but it is moving to 6 in the uncapped year.

The system the NFL looks to heading towards is both very similar and dis-similar to the MLB model. There will be no salary floor, nor a salary cap. However, at least for 2010, there are restrictions on which teams can do what. The Final Eight playoff teams can not just snatch up anyone and everyone. There are limits on who they can sign. I’ll also excuse myself from the MLB vs NFL argument because I don’t think there is revenue sharing in MLB (I may be wrong), but a special arbitrator did vote within the last few days to keep the supplemental revenue sharing pool in effect, at least for now.

The other factor, which none of us can predict is 2011 and beyond as far as the CBA and salary cap go. Any contract signed for the 2010 year and beyond will, by most assumptions, stay in force for the length of the contract. The trick becomes gauging how this would affect the team if/when a new salary cap is put in place. To use an exaggerated example, with no salary cap, The Cowboys and Jerry Jones could (in theory) sign Miles Austin to a 10 year $200 million dollar deal. No cap (in 2010), no problem. But, if there is a cap in 2011 or any year shortly thereafter, the Cowboys will presumably have to comply, which means Austin’s deal would most likely not comply.

UFA’s may get paid, but it may be a one year deal, or structured in such a manner that it could feasibly comply with future year’s caps. The only catch is, neither owners, nor coaches, nor players, nor agents know what will happen. So to structure a deal for a big named player, the leverage lies with no one. Teams could balk and say “We cant sign you to a long term deal,w e dont know about the CBA” and players could say “Im worth 3 times what youre offering, there is no cap, pay the man”. Its a wonderful shade of gray right now.

The commish has pretty much confirmed that 2010 will be uncapped and while we all dream of teams spending big money, truth is, less players are available due to changing free agency rules and it would seem with all the uncertainty out there, that teams might err on the cautious side. I dont expect to see a big bonanza from most teams, but rather, conservative spending.

The big moves to be made will be with teams and their RFAs. The tender level will be key in determining the make up of a team and possible trade. For our purposes, lets look at Cadillac. If we tender him with at a 5th round level, another team may offer him a contract. At that point, the Bucs can either match the offer to keep him, or not match and let him walk to the other team and receive the 5th rounder in return, a sort of bastardized trade. Of course, you can tender him at a much higher level, say a 1st and 3rd rounder which means that would be our compensation, but it would serve as a deterrent for teams to go after Cadillac.

In my opinion, the best tender level is one at which you entice a team to make an offer that you could potentially match, then giving you the choice of keeping said player at an assumed fair market value or take the draft pick compensation, which in theory would be cheaper, but allow for younger (and also unproven) players to be selected.

My last opinion on this subject (for now). The union has always said that once the cap goes away, they don’t see it coming back. I think 2010 will be uncapped, 2011 will be a full season with maybe 1-2 preseason games being lost and a new CBA being in place with a cap. Unless the NFL is WILDLY successful in 2010, it seems the current business model, while not perfect, has been working pretty well for owners, players and the league alike.

First visit here, coming over from Hogs Haven. This is going to dramatically change the off-season plans for a lot of teams these upcoming months.

But teams not so much. The spending-mania that some people are predicting can’t happen for a number of reasons.

First, almost everyone is a restricted free agent, which means that the price of doing business goes up since teams need to be compensated with draft picks. If anything, this stifles the free agent market.
Normally when price goes up in free agency, that means the player stands to benefit with a big contract. Not this time, since the player won’t see any value out of those draft picks. Instead, the number of teams competing for a player will be very limited due to the draft pick compensation, and this means players will stand to earn less in free agency.

Secondly, the threat of a reinstatement of a salary cap will prevent teams from spending a lot of money on players. There’s a real possibility the NFLPA and the NFL will reach an agreement sometime before the 2011 season, and signing a lot of players to lucrative contracts will put those teams in a problematic position if that happens.

I’d personally expect there to be a CBA for the 2011 season, but it would probably be more favourable for the teams since the players have little leverage.

As an avid fan, I only require a basic understanding of how this stuff works. I think your article was informative and hit the nail right on the head for the amount of info people need to know. As far as contract structure and all that goes. I could really care less.

It is good to be aware of some aspects of free agency as you mentioned. I simply need to know that player (x) is signed for (y) amount of money for (z) amount of years. Unless the contract is grossly disproportionate to the player’s value on the field I could really care less about their contract.