TV Contract effect on Free Agency (1 Viewer)

[dhockster]

The new TV contracts for the NFL go into effect in 2014. At that time, it is estimated that the salary cap will go up by about 60% because

this is the amount the TV revenue is going up by.

I am curious to see if any free agents this year will agree to two year deals so that they hit the open market again when there will be a significant increase in the money available for free agents. Likewise, free agents next year may agree to one year deals for the exact same reason.

The players that could make out the best are 2010 rookies who signed 4 year deals. They were drafted the last year without a rookie wage scale, and they are up for free agency when the open market is increasing significantly.

 

[GregR]

There was a thread here discussing the deals and the impact on free agency.

Though I think I was wrong what I said there about the calculation of the salary cap. I had thought somewhere I read that it was based on previous year revenues, but I saw something else recently that mentioned the new CBA had an adjustment that would take place if revenues did not match projected, which would mean the cap is based on the projected figures.

In any event, yes, I think it could play a role in the contracts free agents go after. Though teams will often still want to lock them up to longer deals to spread out a cap hit, and some players may prefer the longer term insurance versus a serious injury. So there will be give and take.

 

[dhockster]

There was a thread here discussing the deals and the impact on free agency.

Though I think I was wrong what I said there about the calculation of the salary cap. I had thought somewhere I read that it was based on previous year revenues, but I saw something else recently that mentioned the new CBA had an adjustment that would take place if revenues did not match projected, which would mean the cap is based on the projected figures.

In any event, yes, I think it could play a role in the contracts free agents go after. Though teams will often still want to lock them up to longer deals to spread out a cap hit, and some players may prefer the longer term insurance versus a serious injury. So there will be give and take.

Greg, thanks for the link to the other thread. I guess one question I have is whether the CBA addresses a large increase in revenues from one year to the next. Do the teams have to spend up to the floor in just that one year? If so, there will be a lot of renegotiated contracts to lock up good, young players in 2014. Which means free agency may be somewhat thin in 2015 and 2016.

 

[GregR]

There was a thread here discussing the deals and the impact on free agency.

Though I think I was wrong what I said there about the calculation of the salary cap. I had thought somewhere I read that it was based on previous year revenues, but I saw something else recently that mentioned the new CBA had an adjustment that would take place if revenues did not match projected, which would mean the cap is based on the projected figures.

In any event, yes, I think it could play a role in the contracts free agents go after. Though teams will often still want to lock them up to longer deals to spread out a cap hit, and some players may prefer the longer term insurance versus a serious injury. So there will be give and take.

Greg, thanks for the link to the other thread. I guess one question I have is whether the CBA addresses a large increase in revenues from one year to the next. Do the teams have to spend up to the floor in just that one year? If so, there will be a lot of renegotiated contracts to lock up good, young players in 2014. Which means free agency may be somewhat thin in 2015 and 2016.

I'll need to go do some reading on the salary and cash floors. If I recall correctly, the rules differ a little over the first few years so teams have time to adjust before it hits fully. But I recall ending up confused enough on some details I decided to let it be and come back to it later.I wouldn't be surprised if we see some of that though, yes. It's also possible teams could be writing contracts this year to balloon then as they anticipate having to spend more. Throw in some big roster bonuses those years, or some incentives that should be met like number of games started or such. There are a lot of free agents this year, but with the salary cap essentially remaining flat this year, teams may have to resort to spending those future dollars now to win the FAs they want.