LOG, I wouldn't stay up late tonight if I were you.

[ICE74129]

I don't see us doing much at all and it wont be of any real signifigance.

"Wilson said he spoke with coach Dick Jauron and general manager Marv Levy on Thursday to catch up on the team's plan for free agency, which starts Saturday. With the cap rising by $7.5 million to $102 million, the Bills are approximately $16 million under, according to reports.

"We have to watch our costs, but we'll be active in free agency and try to make prudent decisions on any players we may get," Wilson said. "But we're not going to be able to throw money away like these high-revenue clubs."

Seems Ralph is still pissed about the CBA. I said this in another thread, I don't think he has the money to put out there for Signing bonuses, nor does he want to spend the available cap space. I fear we now have a Bill Bidwell (arizona owner that NEVER gets near the cap) situation with RW.

[THATHURMANATOR]

Ice you read too much into everything and just freaking drive it into the ground. Calm down... We will sign players. Probably no superstars but most likely decent players.

[ICE74129]

Ice you read too much into everything and just freaking drive it into the ground. Calm down... We will sign players. Probably no superstars but most likely decent players.

No just facts. The man has made his point. To compete you gotta spend money. How much does Seattle have tied up in just 3 players let alone that great front line of theirs? What about Carolina? The cap room is there, you have to spend it and sometimes flat outbid for a need. Otherwise we are looking at a team of bennie andersons.

[Frez]

How active were the Steelers in free agency over the last 4 years?

[ArcticWildMan]

I'm concerned that Ralph is hearing the whispering of the grim reaper and is more concerned about the worth of his estate that he leaves for his daughters than the team. It's beginning to sound like he plans on going the cheap route in FA so he doesn't have a ton of money tied up.

[THATHURMANATOR]

No just facts. The man has made his point. To compete you gotta spend money. How much does Seattle have tied up in just 3 players let alone that great front line of theirs? What about Carolina? The cap room is there, you have to spend it and sometimes flat outbid for a need. Otherwise we are looking at a team of bennie andersons.
The Bills have always spent right up to the cap. Until they don't do that I am not going to freak out.

[THATHURMANATOR]

Plus if Wilson is as Senile as you say why would you believe anything he says.

[ICE74129]

The Bills have always spent right up to the cap. Until they don't do that I am not going to freak out.

I lived the Missouri slogan...'Show me'. IF he does what is needed in FA / The draft THEN I believe him. My blind faith in Ralph Wilson faded long ago.

[Forward_Lateral]

Ralph isn't pissed about the CBA, he just didn't "understand" it. The new CBA definately helps a team like Buffalo. Ralph should just shut his mouth next time and save himself, and the organization the embarassment.

[LifetimeBillsFan]

I'm concerned that Ralph is hearing the whispering of the grim reaper and is more concerned about the worth of his estate that he leaves for his daughters ....

I believe this is probably true.

While Ralph is rich in comparison to most of us, I don't believe that he, personally, has anywhere near the kind of money that most of the other NFL owners and ownership groups have access to. That being the case, it limits how much cash he would be able to put into signing bonuses, coaches, insurance premiums, etc.--the kind of expenses that that don't count against the salary cap but that teams end up paying regardless (remember, the salary cap only takes into account the salaries of the top 51(?) players on the roster and does not include even the total amount of a team's player costs).

Given the fact that Ralph has already made it clear that his family is not interested in keeping the team after he dies, I think it would be fair to conclude that there would have to be some concern on his part that he be able to leave something more than just the team to his heirs upon his death--since it might take some time for them to sell the team and divide the proceeds afterwards. Ralph's wife is still quite healthy and active, despite being up there in age, and, like most men in his position, I think it is fairly safe to say that Ralph's first priority at this stage is probably to insure that she is well taken care of if he should pass away and that she would not have to change her lifestyle or want for anything for the remainder of his life. Similarly, he would probably want to make sure that he is able to leave his daughters and grandchildren (if any) something that they really want when he goes--which we know is not the Bills franchise.

Consequently, while I don't think that Ralph will proceed to gut the franchise or refuse to spend up to the salary cap to keep the team competitive, I think that it is fair to expect that he is not going to splurge or go out of his way to spend extra money on the team at this stage, given the way the recent CBA has been negotiated. I think that it is likely that the Bills will be no better than third or fourth on Ralph's list of financial priorities going forth from here for as long as he continues to own the team.

I think that the result will be that he will try to "catch lightning in a bottle" with a cheaper coaching staff that is younger and has fewer prominent names on it, that he will try to avoid signing free agents and rookies to contracts with large signing bonuses that he will have to pay out of his own pocket up-front before they can be amortized off of the books under the salary cap, and that the team will cut back on some of the amenities and perks that players may get lavished on them elsewhere--all of which will make the team less attractive to big-name, higher-priced free agents. This means that the team will have to make certain that it has good, solid drafts every season and will have to rely on lesser-name, lower-priced developing free agents to fully come into their own after signing, and will not be able to afford to draft or sign as free agents any players who are "busts" or don't make significant contributions to the team. I think it also means that the team will probably have to let free agents go or trade them rather than sign them to contracts with large signing bonuses or packages of perks.

All of this will make it much harder for the Bills to become a championship caliber club in the near future--it's not impossible, but will be much harder and will require extraordinary success from the front office and coaching staff. That does not mean that the Bills will be condemned to being a horrible team every year, but that it will be much harder for them to become and stay solid championship contenders and that it may, in fact, take more time for them to get to that level.

That's not going to sit well with a lot of Bills fans and members of the Buffalo area media--many of whom are already impatient with the team and spend their off-seasons calling for the team to spend lavishly on free agents. IMHO, Bills fans are going to have to recognize the situation that the team's owner is in and be more realistic about the team's future and ability to compete for free agents who may provide "quick-fixes" for the team's weaknesses. That doesn't mean giving up all hope or any expectations of success, but understanding that success will be harder to achieve and may take longer than for other franchises. At least Buffalo still has and will have an NFL franchise--after Ralph Wilson dies, there is no guarantee that Bills fans will have even that much (I know that I won't continue to be a Bills fan if they end up being moved to LA or some other city after Ralph dies and the team is sold).

[ICE74129]

Ralph isn't pissed about the CBA, he just didn't "understand" it. The new CBA definately helps a team like Buffalo. Ralph should just shut his mouth next time and save himself, and the organization the embarassment.

:bf1:

What ever happened to just saying 'I'm glad it all worked out'? Or 'Now it's time to get down to business'? Instead he is still griping now that he has had more time to read it.