Does anyone else feel this is hurting the game for the fans? I really think they ought to have something like the NBA where you can pay your own home grown guy more. When I see the Raiders shopping Charles Woodson because they likely won't be able to afford him next year I have to shake my head. I'd really favor a rule where if you draft a guy you are allowed a cap exemption after so many years in order to resign that guy. So that not only the very wealthy benefit, maybe each team could be allowed some specified number of exemptions. Just a thought. I think it hurts fan loyalty when you build a good team and can't keep it because you reach a point where you just can't afford all your good players.

Tarkus

The NFL does not care if the fans are happy, they only care if the fans watch the games.

Agreed.

I like that idea. Maybe have like 75% or 80% of a guy's contract that you draft count towards the cap. It'll be incentive to keep players there that have been drafted there.

I think it's perfect right now. Only pay big money to franchise guys. It really makes the gm's work and exposes the weak talent evaluators.

Let's face it. Woodsen let the Raiders down during the stretch run because he could get healthy. The question is do the Raiders risk a long term deal to a guy who may continue to have injuries.

I think these types of calls add a spice to the game...

Aren't they already doing that with some of the utility players? I know that there is an exemption in place where you can pay a veteran a million dollars (or some amount close to that) and it will only count the minimum salary against your cap value. It's to encourage teams to keep their veteran role-players around a little longer.

How would said cap exemption work (sorry, not that familiar with the NBA agreement)? Does he get to test the waters and you have to match it if you want to keep him? Any other way and the player's union will never go for it...

I like the NFL cap system exactly the way it is. No one forced the Raiders to get into the position they are in now, they willingily did it themselves. They are not victims.

I also like the NFL salary cap as is. The veteran's exemption was a bad idea because it creates a loophole. Once you have one loophole, more are sure to follow. With loopholes, the system will once again reward big money teams.

The system is working perfectly. You're seeing less and less teams with the mind-blowing cap-exploding numbers like the Raiders currently have. People are learning their lesson. In another 5 years I think you will close to the same level of stability you saw before the salary cap era, as teams learn to work within it better.

Right now, think of the teams that are contenders annually. They're learning to work within the cap. Philly, Tampa Bay, St. Louis, Pittsburgh. They realize that the team is more important than any one player, and are not afraid to let someone with outrageous contract demands go elsewhere. Teams are realizing the value of keeping their players rather than bringing in free ageents. They're also learning to more accurately determine their value.

I say, make all the contracts guaranteed.

Originally posted by Draft Dodger
I say, make all the contracts guaranteed.

sure. Let's take the worst part of baseball and basketball and bring it to the NFL! :rolleyes:

Originally posted by Draft Dodger
I say, make all the contracts guaranteed.

Oh God no, we'd have the Vin Baker of the NFL.

It's nearly perfect as it is now. What do you want to have instead? The baseball model?

Fan favorites are overrated, esp. if they hang on too long. Fans always get over it because there is another fan favorite on the horizon.

I'm all for te current system. Teams that manipulate it by backloading contracts get burnt, but they also got a year or two of quality players at a lower than market price.

I'm pretty sure the "loophole" is that if you give a 7 year vet (or more) the league minimum for his position, it counts up to $450,000 a year (the league min for a 2 or 3 year player).

It's something like that....to be honest, I think it doesn't really do much of anything. Saves a team about a million if they keep 6 or 7 vets over 6 or 7 2 and 3 year players...

Originally posted by Anrhydeddu
It's nearly perfect as it is now. What do you want to have instead? The baseball model?

Fan favorites are overrated, esp. if they hang on too long. Fans always get over it because there is another fan favorite on the horizon.

Unless a particular fan is stubborn and refuses to forgive his former favorite team for forcing his favorite player ever out. And that fan holds a grudge until all of the offending parties have been removed, no matter how long it takes for that to happen. :)

How can you not like the NFL setup? Every year a new team comes along to take the big prize. This is what Pete Rozelle dreamed of, true parity, where everyone (except for the Bengals, Lions, and Cardinals) has a legit shot at going all the way in any given year.

Then there is the great, capless model of baseball. Yes, the Angels were a total fluke this year. But before that you had a champion in Arizona, a team that literally had to borrow from the league to avoid bankruptcy, and of course the God-blessed (by George they are) Yankees. No cap, no worry. Just chuck a few million more to make sure the Red Sox can't get some number three starter the Yanks don't need to keep the competitive balance out of whack.

I believe without a doubt the NFL is the leader of major team sports in America and the system they use is a huge part.

Haven't any of you guys ever taken a statistics class?

This is what we call a small sample size.

The Yanks ahad a big run. But the post season is a crapshoot. Anything can happen.

The NFL model has worked well. I, personally, don't like salary caps. But the games are exciting and each team makes money hand over fist every year. That same model won't work for other sports, though.

A big part of the NFL system is revenue sharing. That works in the NFL because most of the revenue is generated at the league level rather than the local level. Baseball, Basketball, and Hockey can't copy this.

The NFL system has lowered the quality of its games, however. It's not something that's easily noticeable, even by the die-hard fan. But it's there. Most people are willing to make that trade-off.

The NBA also has seen its quality deteriorate. Unfortunately, the drop-off is obvious to any serious fan and was not accompanied by parity. Half the teams in the league are losing money. Do you guys realize we've only had four champions in the past twelve years in this sport-- not that it was the model of parity in the 80s.