Cap Skirt October 16,
2020
Free agency was fought for in blood. The concept is simple. A player
should be allowed to play where ever they wish to play however a player is not a
free agent if he's under contract. Herein lies the issue, where today
there is an incestuous bypass of the NFL's salary cap, that had enabled the
Patriots franchise dynasty where teams like Kansas City are now fighting hard to
shift that dynasty to their franchise using this same loop
hole.
Le'veon Bell is not a free agent as he has a contract with the Jets that will
pay him guaranteed money regardless of what he does. Also, all NFL players
that are listed by a franchise as one of the 53 man roster, on opening day, have
that years salary completely guaranteed by that franchise. So any
individual that is then released, must be paid by that franchise under the rules
of the NFL's salary cap & collective bargaining agreement. In other
words, none of these players, having contracts that are guaranteed by a
franchise under the salary cap are free agents because they are still under a
binding contract if that player were released. What should happen when a
released player joins a new franchise would be to have their existing contract
taken over in-full by that new franchise but that doesn't happen as teams tend
to have no money available to absorb these
"Very-Highly-Paid-Contracts". The net affect is that franchises are
allowed to skirt the NFL's Salary Cap having the old franchise pay for that new
franchise to have that player play for them. In Le'Veon Bell's case,
Kansas City now gets to thumb their nose at the expense of the struggling New
York Jets for making the mistake of signing a player with nefarious
intensions. To add insult to injury, this Jet's franchise just endured 20
prior years of Patriot dominated elite dynasty ... Dominated by the exact same
loop hole. In short, it allows dominant elite franchises to prey upon
lesser ones using what is clearly a SIGNIFICANT salary cap loop
hole.
Correct me if I'm wrong here, but isn't the NFL ownership run by a democracy of
one franchise, one vote ... all for the collective good of one Dynasty, because
Dynasties are Good! ... or did I read that wrong? Damn! Did I speak
out of turn again? When exactly did we allow someone like a players agents
or the players unions to decide what is & what is not a free agent based
upon signing this franchise to any & all contracts?
Here's the "Open-Ended RUB". If a released player,
under contract that will be paid guaranteed money, then signs a new contract to
play for another team, that contract should pass through the NFL's waiver wire
system, where any other NFL franchise can match that new contract offer.
The waiver lists teams in reverse order of success based upon records for the
previous year. In other words, the 32nd best team should have first shot
at matching the value of that new contract (without Nate Burleson poison pills
in it) . Today, the waiver wire applies only to waived players ... not to
players having guaranteed contracts.
Regardless of where your franchise ranks is in the scheme of things, as an NFL
owner or ownership group, you should be outraged by the fact that Le'Veon Bell
will be paid by the Jets guaranteed salary cap structure, where his new dynasty
franchise gets to pay him almost nothing to play for the Kansas City
Chiefs.
So, what message has this been sending out throughout all these years of
Skirting the Cap. From the Dynasty Franchise Perspective, "Well, go
out and get some poor sap owner or ownership group to pay you all that
guaranteed money that you think you deserve, then act like a complete ass, get
released, & then choose the franchise that has the best chance of securing a
Super Bowl Ring". Maybe we should design our incarceration system
like this ... Oh, what ... We have?
So what might happen if this Salary Cap Loop Hole was in fact closed, using a
matching waiver wire system for new contracts. Well, players like Le'Veon
Bell would most likely end up with a franchise at the opposite end of the Super
Bowl Franchise Elite Spectrum, as hands on deck are needed throughout the
league. If 31 other franchises pass on this head case, that new team would
bear the risk of spoiling the broth within their own facility. Based upon
any waiver system, any petulant child-like player would think twice about acting
like a fool to get his release because that immature child might end up being
sucked down the drain instead. Now, as an owner of a franchise paying
allot of guaranteed money ... well, that might be something that might be worth
paying. Again, once the requirements of your contract are served, you can
once again go where ever you like & act any way you like but until then, a
player under contract cannot call himself a free agent. Stating so ... is
an insult.
Either way, from an entertainment payers perspective ... well ... allow me to
remind you that we aren't stupid. There are 32 franchises that are footing
the bill for tickets, concessions, parking, NFL Ticket, not to mention paying
for that lucrative television contract. It's not just about one dynasty
franchise, the notion of which serves only that dynasty at the expense of every
other franchise ... oh sorry ... potential dynasty.
So once again, what if Le'Veon Bell were to hoist this years Super Bowl Trophy
& secure himself a brand new Super Bowl Ring. Well as a fan of the NFL
& my beloved franchise ... it is a slap to my face ... so I'm not
happy. And regardless of where any owner or ownership group finds itself
on that NFL Elites List of Owners, this loop hole means that a whole lot of
people are laughing at you ... that is ... unless it directly benefited your
dynasty. Isn't winning in the NFL hard enough
without having me holster the chamber, spin the rounds, & then put that gun
to my own head.
Hey stupid, you made a mistake ... thanks for allowing us to use your money to
bring me yet another championship. Crap! The truth can be very
painful but then again, we don't pay Sam Bradford rookie contracts anymore ...
do we? Sometimes, you have to know what to ask for to take care of all
those problem children out there! And yes, there were allot more problem
children out there before you started tightening stuff up.
If on the other hand, this loop hole brings this Viking
franchise a 20 year dynasty ... please disregard the above. Because, after
all, a Viking Franchise Dynasty would be good for the
NFL.
The Viking Ghost Writer
http://MyVikingBlood.org
Date: October 16, 2020
