If you could have total control over the NFL..

[SoCal Cardfan]

What would you do to put an end to ridiculous big $$ contracts, holdouts.. the salary cap etc?

I don't have any great ideas to share... but I always thought, a salary cap..should actually mean.. a salary cap on individual players (with set amounts) not per team.

If these guys are the damn superstars they think they are.. Let gatorade and Nike pay them.

I know there would be a ton of holes in a system like this... I wish there was some way to fairly pay for performance, as in professional golf. Would be hard to do in a team sport I suppose.

I guess I'm just sick of watching A-holes like Rosenhaus, the Postons and the players who hire these bloodsuckers, slowly ruin the game.

 

[clif]

What would you do to put an end to ridiculous big $$ contracts, holdouts.. the salary cap etc?

I don't have any great ideas to share... but I always thought, a salary cap..should actually mean.. a salary cap on individual players (with set amounts) not per team.

If these guys are the damn superstars they think they are.. Let gatorade and Nike pay them.

I know there would be a ton of holes in a system like this... I wish there was some way to fairly pay for performance, as in professional golf. Would be hard to do in a team sport I suppose.

I guess I'm just sick of watching A-holes like Rosenhaus, the Postons and the players who hire these bloodsuckers, slowly ruin the game.

I like the idea the XFL had.... pay these guys minimum salaries with the superbowl winning team getting a huge payout.

one year contracts..no up front money

 

[LVCARDFREAK]

I like the idea the XFL had.... pay these guys minimum salaries with the superbowl winning team getting a huge payout.

one year contracts..no up front money

WOW...the level of competition would go to squat!

Honestly I can't think of a worse idea...sorry

 

[CardinalLaw]

These players make billions for the NFL they deserve every cent there worth, or even more. The players deserve their share of the pot just as much as the owners. Plus every successful owner makes a profit, I think Bidwill was the first one ever to not turn over a profit, and well you lose for 50+ years straight it happens. I like to think I could easily put atleast one two winning teams together in that time.

I would end hold outs though. Once you sign your name your property of that team, if you try anything like holding out or faking injuries, you are immediatly expelled from the league, and have to pay your bonus back to the owners.

Salary cap needs to be raised, as long as the big contracts are coming out, this just isn't the same game it was 30 years ago. The NFL makes way to much money, to not pay players.

 

[earthsci]

Rookie Salary Cap similar to the NBA.

 

[maddogkf]

I'd love to see the role of agents get diminished.....

1st thing I'd do is have slotted rookie contracts like the NBA. Then I'd make all NFL contracts non-voidable. I'd have buy out clauses in them, but teams would have to be more adherent to the players in that they just can't dump salaries. If either side wants out, they'd have to buy out the remainder of the contract.

The max contract would be 5 years. No more of this stringing 7 yr contracts & dispersing the signing bonus that long & then the guys get cut & are in salary cap hell. All contracts would have incentive clauses in them based upon performance.

I'd have a veteran's incentive to resign with a team. LEt's say a guy is with a team for 7 yrs & wants to resign, they'd be allowed to sign any guy with 7 yrs + on the same team to a $3 million, but only have $1 mill count towards the salary cap. Anything higher than that would be on the ratio 1:3 ($4.5 million = $1.5 million hit, etc). This would keep team unity & maintain loyalty.

I'd also have a vets waiver - sign 2 guys each for $1 million like the NBA does (Danny Manning ex w/the Suns).

I'd hold agents responsible for hold outs. If a player holds out of camp, he'd have to be in by the 3rd week until he starts accumulating fines. Both the player & agent would be fined if the player is under contract. If he isn't in by the end of the pre-season, he'd be forced to sit out and forfeit any money that is left under his contract via breach of contract. He'd have to sit out the season & not get paid.

If an agent wants to do business with NFLPA, he'd have to sign the clause where he'd match the fines.

 

[SoCal Cardfan]

These players make billions for the NFL they deserve every cent there worth, or even more.

Following this logic.. McDonalds fry cooks should be earning at least 6 figures no?

 

[jrjbritt]

I like the salary cap.. maybe just needs to be more, due to the hugh contract....

