The Cap...good or bad for the NFL?

[ATL96Steeler]

We know the owners have designed the business model to encourage parity...the cap is a big part of forcing the talent to spread around.

While I think the cap is a good sports concept in general, but I'm not sure if the cap is keeping up with the payscale...possibly by design? but I think it hurts the product.

Your thoughts?

 

[Hank Kingsley]

I hate the cap in all sports.

Can't keep teams together anymore.

I say let 'er rip and if they spend themselves into oblivion so be it.

The fact they need something like a cap to save them from themselves is sad....

 

[cdumler7]

I'm a big fan of it honestly. With there being such parity in how much the owners make and have to spend this at least gives even the little guys a chance to rise up. Otherwise you are looking at about the same 6-8 teams every single year getting most of the top talent at ridiculous prices and the little guys only showing up when they just happen to have 2 amazing drafts in a row but only have a 1-2 year window to make it all work. I love the fact that Seattle went from losing record just a few years ago to Super Bowl Champ. Heck my own Broncos went from 4-12 in 2010 to now one of the top teams in the league.

 

[Cave_Johnson]

If the NFL gets rid of the cap then it's going to become a joke like Major League Baseball where the Yankees pay some of their players more than other teams pay their entire roster.

Okay, it probably wouldn't get that bad. It's virtually impossible to have a worse model for a sports league than MLB has but it sure seems like Goodell and others have been pushing hard lately to "fix" what isn't broken.

 

[cdumler7]

I do however think they will need to figure out something in the near future to somewhat cap some of these ridiculous contracts as teams will quickly figure out that while having the top end talent is nice the price just becomes too limiting on what a team can do. Such as just again using my Broncos the top-10 salaries on the team take up over 50% of the total salary leaving on average only about $1.5 million per player for every other position. I would like to see them balance it out just a bit more so the mid-tier players stand a better chance of getting paid. What we see teams doing is loading up on the top end talent with the top-5 or so salaries, cutting many of the middle tier guys and filling their spots with draft picks so then the middle tier guys even if they are better than some of the players on teams will not be able to get on an NFL roster because they cost too much compared to a rookie.

 

[night]

If the NFL gets rid of the cap then it's going to become a joke like Major League Baseball where the Yankees pay some of their players more than other teams pay their entire roster.

Okay, it probably wouldn't get that bad. It's virtually impossible to have a worse model for a sports league than MLB has but it sure seems like Goodell and others have been pushing hard lately to "fix" what isn't broken.

Not having a cap works really well for Major League Baseball in my opinion. The Yankees have only have 1 WS appearance in the past 1 years so it's not like they're winning all of the titles. The Red Sox and Cardinals have had a lot more success than the Yankees recently.

 

[Hank Kingsley]

Spending like a drunken sailor is no gurantee of success.

I say give them enough rope.....

 

[cdumler7]

Not having a cap works really well for Major League Baseball in my opinion. The Yankees have only have 1 WS appearance in the past 1 years so it's not like they're winning all of the titles. The Red Sox and Cardinals have had a lot more success than the Yankees recently.

Both are still top half of the league. Throw in for the playoffs only 2 teams in the bottom half of payroll actually made the playoffs in Kansas City and Pittsburgh. So those who spend money are showing they stand a much better chance just because of talent alone on the roster of making the playoffs and winning the world series.

 

[Cave_Johnson]

Not having a cap works really well for Major League Baseball in my opinion. The Yankees have only have 1 WS appearance in the past 1 years so it's not like they're winning all of the titles. The Red Sox and Cardinals have had a lot more success than the Yankees recently.

I'm not saying that buying out all the best talent guarantees you'll win. I just think the fact that some teams can buy out all the good talent is ridiculous.

 

[night]

Shit I meant to type past 10 years.

 

[GNG]

We know the owners have designed the business model to encourage parity...the cap is a big part of forcing the talent to spread around.

While I think the cap is a good sports concept in general, but I'm not sure if the cap is keeping up with the payscale...possibly by design? but I think it hurts the product.

Your thoughts?

I believe in economic parity but the teams with the best front office executives will usually find an edge because they are better at managing the cap.

 

[GNG]

I just think the fact that some teams can buy out all the good talent is ridiculous.

This is why I don't watch MLB or the NBA.

 

[night]

I'm not saying that buying out all the best talent guarantees you'll win. I just think the fact that some teams can buy out all the good talent is ridiculous.

Teams mismanage their talent all the time. Sometimes throwing money around gets some top notch talent but the chemistry might be all wrong. You can also point to guys like Pujols and Brian McCann who couldn't match their production with their previous team after going to the highest bidder. Without a cap you're more likely to see dumb signings like Atlanta did with BJ Upton than an elite mercenary squad IMO.

