Article: 2007 and the Cap

[Bill B]

How would you all think about the following changes to the NFL salary cap rules:

1.) Implementing like the NBA a Larry Bird exemption and thus creating a hard cap and soft cap. This would cut down on the constant players cuts and keep teams together longer and in my opinion improve play. As players stay together longer they build better continuity and as fans we see 2 well oiled machines playing against eachother instead of a new collection of players trying to get familar with one another.
The NFL should allow teams to use the Larry Bird Rule on restricted and unrestricted free agents that weren't cut. This would eliminate the balloon bonus payments that teams have been using in order to circumvent the cap. So the small market teams could still compete with the likes of Synder and Jerry Jones.
2.) In addition why not allow teams to trade players by allowing in the soft portion of the cap an exemption as long as the salaries are within 10 percent of each other? Why should teams incur cap penalties for simply swapping players? If the Redskins have lets say 3 really good running backs and another team has extra CB's why not allow the teams to make a trade without having to destroy their cap situation.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by Bill B

How would you all think about the following changes to the NFL salary cap rules:

1.) Implementing like the NBA a Larry Bird exemption and thus creating a hard cap and soft cap. This would cut down on the constant players cuts and keep teams together longer and in my opinion improve play. As players stay together longer they build better continuity and as fans we see 2 well oiled machines playing against eachother instead of a new collection of players trying to get familar with one another.
The NFL should allow teams to use the Larry Bird Rule on restricted and unrestricted free agents that weren't cut. This would eliminate the balloon bonus payments that teams have been using in order to circumvent the cap. So the small market teams could still compete with the likes of Synder and Jerry Jones.
2.) In addition why not allow teams to trade players by allowing in the soft portion of the cap an exemption as long as the salaries are within 10 percent of each other? Why should teams incur cap penalties for simply swapping players? If the Redskins have lets say 3 really good running backs and another team has extra CB's why not allow the teams to make a trade without having to destroy their cap situation.

I'm having a tough time figuring out what this post means. But I do like the current system a lot. Teams do have the ability to keep players together if they want.

I like the NFL's system because contracts aren't guaranteed. You don't play up to your ability, the team isn't stuck with you.

[Bill B]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

I'm having a tough time figuring out what this post means. But I do like the current system a lot. Teams do have the ability to keep players together if they want.

I like the NFL's system because contracts aren't guaranteed. You don't play up to your ability, the team isn't stuck with you.

Sorry for the confusion - I guess what I am getting at is having a hard cap like the NFL currently has at $107 million or so, and than having a soft cap that allows teams to resign their own players and go over the hard cap. The soft cap would have a luxury tax similar to what NBA teams pay - which is 100% for every dollar over.
So looking at the future when Chris Cooley's contract expires next year the Redskins could resign him at any rate they seem fit without regard to whether it would push them over the hard cap number (which I believe in that year will be $116 million). Now with the Redskins doing this they would have to pay whatever amount over the $116 in a luxury tax to a league wide pool which I assume would be distributed to smaller market teams.

I completely agree with you on keeping contracts non-guranteed. So if you sign someone to a long term deal and the contract is backloaded than you can still cut him and not be on the hook for anything. I would leave the bonus penalty as they are so yu would cut players before or after June 1st to comply with the cap.

Also, if you could find players with similar salaries the second part would allow you to trade them and get an exemption. Right now most trades are really hard because teams can afford to take both the cap hit of the player they are trading and the cap hit of the player they have coming in.