We’ve lamented the woes of baseball and the fact that the game in terms of its finances. In some ways it’s about the haves and have nots. The game doesn’t as such possess a salary cap. But in light of the imbalances between the major market and small market teams. The hierarchy of baseball saw fit to initiate a luxury tax. Thereby enabling the smaller market teams to be deemed competitive by giving them a chance to compete with their much bigger rivals.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell addresses members of the convened press . picture appears courtesy of ap/photo/ Matthew Dibble ………
Well now with the NFL season about to reach its culmination in early February . We’ll be heading into a season of uncertainty as there’s talk of there being an uncapped season in terms of the salary cap. Such is the acuteness of the situation that Commissioner Roger Goodell is looking at the situation with a great deal of seriousness. And if there’s one thing that we know about the NFL is that it loves a tightly ran ship when it comes to the financial aspect of its business. And that includes all of the thirty two franchises no matter what their size.
For the likes of a colossus such as the Dallas Cowboys and their owner Jerry Jones this may well give him the sort of resources that he was denied. Especially when they were able to compete with abandonment and pursue any big time free agent that they desired. If this situation should materialize without an agreement being hammered out between the league and the Players’ Union (NFLPA). The situation could set the game back financially for years. The gravity of the situation hasn’t gone unnoticed with many of the general managers around the league. And the players themselves realizing that they’re going to be the ones dictating the terms. As they’ll most certainly will in the driver’s seat.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Dallas Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones in conversation at the NFL’s owners’ meeting. picture appears courtesy of getty images/ Tim Short ……………………
With the Players’ Union yet to elect a leader to take over from the late departed Gene Upshaw. One can surmise that every effort will be made to do what’s right to deal with the situation in the manner that will be equitable for all of the parties involved. Needless to say the fans of the NFL will be watching the matter very closely. As in the end it may well be costing them more than they really know. And in these dire economic times when all of the major sports are facing some sort of a problem financially. Even though the NFL has a vast number of corporate sponsors covering a gamut business entities. But then again the template that the NFL has put in place has served them very well. A multi billion dollar business that in effect is admired by its peers across the sport’s diaspora.
It has been the salary cap that has in effect kept the NFL teams in check over the years. And were the situation to change it would be very interesting to see how the competitive balance would change with a number of the teams and across the league as a whole. Franchises that are financially sound as to the way they’re ran. With everything as to the success of the game being about the now . It can be said the pressure will be on many of the teams to succeed should there be the advent of a season without a salary cap. So make of it what you will should the situation arise where the NFL has a season without there being a cap in effect.
