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No NFL in 2011??? This is impending if labor issues are not sorted out pretty soon. In case no deal is struck in next five weeks it could lead to similar situations as witnessed in 1987 and with no salary cap next season it would mean affluent teams such as New England Patriots and Washington Redskins will be able to spend more than teams such as Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars and forcing other teams to fork out more cash even if it means stifling themselves.
In case no deal is struck for 2010 it would mean no NFL in 2011. Also the chances of striking a deal before March or starting of new NFL season looks quite bleak and with players having stronger bonds than before it could mean a lockout situation. The problem as usual is money despite average franchise value of $1 billion and rising TV ratings.
In 2008 NFL owners opted out of the contract and even asked for givebacks from players which included reduction in salaries by nearly 20%. This would work out to $800 million as the overall NFL revenues have been estimated to be around $6.5 billion. Owners feel the agreement expiring next year is more advantageous for the players as they get sixty percent of the revenues which is used for deciding the salary cap.
They intend to achieve an economic system which would be appreciated even a decade later and a right structure could lead to better benefits and salaries for current and retired players. If nothing works out it could lead to similar situation of 1982 and 1987 when unions went on strike. Uncapped season has been unheard of since the time contract system was brought into effect with current free agency and salary cap systems.
This would mean a different system will come into play with no limit on high end or low end or spending of the teams. Each team will have a free hand but this does not mean that NFL salary structure go on the lines of baseball as competitive balance rules will be in effect during the uncapped years. Since there would be no minimum salary cap, small market franchises will not be required to spend like bigger teams rather they would only spend what their pockets can afford.
I feel as fans of the game in such situations the best thing would be to keep your fingers crossed and hope for the best.
