If you’re an American and a sports fan, then you’ve probably been affected in some way or another. Major League Baseball did it in 1994, The National Hockey League did it in in 2004 and the National Football League, Americas most popular professional sports league, could do it in 2011. I’m talking about a strike, a lockout, a picket, a boycott; I’m talking about the fact that after the 2010 season, it is likely that the NFL players may strike. Here’s why:
The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) and the NFL owners agreed a while back to a salary cap that would end after the 2009-2010 season (now). They would then sit down and talk again about a new salary cap. Unfortunately, this time they haven’t been able to come up with some sort of agreement which means that the 2010-2011 season will be uncapped and then they will sit down at the end of that season to try to negotiate again.
First, what does an uncapped season mean for the NFL? It means that major market teams in major market cities such as New York, Dallas, Chicago, LA and a few more can spend all the money they have to buy up all the expensive free agents. Sound familiar? (see: New York Yankees/Boston Red Sox). Smaller market teams like Cincinnati, Cleveland, Buffalo, Kansas City, Jacksonville and couple others could be left in the dust when big name players go after big money. The Bengals couldn’t compete with The Giants in spending even if Mike Brown wasn’t cheap. So what does that mean? Well, it means that there is a decent chance that whoever wins the Super Bowl next year could have bought the Super Bowl.
Well, it’s just one year right? I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it’s possible that it may not be just one year. Representatives from the NFLPA have said that if they play a season without a salary cap, they will never play with a salary cap again. It’s much like a kid who has never tasted sugar. He has no idea what he’s missing doesn’t crave sweets. Then you give him one piece of chocolate and next thing you know, he has a sweet tongue that would rival Willy Wonka’s. He’ll want sugar, or in this case tons of money, all the time.
Well, what could this possibly do to the NFL? Well, let’s look at baseball for a minute. The Yankees spent the most money in 2009 with a team payroll of $201,449,289. The Florida Marlins spent the least amount with a 2009 payroll of $36,814,000. That’s a $164,635,289 difference. The difference between those two teams is greater than any other teams payroll (other than the Yankees). The Yankees won the 2009 World Series…. Coincidence? The Yankees have won 27 World Series, the most in Major League Baseball…. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
One of the NFL’s greatest assets has been the saying “Any Given Sunday”. This saying means (possibly meant) that on any given Sunday, any team can beat any team. That means that small market teams can beat major market teams. It’s one of the reasons that the NFL has grown to be the most popular sports in American history. If the salary cap goes away permanently, then it is very possible for the balance of power to shift to the big cites and then we can say goodbye to “Any Given Sunday” and say hello to “Maybe We’ll Get Lucky This Sunday”.
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