What does an uncapped 2010 mean for NFL teams this offseason

[ddaryl]

I'm starting this thread to put begin putting together a list of rules/info that will be applied to the 2010 offseason. There are some rules in place to help keep things under control somewhat.

In a nutshell




The top eight playoff finishers from the previous season would be allowed to sign free agents only at the rate at which they lose them.
Players would need six NFL seasons to be eligible for free agency, rather than four.
Each team would be allowed to restrict two eligible free agents with "franchise" or "transition" player tags, rather than one.


a little more detail in these quotes

http://dailyme.com/story/2009112800000784/nfl-rolling-uncapped-season.html



The four teams that make the league championship games can't sign an unrestricted free agent unless and until they lose one of equal or more value;
The four teams that lost in the divisional round can sign one high-priced unrestricted free agent (price undetermined yet) without having to lose one of their own. Once that maximum exception is burned, they are restricted like the top four teams in terms of big-ticket free agents. And they can also sign as many mid-level free agents as they want (price undetermined).


http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d808736ba&template=with-video&confirm=true



A general manager told me that the projections for players scheduled to be free agents -- if it were a capped year -- could be upwards of 170 fewer players if it is uncapped. 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. Keep in mind, teams target this group over all others when it comes to spending the big money in free agency.

On the surface it might appear that the older veterans would get the windfall with their younger competitors off the market, but this group will take a hit because teams will have three tags instead of one to restrict true veterans from being entirely free. Another general manager projects that this mechanism will lock up 30 players. As you can see, 200 players would be off the market.

............

The rule 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.
For all practical purposes, free agency will not have any teeth in 2010 and close to 200 players hoping to hit a big pay day will have to wait at least a year and risk injury.




Looks like there will be less available players in FA this year, and most teams will use their extra tags to keep prized vets, and many of the players who signed rookie deals in 2005 and 2006 will not be FA this year because the rules have changed.

If anyone has info to add I can edit the main post and insert it in

[Ingtar33]

I'm starting this thread to put begin putting together a list of rules/info that will be applied to the 2010 offseason. There are some rules in place to help keep things under control somewhat.

In a nutshell



a little more detail in these quotes

http://dailyme.com/story/2009112800000784/nfl-rolling-uncapped-season.html




http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d808736ba&template=with-video&confirm=true





Looks like there will be less available players in FA this year, and most teams will use their extra tags to keep prized vets, and many of the players who signed rookie deals in 2005 and 2006 will not be FA this year because the rules have changed.

If anyone has info to add I can edit the main post and insert it in

i'm going off pure memory (and that memory is like 2 or 3 years old) but there is also some sort of spending restrictions in this "uncapped" year... that applies based on final record.. with the worst teams having the most freedom to spend, and the best teams the most limited.

also i seem to recall that there is some sort of cap on how much a team might increase it's total spending for the uncapped year (something like 10% or 15% max... no matter what their record)

but that's just off the top of my head. and i might be really wrong about it. but i seem to remember something like that.

[X-Era]

Its could mean a few things:

Teams that cant/wont spend big money will jettison high priced player since there also wont be a cap floor

Teams may shy away from big contracts with fears that if the cap comes back, they may have to dump players to get under it

Teams may shy away from big contracts because they know they cant/wont compete with teams that will throw out huge money

A few teams will sign players to ridiculous contracts

Free agents will realize that they didn't cash in the way they thought the would and will comeback to the bargaining table with a whole new outlook (tail between their legs)

[ddaryl]

Here is a link to more info. It more of the same but maybe a little more detail then what I posted above

http://www.profootball24x7.com/column_view.php?cid=46&aid=3261&view=archive

[justasportsfan]

and this is why it's important to find a coach who knows how to develop talent. One that knows how to turn turd into gold.

[YardRat]

I'm going off memory, and I'd have to research to confirm, but 'uncapped' sounds similar to the old 'Plan B' from the late 80's, early 90's.

[kernowboy]

Players won't want to sign big long deals as they realise with the return of Free Agency, they may get a better deal.

[Mudflap1]

It basically means all of the really good free agents probably won't be available, because they will be under contract for 6 years, not 4, per the rules. Second, there won't be out of control spending, because, with the free agents that are available, the good teams will only be able to sign one player per one player lost.

[ddaryl]

It looks to me like this offseason will be very subpar for FA's, and we are going to have to depend upon the draft more then ever.

[ddaryl]

I'm bumping my own thread because it's a good one

[Italian Stallion]

This could impact the trade market as well...I would be willing to bet that we would see an increase of player for player deals or 3 team package deals to enhance player movement (kind of like in baseball). Because if FA is limited, teams need to get better somehow.

