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NFL: No Cap, No Problem

The 2009 NFL regular season has not yet started, and already, people can’t help but to wonder what the NFL will look like in 2010, when there will be no salary cap.  The absence of a salary cap will only occur if league owners and the NFLPA cannot come to an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement before March 2010.  Many high rankings individuals in both camps see a new agreement before 2010 as a long shot.

So let’s say that there is no salary cap in 2010.  Shawn Hoffman of Squawking Baseball thinks that we will hardly notice a difference.  While the Redskins and Cowboys may go on a short spending spree, many teams may actually lower their payrolls because of the lack of a salary floor (currently around 85% of the cap).  I could see the Jaguars spending much less on players since they can’t find people to fill the seats in their stadium.

Also, take into consideration that the players who would normally be the most prized free agent signees, may not be available on the market.  For a full rundown on the rules in what the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement calls the Final League Year, you will have to scroll down to page 237 of the CBA and focus on Article LVI.  Once you are there, you’ll notice things like,

nflpa1

As Pat Kirwin noted in his piece on NFL.com from over a year ago, this section means that, every player from the 2005 draft who signed a five-year contract and every player who signed a four-year deal in 2006 would miss out on eligibility for free agency and revert back to their club as a restricted free agent. This is normally the most coveted group of free agents who would be in position to command a large salary in an uncapped year.  The owners were smart to get this section in the CBA.

nflpa2

And the much loathed Franchise Tag will expand.  2 tags will be available to teams instead of the standard 1 tag.  And then there is the Final Eight Plan, found on page 77 of the CBA and listed under Article XXI.  As Kirwin summarizes it, the plan will

restrict the final eight teams in the playoffs from signing free agents. The final four teams shall not be permitted to negotiate and sign any unrestricted free agent to a player contract except for players who acquired their status by being cut or were on the final four team when their contract expired. Playoff teams five thru eight get a break to sign one player with a salary of $4,925,000 or more and any number of players with a first-year salary of no more than $3,275,000 and an annual increase of no more than 30 percent in the following years.

There is a mechanism to permit the final eight teams to sign an unrestricted free agent for each one of their own unrestricted free agents who sign with another club as long as they don’t spend more than what their own lost player received from his new club.

Much more devastating than an uncapped season for the league would be a lockout in 2011.  Scrapping an entire season or even forfeiting any regular season match-ups can be devastating for a league.  Just ask the NHL (lockout) and MLB (which had a player strike), leagues that fought hard to regain a strong presence among its respective fan bases.

By Darren Heitner

Darren Adam Heitner, Esq., is a preeminent sports attorney and the founder of Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., a Fort Lauderdale-based law firm specializing in sports law, contract negotiations, intellectual property, and arbitration. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2010 and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Florida in 2007, where he was named Valedictorian of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Admitted to practice in the state bars of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia, as well as multiple federal courts, Darren also serves as a certified arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.

As an adjunct professor, Darren imparts his expertise through teaching Sports Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) at the University of Miami School of Law in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law LL.M. program. His scholarly contributions include authoring several books published by the American Bar Association, such as How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, and numerous articles in prominent publications like Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Above the Law. His thought leadership in NIL has earned him recognition as one of the foremost experts by The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, and On3, and he has been lauded as a “power player in NIL deals” by Action Network and a “top sports trademark attorney” by Sportico.

Darren’s passion for sports law led him to establish Sports Agent Blog on December 31, 2005, initially titled “I Want To Be A Sports Agent.” The platform, created as a New Year’s resolution, has grown into a cornerstone of the sports agency community, offering in-depth analysis of industry trends, legal disputes, and agent-player dynamics. His commitment to the field is further evidenced by his representation of numerous athletes and sports agents, as well as his prior role as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington, where he developed and taught a course on Sport Agency Management from 2011 to 2014.

Darren’s contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including the University of Florida’s 40 Under 40 Award, the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, and designation as the best lawyer in Fort Lauderdale by Fort Lauderdale Magazine. He remains an active voice in the sports law community, sharing insights through his weekly NIL newsletter and his X posts, engaging a broad audience on legal developments in sports.