 

[ducky]

Not having a cap works really well for Major League Baseball in my opinion. The Yankees have only have 1 WS appearance in the past 1 years so it's not like they're winning all of the titles. The Red Sox and Cardinals have had a lot more success than the Yankees recently.

Yeah but baseball offsets not having a cap by making rookies stay with teams a hell of a lot longer than they do in the NFL. If NFL rookie contracts were 6 or 7 years long like they are in MLB, they could do away with the cap and not lose the parity.

Also baseball enjoys parity in their sport naturally. The best baseball team can't beat the worst team more than 75 times out of 100. Football does not have that naturally in their sport. If it were possible (it isn't) for the best team to play a significantly worse team 100 times, they would win at a much higher percentage than that.

The NFL is better off with the cap.
1) It creates parity. Every team has a chance.
2) It creates an unparalleled offseason free agent period like we are currently in that other leagues don't even come close to matching. More interest in the offseason always makes for more interest in the season....and the NFL has it in spades. There is rarely an NFL team that doesn't have something exciting and new for the fans to cheer about. Exciting offseason moves in baseball and basketball sometimes come around only once every 3 or 4 years at best for most of the teams.

....

Now with all that said: The one thing I do miss is GREATNESS. The NFL hasn't seen a great team in a LONG time IMO. And that is a direct result of the cap and the parity.

 

[Broncosr0k]

I wonder if getting rid of the cap will make college football and the draft less appealing. Why worry about upcoming talent when you can go buy whoever was good at the pro-level last year.

I think GMs wouldn't mind because it removes and entire aspect of developing a team. You don't have to draft well.

 

[night]

Yeah but baseball offsets not having a cap by making rookies stay with teams a hell of a lot longer than they do in the NFL. If NFL rookie contracts were 6 or 7 years long like they are in MLB, they could do away with the cap and not lose the parity.

Also baseball enjoys parity in their sport naturally. The best baseball team can't beat the worst team more than 75 times out of 100. Football does not have that naturally in their sport. If it were possible (it isn't) for the best team to play a significantly worse team 100 times, they would win at a much higher percentage than that.

The NFL is better off with the cap.
1) It creates parity. Every team has a chance.
2) It creates an unparalleled offseason free agent period like we are currently in that other leagues don't even come close to matching. More interest in the offseason always makes for more interest in the season....and the NFL has it in spades. There is rarely an NFL team that doesn't have something exciting and new for the fans to cheer about. Exciting offseason moves in baseball and basketball sometimes come around only once every 3 or 4 years at best for most of the teams.

....

Now with all that said: The one thing I do miss is GREATNESS. The NFL hasn't seen a great team in a LONG time IMO. And that is a direct result of the cap and the parity.

To be honest I like seeing guys stay with their teams longer. I could easily give up crazy free agency periods.

I don't agree that it creates more parity. Poorly managed teams are still perennial losers even if the spending is somewhat equal. Look at the Browns, Jets, Raiders, Titans, Jags, etc. The NBA has a cap too and it has the least parity of any major sport. 2 teams basically own half of the titles in the league's history.

 

[boogiewithstu2007]

I hate the cap in all sports.

Can't keep teams together anymore.

I say let 'er rip and if they spend themselves into oblivion so be it.

The fact they need something like a cap to save them from themselves is sad....

Careful what you wish for .... Paul Allen has more money than all the owners combined... You don't want Seattle with unlimited money to spend.... Cap makes the draft that much more important and keeps things on a level playing field .... Teams do change more every year, but you can keep your core stars, you just can't keep it stacked like before the cap ...

 

[boogiewithstu2007]

Baseball is a different game.... It can be a little more unpredictable .... Football is about physicality and great athletes... I you stack a team in football your gonna wear down your opponent and win at a much higher percentage than in baseball...

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

I like the cap personally. Adds a bit more depth/strategy to the game in terms of who you sign and where you want your money dedicated.

That said, when they did away with the cap for a while, it really didn't do anything. Teams that continue to be good throughout the years signed cheap and stock piled via the draft. Teams that are continually bad spent even more money in free agency and continued to suck.

 

[Davis_Mike]

To be honest I like seeing guys stay with their teams longer. I could easily give up crazy free agency periods.

I don't agree that it creates more parity. Poorly managed teams are still perennial losers even if the spending is somewhat equal. Look at the Browns, Jets, Raiders, Titans, Jags, etc. The NBA has a cap too and it has the least parity of any major sport. 2 teams basically own half of the titles in the league's history.

The NBA is a soft cap at best. It's not a real cap. Teams can still spend whatever they want for 3 years with little repercussions, take a year off, then go out and again spend whatever they want for 3 mores years. Rinse & repeat.

The only thing that saves the MLB model is the fact that if you draft an 18-21 year old kid, teams basically have anywhere 7-10 years of control, depending on when the reach the majors, at minimal salaries. There is no way for the NFL to incorporate that in to the spending structure.