

[NJReds]

No problem. Don't worry about posting a link. Thanks for the info!

Here's a link from the Dallas Morning News with a good summary from the Dallas perspective: http://espn.go.com/dallas/nfl/story/...dell-makes-pay

Some highlights from the article:

The Cowboys' crime: circumventing an apparent unwritten rule regarding the uncapped 2010 season.

Goodell is omnipotent, the league's Alpha and Omega, its judge and jury. All must bow before him and kiss his ring -- even Jerry, who pays 1/32 of his salary.

Now, more than ever, this is Goodell's league.

The NFL didn't like Miles Austin's 2010 contract extension, even though it approved the deal.

The Cowboys signed the wide receiver to a six-year extension worth $54 million and paid him a $17 million base salary, which worked within the rules of an uncapped season. In a capped season, players are normally given large signing bonuses that are prorated over the course of the contract to come up with a salary cap charge.

Here's the gist of what the NFL's Management Council said about the salary cap circumventions.

"The Management Council Executive Committee determined that the contract practices of a small number of clubs during the 2010 league year created an unacceptable risk to future competitive balance," the NFL said in a statement, "particularly in light of the relatively modest salary cap growth projected for the new agreement's early years."

This sounds like what might have happened: The owners convened, colluded and created their own set of ground rules for how to handle the uncapped season. Jerry, as he usually does, violated the spirit of the agreement in a never-ending quest to gain an edge. So did the Redskins, Saints and Raiders.

Since the owners had an illegal agreement, so to speak, Jerry figured that if any of the owners whined about his approach, the worst he'd receive was a public reprimand and a fine. Back in the day, Jerry probably would've been right. Times have clearly changed.

Whining about this predicament is worthless. An appeals process doesn't exist, and life has never been fair. Sure, Jerry could sue the NFL -- Al Davis did it a million times -- and a court might rule in the Cowboys' favor 10 years from now and return their salary-cap space.

Jerry and the Cowboys took a calculated risk by not following the letter of an unwritten law. Honor among thieves is a fallacy.

[NJReds]

Oh ... and according to ProFootballTalk.com ... here's why the NFLPA turned a blind eye to the collusion:

The union has opted not to pick at old scars, in large part because the league’s willingness to bump up the 2012 salary cap from $116 million to $120.6 million likely averted a mutiny against NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith, whose contract expires this month.

[Sea Ray]

It's a good thing the NFL has a salary cap. It sure kept the New York Giants from winning it all.

What's that supposed to mean?

[Sea Ray]

It's important to add here that this ruling was not handed down by Goodell but from a committee made up of other owners so Jerry Jones' gripe is with his fellow owners, not the league

[NJReds]

It's important to add here that this ruling was not handed down by Goodell but from a committee made up of other owners so Jerry Jones' gripe is with his fellow owners, not the league

But the league handed down the punishment. It's not just Jones that has a gripe. I'm sure Dan Snyder isn't happy, either.

Could you imagine if this happened in baseball. The league owners put in an "unwritten" rule to keep teams from spending (paying players)? The NFLPA is a very weak union, and the NFL owners just trampled them again.


I hope the Saints are ready for their punishment for the bounty system. My guess is that it's going to be brutal.

[dabvu2498]

I hope the Saints are ready for their punishment for the bounty system. My guess is that it's going to be brutal.

I've been wondering about this, but avoiding "typical" sports media here recently. What's their punishment going to look like? Loss of draft picks? Forced personnel changes?