As the NFL inches toward starting talks on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, it’s widely expected that the NFL will want to expand the regular-season from 17 games to 18, and to grow the allowable international slate from 10 games per year to 16.
The league could be looking for other things, too. Noise has already been made about a potential change to the salary cap formula, based on claims of rising expenses that the owners currently bear from their half of the revenue. There’s another possible wrinkle the league could try to add to the broader labor-management relationship.
A cap on the money that any one player can make.
It presumably would be similar to the NBA’s approach, with max contracts based on a predetermined formula. At a time when the market is the market, this approach would place an artificial limit on market value.
It would be an easy sell for most players, since only a small portion make gigantic money. The less that goes to the superstars is the more that could go to everyone else.
That’s one of the most basic realities of a salary-cap system. A finite number of dollars are available. It’s how the league sold the rookie wage scale, 15 years ago. Less money for the incoming first-round picks meant more money for the veterans.
This one could backfire, however. Currently, most superstars aren’t as engaged in union matters as they could be, or arguably should be. If/when they think their oxen are in line to be gored, that may suddenly show a much greater in interest in running for one of the various union offices.
The quarterbacks are the key. They lead the teams. They generally don’t lead the union.
Currently, only one quarterback serves on the 11-member NFL Players Association executive committee: Bears third-stringer Case Keenum. The only lead player rep who plays quarterback is Davis Mills, the No. 2 in Houston.
Yes, if and when the NFL tries to start messing with the money of the starting quarterbacks, that will definitely change. That could be reason enough to not try to pick the pockets of the franchise quarterbacks.