Show Without labor deal dea NFL looks like Ken Murray The Baltimore Sun Is the golden goose cooked Could the NFL and its millionaire millionaire millionaire mil mil- minions really ruin a good thing and send competitive balance spiraling off into the abyss Without a collective bargaining bargaining bargaining bargain bargain- ing agreement would the NFL degenerate into Major League Baseball with a ric rich upper crust a distant middle class and an even more distant poverty sector sector sector sec sec- tor So many questions so few answers What we know about the NFL's muddled labor negotiations negotiations negotiations is this Unless there is an extension of the CBA by Friday the league will operate on a new more restrictive set of salary cap j rules roles in 2006 t tb I b Arid is is' n no extension during the e coming season the NFL will dump the salary cap system altogether and wade through antitrust issues to do business in a brave new era Buckle up were we're on a factfinding factfinding factfinding fact- fact finding mission What arc the issues separating the NFL Players Association and the NFL Management Council There is only one issue money The players want a bigger bigger bigger big big- ger share of the NFL's burgeoning burgeon burgeon- ing revenues The owners citing rising operating costs and debt service on stadiums have drawn a fiscal line in the sand That revenue high-revenue owners are refusing refusing refusing refus refus- ing to share local revenues with their small-market small brethren speaks volumes about the level of greed in the league What is the immediate impact if there is no CBA The first to feel the squeeze will be the 32 teams trying to get under a tight salary cap expected expect expect- ed to be between 92 million and 95 million for this season More players than usual will be cut as teams scramble to meet j the cap limit Then the f fallout ll t hits the players With less money available for teams to spend there will be fewer lavish contracts If there is no extension by Friday are the two sides likely to reach an agreement before going to an uncapped season in 2007 Not according to Gene Upshaw executive director of the Upshaw's position is that once the union enters the final mal year of the cap the players will want to eliminate the system system system tem altogether although this was not their top priority The owners would have to sweeten the deal a lot to make it happen after Friday What motivation do the owners owners owners own own- ers have to get a deal done by Friday Massive chaos likely will result from a final year under the cap Those big signing bonuses of the past no longer can be spread over six and seven years for cap purposes Instead they'll be restricted to four years There also will be no more cap deferrals deferrals deferrals defer defer- rals with June 1 cuts All signing bonus acceleration after June Junel 1 counts immediately bounts-immediately nim on the cap Theres There's also a clause that says no salaries between a capped and uncapped year can increase by more than 30 percent removing removing removing ing managements management's favorite ploy of restructuring contracts What motivation do the players play play- ers have to get a deal done by Friday Not only will this years year's signing signing signing sign sign- ing period be less rewarding but without a cap it will take six years to gain unrestricted free agency not four as in the past Many players will never see that sixth season Also with signing bonuses stretched over four years guaranteed money will be harder to get What will the NFL look like down the road without a salary cap system A lot like baseball Without a level playing field competitive balance could disappear The NFL could become a league of haves and have Only a handful of well-heeled well teams will have the ability to win the Super Bowl and small-market small teams will be pressed hard-pressed just to cover player costs What is the unions union's strategy Without an agreement Upshaw said the will decertify and take the league to antitrust court Without its antitrust exemption the league would be at risk of losing its col- col IJ leg Jr f And nd without a a. a union q Upshaw believes the league could n riot not t legally lock out players play play- ers in 2008 How will the NFL respond to the threat against competitive balance There are clauses in the current current current cur cur- rent CBA that actually penalize playoff teams as far as free- free agent acquisitions For example the final four teams in the 2006 playoffs will be permitted to sign only their own unrestricted free agents unrestricted free agents on waivers or as a replacement for each unrestricted ed free agent the team loses |