I like the NBA's rookie cap and Veteran cap.. the most a contract can be.

I think holdouts should be held accountable.. I think that a player can hold out until a certain date and then they can report and get that year accounted toward for a accrued year.. but ussually this is after week 8,9,10.. I am not sure excatly when.. My question is :; let's say the player holds out over training and is fined and then gaem 1 come and goes.. can the team put the play in a certain status league wide, letting the player know that if your not reporting to the team to play, that you are no longer able to come and be a menber of this team this year,, not get paid and lose a year, thus the players contract just gets extended one year and they save the money that year and put pressure on the player to report on time to all mini-camps next year etc..


GOcards

 

[CardinalLaw]

Following this logic.. McDonalds fry cooks should be earning at least 6 figures no?

The cooks have nothing to do with bringing in business. When is the last time you went to a certain McDonalds for the way a certain cook-cooked a hamburger. Or you bought a McDonalds cook outfit with that certain cooks name on it. Or went up to the McDonalds cook and asked for your picture taken with him, and an autograph. Or sat in a McDonalds and cheered on your favorite cook. McDonalds fry flipper could be done by anyone, NFL QB I don't think so, it carries none of the same logic.

 

[abomb]

I like the idea of a rookie salary cap as listed above.

I have also thought a lot about the idea of employee profit sharing on a team level. If the team makes money due to increased gate receipts, merchandise sales etc, players on the team would reap the financial reward on a percentage basis, a combination of years of service and performance. I think this increases the amount of goodwill players would want to do to get their names and faces out in the community, drumming up support for the team. It would also increase the sense of ownership and belonging of a player to his team.

A-Bomb

 

[clif]

WOW...the level of competition would go to squat!

Honestly I can't think of a worse idea...sorry

oh do tell me how the play would automatically suffer?

 

[40yearfan]

The cooks have nothing to do with bringing in business. When is the last time you went to a certain McDonalds for the way a certain cook-cooked a hamburger. Or you bought a McDonalds cook outfit with that certain cooks name on it. Or went up to the McDonalds cook and asked for your picture taken with him, and an autograph. Or sat in a McDonalds and cheered on your favorite cook. McDonalds fry flipper could be done by anyone, NFL QB I don't think so, it carries none of the same logic.

They are both employees working for large corporations. If it wasn't for NFL owners, the players would have no where to go. How many dollars do the players contribute toward advertising, paying the coaches, paying for stadiums, etc. Unless they have a portion of ownership and have their own money at risk, they are no more deserving of a piece of the pie than the McDonalds cook.

 

[Russ Smith]

I'll toss in my 2 cents (or 40 million whatever it is).

First, whatever cap there was, Daniel Snyder would only get 70% of it.

I'd eliminate signing bonuses, option bonuses, voidable years, 2 tiered bonuses etc. Players would get salaries, and salaries only. A players check would be essentially divided up into 20 games, 4 pre season and 16 regular season. Playoff money would be a function of your contract something where the winning team gets more than the losing team.

So say I make 2 million a year, that works out to 100K per game. If I lose in the playoffs I get 100K, if I win, I get 200K. Superbowl losing team gets 1.5 times regular game check, losing team 3 times.

That way the incentive is to WIN games, the more you win, the more paychecks you get. If a player outperforms his contract and wants a new one we take a page from baseball and go to binding arbitration, both teams make their case, submit a proposal, and the arbitrator either picks the players demand, the owners demand, or one the arbitrator decided on as being appropriate(but that can't be lower than the low offer or higher than the high offer). Players who don't like the result and hold out lose their paycheck for each game they miss, period.

Offshoring would be illegal --- oops wrong group.

There is no perfect answer. The NBA rookie cap everyone loves has created the situation we have now where so many HS kids jump every year. They all know IF they're picked in the first round they get a guaranteed 3 year deal, that's all they care about that guaranteed money.

 

[Russ Smith]

The cooks have nothing to do with bringing in business. When is the last time you went to a certain McDonalds for the way a certain cook-cooked a hamburger. Or you bought a McDonalds cook outfit with that certain cooks name on it. Or went up to the McDonalds cook and asked for your picture taken with him, and an autograph. Or sat in a McDonalds and cheered on your favorite cook. McDonalds fry flipper could be done by anyone, NFL QB I don't think so, it carries none of the same logic.

