Professional_Football_Salary_Cap

Professional Football Salary Cap In the National Football League, (NFL) the nostalgia that fills the air during a big game is so thick you could practically cut it with a knife. Even with the increasingly high prices for tickets, food, souvenirs and parking, faithful sports goers continue to fill stadiums every Sunday. From draft day to the Super Bowl, the all mighty dollar tends to be what makes the game what it is today. Spending the large sum of cash to draft that number one quarterback who may never amount to anything spectacular in the big leagues is what keeps the true fan coming back each year. Although this may slightly reduce the fan base, the NFL could regulate the amount of money paid out to players, this would eliminate the view that players are more interested in the money rather than the love of the game; this will also make all teams more competitive around the league. Each year, all 32 teams run out of the locker room in week one with the same goal in mind, “Winning the big game.” All in hopes that the money invested in the new players as well as the veterans was money well spent. Millions and sometimes billions of dollars are passed around each year to pay player’s salaries and uphold the contractual agreements. Many times, a rookie straight out of college gets a big-ticket payday to come play with the big boys. Still having not proved themselves in the NFL, new draftees receive a high dollar price tag due to popularity and assumptions that the performance on the field in years to come will be spectacular. It is a cutthroat business that whoever has the deepest pockets has the advantage of winning. According to G. Knapp, of the San Francisco Chronicle, “A rookie salary cap wouldn't eliminate the viciousness, but it would remove some dysfunction from the draft process.”San Francisco Chronicle, (2010, p. B.1) “For a while now, Draft Day has been fueled by an unhealthy obsession with quarterbacks.” San Francisco Chronicle, (2010,p. B.1) Unfortunately, these number one draft picks tend to go to the teams with early round choices; primarily the less dominant teams from the previous year get the number ones. Overall, this comes down to money, money, money. If a player feels he deserves more money because he sees a similar player in a similar position paid more, the player will ask for more money. If for whatever reason the team in not interested in forking over the extra dough, players most of the time will demand a trade and say he is not happy where currently playing. This is all a part of the business. "Teams are going to be very hesitant to act as if 2010 is a `file-delete' year," said Andrew Brandt of the National Football Post, who was a Packers vice president and chief negotiator from 1999-2008 and a player agent before that. "There's a natural caution out there from cap managers, even though there's no cap” Brandt,(2010). Moreover, there are rumblings that when the cap comes back, there is going to be a lot of retroactive accounting. With teams all trying to outbid one another, the struggles for the less fortunate teams who continue to be outplayed by those who can afford to staff their team. If all teams were restricted to pay players by position for what they have done in the game, the competition would be much greater. This would probably reduce its fan base due to the popularity of some players due to their financial backing, but at least the game would be less predictable. It seems as though each year the same teams are predicted to win it all. Even though there is the “Any Given Sunday” motto around the league, the majority of the time it is obvious which team is better. A good way to bring back complete fairness and structure is by implementing a salary cap in the game of football. Players are paid in many ways: signing bonus’, endorsements, and contract payouts. Whether or not they ever play the game does not matter. If the player’s are promised money, they are paid that money. According to Clayton, senior NFL writer for ESPN.com. “Currently the NFL has a $120 million dollar cap throughout the league; two of 32 teams are currently exceeding this allowance as of March 2010.” “Without any substantive negotiations toward a new collective bargaining agreement,” NFL commissioner Goodell said Thursday team owners are preparing for an uncapped 2010 season, the final year of the current deal that the owners opted out of last year. Briefly, if the NFL incorporated a standardized process for paying the players, it could be a much better sporting experience for all interested. As a diehard fan , it painful to watch teams pay large sums of money to a player who does not produce, or who is injured and can no longer contribute to the team’s success. Although introducing and standardizing, a salary cap would decrease the amount of popularity of some players and shrinking the fan base slightly, it would make the venue more a more enjoyable experience.