The NFL sets the rules regarding the cap and its application. In a weird situation the league (in ownership level meetings) made rules around not frontloading contracts so that they could circumvent the rules in future years. Every owner sans 4 understood and followed those rules, all to a varied degree. They each are being punished.

Quit your bitching as you sound like the spoiled brats you are rooting for a team that hasn’t been good since 1994 or a team that hasn’t been good since 4 years before that.

That’s like approving a tax return, then jailing someone two years later because you didn’t like their legal deductions.

It certainly isn’t cheating.
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It’s cheating because it gave them an advantage that other teams didn’t have. The league told them not to do it; 28 teams complied, four didn’t.

Cheating’s cheating, right?

Cheating a$$ clowns.

Show me the rule? Was there a leg to stand on legally when they issued a warning about a rule that didn’t exist?

A multi-billion dollar corporation has to operate within the law just like everybody else.

You think if a McDonalds franchise owner was just told at an owners get-together that he would lose 36 million dollars if he kept breaking a rule that didn’t exist he would lose that money in court?

I feel sorry for your children. Letting them out into the world is like like sending little one-legged versions of yourselves into an ass kicking contest.

Um “a lot of guys?” Try two, one which was cut the other which will be traded or cut this year. 2. Get your facts straight.

Laughable God-del… Laughable.

Cowboys and Redskins did it anyway and were penalized.

Somehow Redskin and Cowboy fans are still confused.

Seems pretty straight forward to me.
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Seems pretty straightforward to me too. You can’t make up rules as you go along. If it’s not in the CBA, it’s not a rule.

Cowboys and Redskins did it anyway and were penalized.

Somehow Redskin and Cowboy fans are still confused.

Seems pretty straight forward to me.
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Did he wag his finger while he told them?
If you do there will be consequences…which means we dont know how we will punish you because you havent broken any rules but the other cheap owners will complain.

Seems like a bunch of the occupy crowd in here today complaining about a couple guys that make money and arent afraid to spend it. They should be punished for not being FAIR. Forget the fact they broke no rule.

It’s not about HOW much money the teams offered players. It’s about HOW they paid it to them. Lots of players agents were opting for 1 year contracts for FA’s because of the uncertainty of the new CBA. The teams paid the whole contract in base salary which is almost never done . It’s usually a base salary plus bonus money over a period of years. The contracts would have had bonus money still owed to the players tat the Cowboys and Skins avoided having to claim on their cap. The owners are the ones that tore up the old CBA and locked the players out and Jerruh the greedy was one of the ring leaders of that. If you think Snyder and Jones were the only ones smart enough to take advantage of it if it was legal when you have organizations like the Packers, Pats, Steelers, Giants that have been well run for years that weren’t smart enough? Get over the denial and Give me a break!

Skins’ 2013 commitments only total $83MM in 2013. They can just allocate $10MM to this year and $26MM next to better absorb the hits and still sign a WR for 2012.

There’s just no defending allowing the rest of the owners to impose a penalty that not only hurts the Redskins but helps the other teams in the process. That is a major conflict of interest, something that could not be defended in court. The Redskins will likely try to appeal instead of sue but the NFL have left themselves open on this one. Imposing a huge penalty when there clearly was no agreement or rules. A non-capped year was an outcome of the desire the owners had to enforce a lock out, so they can’t complain because there were no rules.

Goodell = THE OWNERS. He is their spokesman. If they fire him the next guy will do the same exact thing….represent ownership as a whole.

Cowboys and Redskins did it anyway and were penalized.

Somehow Redskin and Cowboy fans are still confused.

Seems pretty straight forward to me.

Does it take a genius to see what’s wrong with that statement

Balderdash, I say.

They should appeal / sue though, anyway.

And I think all would agree, you lawyers are doing a GREAT job running the country…………..keep up the great work amigo

The NFLPA represents the PLAYERS. No players are being fined or penalized. The NFL controls and runs the rules for teams to follow as far as how business is conducted by the teams and there was no CBA agreement at the time because the owners tore it up. 28 teams heeded the warnings given at the owners meetings. 4 teams did not, how is that collusion? Maybe you had 16 years of BAD experience?
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If the NFL imposed a rule that was not collectively bargained that affected the amount of money teams offered players, that would certainly be something the NFLPA should be concerned about.

It doesn’t matter if every team heeded the verbal warnings or if none of them did- the NFL attempting to impose unwritten caps on spending through verbal warnings is collusion by it’s very definition.

And your assertion that there was no CBA is not true. The owner only figuratively “tore it up” meaning they opted out early but it was still in effect that year.

The reason there was no salary cap is because the uncapped year had been collectively bargained with the union and was PART of the CBA.

Goodell didn’t want owners taking advantage of the lack of rules during the uncapped year, so he told them to act as if rules were in place. He was hoping they’d listen but he made threats he couldn’t back up — because they didn’t break any rules!

Fast forward to and through the season. Goodell is pissed that some teams didn’t listen to him and he knows he can’t make any punishment stick — because they didn’t break any rules!

What can he do to punish those teams that didn’t follow rules that don’t exist? He knee-caps those teams right before the start of free agency so those teams are in turmoil and trying to straighten out what the hell is going on. He knows the punishments won’t stick but he will severely damage their ability to take part in the early — and best — part of free agency.

Even if there is an appeal that wins, or jeez, the spirit of Al Davis takes hold and sues the league successfully, the damage to filling roster holes is already done.

Genius! And rotten.