Well hey if she was cute.

 

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

Well hey if she was cute.

Women are like a McGriddles...

 

[CardinalMike]

They are both employees working for large corporations. If it wasn't for NFL owners, the players would have no where to go. How many dollars do the players contribute toward advertising, paying the coaches, paying for stadiums, etc. Unless they have a portion of ownership and have their own money at risk, they are no more deserving of a piece of the pie than the McDonalds cook.

If it wasn't for the players there wouldn't be an NFL to have advertising, coaches or stadiums. The players make the NFL and as such they deserve their fair share of the revenue. In this case it's market value within the salary cap. I have no problems with the current salaries since other then the signing bonus they aren't even gauranteed.

Cardinal Mike!!

 

[LoyaltyisaCurse]

If it wasn't for the players there wouldn't be an NFL to have advertising, coaches or stadiums. The players make the NFL and as such they deserve their fair share of the revenue. In this case it's market value within the salary cap. I have no problems with the current salaries since other then the signing bonus they aren't even gauranteed.

Cardinal Mike!!

Ultimately all business profits are built on the back of employees. Football--in my opinion is no different.

Are the players exhibiting physical skills that most people do not have? Yes.

Does that entitle them to more of a percentage of what their employers make as compared to the rest of us? NO.

All parts of the NFL depend on eachother just equally.

If Owners did not exist, the leauge would not exist, also, if the players did not exist, the leauge would not exist either.

I believe NFL players make around 50% of what the owners bring in (I think).

Tell me where this happens in most business outside the world of sports.

I know many players always counter with their job is not a typical job because most people cant do what they do.

Well, there are pleanty of skills and professions outside the world of sport that most player cannot perform.

Playing professional sports is a privilage and with the amount of money players make they should be satisfied.

If playing professional sports makes them so special, why then do such a large percentage of them fail to adjust to the real world once their careers are over?

 

[Russ Smith]

I believe NFL players make around 50% of what the owners bring in (I think).

That's tv contract only. They don't get anything from ticket sales, merchandising etc. Of course Donovan McNabb doesn't give part of his paycheck from Chunky Soup to the Eagles either so that goes both ways.

 

[AntSports Steve]

I like most of the salary cap that is in place now. The players get 63.5% of the money that's pooled. That money includes TV, Tickets, NFL Merchandise. The players also get a solid retirement plan if they can stay in the NFL long enough.

The reason the players should continue getting a fair share of the revenue is in football, players actually put their bodies on the line. NFL players live an average of 20 years less than normal men. And, many when their carreer is over have permanent injuries that will bother them for the rest of their life. It's not like some get injured, all get injured.

Also, in normal business, labor expense is one of the largest expenses that owners have. No different in the NFL. Most normal business only make 5% profit based on revenue.

I'd want a rookie slotting of contracts. All which are normal 3 year contracts. This would end the huge rookie signing bonus. Rookies are still RFA their 4th year, so the teams can work out new contracts for the players they want to keep.

I like the idea of a max of 5 year deals. Those 7 year, voidable ones are just crazy.

I would give deals to teams that resign their own players. How about a 10% cap savings for resigning any player that's been on your team for 4 years or more.

I would expand the discount for NFL Vets. Right now, it's something like 8 year vets or more who sign for the vet min only cost the rookie min against the cap. I'd keep the cost against the cap at rookie min, but allow vets to make at least 2 times vet min. I like the idea of keeping more vet players as that makes the game better as a hole. Maybe increase the length players can be put on the practice squad, so rookies can be trained up better.

To put a slow down to hold outs, I'd put in more deadlines. For example, put in a July 31st deadline that says players not reporting/agreeing to contracts by then start getting fined 1 game suspensions per week. So, if you aren't signed by then the player is forced to miss 1 real game. If they missed all of training camp(1 month?), they would be forced to miss 4 real games.

All players should have some basic NFL wide (paid from the overall pool of money, not the team) to get minor bonus for wins, awards.