King predicts Haynesworth to Redskins

[BigHairedAristocrat]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

1) Even if a floor can't be established, there will be teams (including the Redskins) willing to spend over the existing cap limit that it will more than offset the loss in player salary payments made by teams dropping below the floor. I don't see how the lack of a salary floor hurts the players when evaluated in concert with the lack of a cap.

Sorry if i wasnt clear in my argument, but i was trying to say the lack of a salary floor hurt the players on the low market teams; while the lack of a cap is not going to be a significant benefit to the majority of players... think of it this way, there is no "cap" on rookie wages at the present. however, if there were a cap of sorts, it would only really affect players taken with the first 5-10 picks in the draft... so few players would be affected by a capless league in 2010, that the players as a whole wont feel any real benefits from it. considering owners will lock out the players in 2011, and they will refuse to end the lockout without a new CBA and a salary cap, the players will gladly allow a salary cap as a concession, since they never saw any benefits from it anyway.

Originally Posted by Schneed10

2) You vastly overestimate the impact of the declining economy on the NFL. The NFL's TV contract calls for a fixed revenue stream and cannot be negotiated. While jersey and merchandise sales are certainly on the decline, they represent too small a piece of the pie to cause a major overall contraction in league-wide revenues. In 2010, if there is a salary cap in place, it WILL BE HIGHER than in 2009. The growth in TV revenues ensures this. It just might not grow quite as fast as it has in years past.

The TV contract is a big piece of the pie, but its also the piece thats shared evenly between the teams. Ticket sales, merchandise, consessions, etc are where the owners can actually make money that they dont have to share. the difference is not as minimal as you think - the difference in ticket sales, merchandice, etc is exactly why teams like the cardinals, packers, and lions always stick close to the salary floor - The owners want to make as much of a profit as possible, and those fanbases are not large enough to provide income to compete with the larger markets like new york, SF, washington, and dallas.

As far as the economy goes, its going to get much worse. the revenue generated from ticket sales, jerseys, etc is very important to the owners and is directly related to the money fans have to spend. everywhere you go, youll find people selling season tickets. When people are struggling to make ends meet, are they going to spend $100 on a jersey? Some will, sure. But not as many as in the past. and we have to remember that the owners of these teams generally own much more than just the team. they are men with investments and ownership in a wide array of businesses. those businesses are all impacted more directly by the economy. Many of the owners also have huge loans for their teams stadiums to pay off - the easiest way to make money is to save money - to cut expenses. why else have so many teams been laying off workers lately? why else does Wade Phillips still have a job? Its because Jerry jones didnt want to have to buy out his contrac and that of a large portion of his staffs contracts and then give new money to the new coaches? The NFL is most certainly not immune to the world economic crisis. The majority of teams will not be throwing money around 2010.