[WeAreArthurMoates]

And I think this is why a deal will get done. The players union finally realized how bad it would be for them.

[mikemac2001]

Ya i don't see why uncapped is that great??? most players will be stuck on there teams or won't be able to get the big bucks they thought

[ddaryl]

Ya i don't see why uncapped is that great??? most players will be stuck on there teams or won't be able to get the big bucks they thought

what is really going to suck is if this whole uncapped no CBA year leads us to a ugly lockout in 2011...

but it will be a very different offseason this year

[jamze132]

Looks to me like Buffalo will finish under .500 next year. With not many FAs available, teams will rely on their drafting skills, and because of that, we're ****ed. Hopefully whoever takes over the reigns next year takes their head out of their ass and stop smelling their own farts.

[billistic]

The main up-shoot is that Ralph Wilson won't have to pay the NFLPA minimum to the Bills dregs.

[Tbuffalobills]

Free agency goes from 4 to 6 years for drafted player in un capped-

example.. shawne Merriman with the chargers is free agent..however if there is no cap chargers own him for 2 more years-

This applies to everyone drafted in that class- So fewer un restricted free agents

[ddaryl]

bump because this info is of interest for our offseason

[SABURZFAN]

i like these rules that prohibit big market teams to scoop up all the talent with their deep pockets.

[Canadian'eh!]

It means there is no salary floor and Ralph and Russ can REALLY cheap out. Expect next to nothing in FA.

[Cntrygal]

Its could mean a few things:

Free agents will realize that they didn't cash in the way they thought the would and will comeback to the bargaining table with a whole new outlook (tail between their legs)


I like this one. :D

[Cntrygal]

Good thread btw!

[ddaryl]

It means there is no salary floor and Ralph and Russ can REALLY cheap out. Expect next to nothing in FA.


that would go over like a led zeppelin

I think there are more then enough skeptical Bills fans out there that such a display of chepaness would guarentee a huge loss in season tickets...

It is one of the guages I will use to determine how much I support this team from this point forward. I won't accept them not bringing in a couple of top FA's

[ddaryl]

Here is another change that will have a major affect



http://www.profootball24x7.com/column_view.php?cid=46&aid=3261&view=archive



NEW RULE – 30% RULE: For any new contract signed after the Owner’s opted out in May of 2008, a player’s salary (excluding signing bonus proration), may not increase from one year to the next by more than 30% of the first year salary. This rule also applies to all contracts that are renegotiated in 2009.

OLD RULE: There was no such limitation.

RAMIFICATIONS: This rule was put in place to keep teams from structuring a contract that contained a huge salary in the “uncapped year". So, if a player has a base salary of $1M in 2009, his 2010 salary can only be $1.3M – a 30% increase. All subsequent salaries can also only increase by $300K, so his 2011 salary can be no more than $1.6M
This rule, along with the reduction in bonus proration to 5 years is going to make it very difficult for teams to fit big new contracts under the Salary Cap in 2009, since the normal practice of backloading contracts ran afoul of the 30% rule
It will also make it more difficult for teams to restructure contracts in an effort to create Salary Cap room in 2009. This is usually accomplished by reducing a player’s base salary to the minimum and giving him the difference as a signing bonus. But, reducing the 2009 base salary down to the minimum will likely create a violation of the 30% rule because the 2010 salary (which was already part of the contract) will likely be greater than 30% more

[psubills62]

I had a question for people, though I don't know if it merits its own thread.

Obviously the free agent limitations (6 years to be UFA instead of 4, etc.) is probably a temporary situation, barring a new CBA. However, since this drastically reduces the number of free agents available, it's been mentioned that this might cause more player-for-player trades to occur.

With that in mind, would it be reasonable to extend the draft to 10 rounds instead of 7?

My thought process on this is:
1) Teams will be very reluctant to let players go, even if they're just role players or players in reduced roles. Since there will be a lot fewer free agents available, it won't be as easy to sign someone to immediately replace the player a team lets go.
2) It may be beneficial to extend the draft so that there are more draft picks available for teams to use for trading. People may not see 7th-round picks as being very valuable, but they could be valuable compared to the 2nd-stringer a team wants to trade for.

Just a thought...what do you guys think?

[ddaryl]

After 7 rounds the remaining players can all be signed as Free Agents, and can be signed cheaply

so I don't really see much benefit in having a 10 round draft besides forcing teams to pick 3 more players in a slotted spot