Re: Upshaw to Agents 'Prepare for Uncapped 2007' <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Upshaw tells agents to prepare for uncapped '07By John ClaytonESPN.comNFL Players Association executive director Gene Upshaw told a seminar of agents Friday morning to prepare for a 2006 season without a collective bargaining extension, setting up an uncapped year in 2007."March 3 will be the beginning of a new league year and we are just not there yet," Upshaw said. "I'm taking the position now that it won't get done."No negotiating sessions are scheduled although Upshaw said he is willing to talk. He told agents the issues are so far apart that there is virtually no way a deal could be set before next Thursday, the eve of the start of free agency. Under no circumstance, Upshaw said, will the union agree to delay the start of free agency to accommodate a deal.Three major issues were cited by Upshaw as the reason for no collective bargaining agreement extension.? Neither side can agree on the percentage of total revenues that will go to the players. Upshaw wouldn't elaborate on where the numbers were in the negotiations, but he has publicly said he wants a percentage number in the sixties. Reportedly, the sides are four percent apart but that number wasn't discussed by Upshaw."We want to have a higher percentage," Upshaw said. "We want more dollars to come into the system."How significant is the percentage differential?Upshaw said each percentage point is worth $2 million of cap room per team early in any CBA agreement, $2.5 million in the middle and $2.9 million in the end.? The NFLPA won't agree to any type of CBA extension that doesn't have a new revenue sharing plan in the future. The differences between the high and lower revenue sharing teams have grown as much as $100 million dollars. The league owners aren't close on any revenue sharing deal among themselves, and Upshaw considers that something the union would never accept in a new deal without revised revenue sharing.? Upshaw's third difference is the league's "G-3" program in which money is loaned to teams by the league to finance new stadium construction. The union has to sign off on any "G-3" plan because it comes out of the gross revenue pool. Upshaw is asking for a "flip tax" in which the union gets a return on the investment. The NFLPA hasn't signed off on new stadium "G-3" deals for the Cowboys, Colts and Giants.With nothing on the horizon that gives him optimism of any breakthroughs, Upshaw set a soft deadline of Friday for getting a CBA extension. According to him, the sides are so far apart that a six-year extension would be hard to settle before the hard deadline of March 3.To give agents guidance, Upshaw told the room that the 2006 cap should be between $92 million and $95 million but he thinks the realistic number will be $96 million. That number should be settled within in the next day or so. He said the benefits package paid by teams is $13.8 million.Though he will be available by phone, Upshaw planned to leave Indianapolis on Friday afternoon and return to Washington, D.C.John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.</div> http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2343073.....crap
Re: Upshaw to Agents 'Prepare for Uncapped 2007' Shit, NFL has the best cap rules in all major sports.
Re: Upshaw to Agents 'Prepare for Uncapped 2007' <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (gopackers4 @ Feb 24 2006, 05:21 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Shit, NFL has the best cap rules in all major sports.</div>I agree. You can't play if you're over.
Re: Upshaw to Agents 'Prepare for Uncapped 2007' <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BigMike23 @ Feb 27 2006, 05:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>So during and after 07 there wont be a salary cap.</div>Unless they agree to a new CBA, yes.
Re: Upshaw to Agents 'Prepare for Uncapped 2007' How things change in short time; a new deal is expected to be done before FA begins
Re: Upshaw to Agents 'Prepare for Uncapped 2007' well now, more bad news, no new progress, as FA gets closerhttp://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2348417there ya go
Re: Upshaw to Agents 'Prepare for Uncapped 2007' <span style="color:#993399">On SC, Mort made mention that teams like Washington, Oakland, and Tampba would be screwed without a cap, because they are so over as it is. Meanwhile, he said teams like the Vikings, Packers, and Browns would be sered well, because they have so much money to spend and could lock up guys for a long time. </span>
Re: Upshaw to Agents 'Prepare for Uncapped 2007' <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Owners break off talks with players unionNEW YORK (March 2, 2006) -- The NFL and its players union were at an impasse Thursday, leaving hundreds of players, including some big stars, in danger of getting cut."The situation is about as dire as dire can be," commissioner Paul Tagliabue said after the owners met for 57 minutes to endorse a recommendation by their management council executive committee to reject the union's latest proposal.The breakdown of talks left intact, for now, a salary cap of $94.5 million. The two sides had hoped to add $10 million to $15 million to the 2006 salary cap.Broncos owner Pat Bowlen (left) and NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue were part of Thursday's meeting. Broncos owner Pat Bowlen (left) and NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue were part of Thursday's meeting. Without the additional room, some teams could be forced into wholesale cuts to get beneath the cap by midnight -- including some of the game's biggest stars, such as quarterback Steve McNair of Tennessee, who has been balking at renegotiating his contract.And he might be only one of many as free agency starts Friday.Without an agreement, 2006 will be the last season with a salary cap -- under the current contract, 2007 is scheduled to be an uncapped year.Owners did not seem inclined to cut into the difference of 4 percentage points between the sides. New England owner Robert Kraft had suggested that Thursday morning's meeting might be short, just enough time to rubber stamp the executive committee's decision.That's exactly what the owners did."The players are totally out of bounds," said Dallas owner Jerry Jones. Most of the other owners declined comment, unusual in a league where many are eager to express their opinion.Gene Upshaw, the executive director of the NFL Players Association, said he expected the move by the owners. He said it was unlikely that talks would resume soon, although some league officials suggested anything could happen.But the two sides remain far apart -- according to Upshaw, the union wants a little over 60 percent of the league's total revenue, the owners are offering 56.2 percent."I won't come down," Upshaw said Thursday. "The players know that. Only the owners can make a proposal."That is unlikely to happen."They have to make a fundamental change in their proposal in how they are defining their expectations for the players," Tagliabue said.Beyond the numbers is an issue that has divided the owners for two years -- revenue sharing among the teams.Under the current system, some teams make far more than others in ancillary income, ranging from local radio rights to stadium naming rights and advertising. The lower-revenue teams say that forces them to commit as much as 70 percent of that money to the players while teams with more outside money contribute far less, giving the high-revenue teams more available cash for upfront bonuses to free agents.An uncapped year in 2007 means new rules that will force teams and agents to change their plans this year and could keep a lot of teams out of the free-agent market entirely. More will have to cut players to meet the cap because they negotiated long-term deals anticipating an extension of the union contract.A few teams do have room, notably Arizona, Cleveland and Minnesota, all relatively low spenders in the past. Washington, which has thrown money at free agents since Daniel Snyder bought the team in 1999, may be in the deepest cap trouble."It might mean that no rookies get signed because no one is sure of the long-term ramifications," said Tom Condon, the agent for a number of the game's top players.The ramifications of a lower than anticipated cap were evident Wednesday, when some high-priced veterans were cut. Among them were defensive end Trevor Pryce and running back Mike Anderson of Denver, the team's leading rusher last season. Denver also cut tight end Jeb Putzier.Buffalo, meanwhile, released defensive tackle Sam Adams and Carolina released three veterans: running back Stephen Davis, defensive tackle Brentson Buckner and kick returner Rod Smart, "He Hate Me" of old XFL days.Miami cut left tackle Damion McIntosh, saving $3.8 million against the cap, and former Pro Bowl cornerback Sam Madison. The Dolphins are a prime example of a team that needs a new labor agreement: They are estimated to be about $9 million over a $95 million cap.</div>http://www.nfl.com/news/story/9278378
