The kicker is that they have little to show for their efforts to gain an advantage over other teams. Cheating indicates that you don’t really believe in yourself or your abilities.

A talented GM can win and not go over the cap.

The Skins WERE NOT buying NEW PLAYERS. They were NOT buying anything, AT ALL.

They tried to clear future cap space. And ironically the NY GIANTS did the EXACT SAME THING.

They accelerated bonus money on Jacobs and Tuck, which would have been spread-out over the entirely of the contract, into the uncapped year, “accelerated” it, in order to clear space in the future.

And the Giants also went over the “Cap” in the 2010 season which did not have a “Cap.”

The Giants, Mara, did the same thing as the Redskins. The SAME.

Yet the competition committee headed by Mara decided to penalize two of their division rivals.

This is CORRUPT.

Then the mindless sheep fans of other teams that never gave two seconds to learn about this will be forced to realize that many teams accelerated bonus money on the uncapped year – New Orleans, Green Bay and Chicago. Not just Washington and Dallas.

And they’ll realize that a team like Tampa actually went under the minimum cap floor (which didn’t exist, much like the cap maximum – which didn’t exist that year) on their contracts, to yield record high cap space last year and this year.

“Spirit of the rules.”

At that point people will care when it affects their own team, their own cap, their ability to improve the roster, when it hits in their own backyard.

I do think that the only thing that can take down the NFL a peg or two is the NFL itself. At some point I do believe that they will ruin the good thing that they have.

As for the NFL’s popularity. Before the internet’s existence I would have said that the any given Sunday any team can win, aspect of the sport is what was driving its popularity. I am a Charger fan, so if there wasn’t a salary cap, I think it is safe to say that my favorite team would be at a huge disadvantage compared to the larger markets.

Now what I think is driving its popularity is fantasy football and the fact that the season is so short with each team playing just one game a week. Other sports have fantasy leagues, but they just go on forever, I just can’t stay interested that long and have no desire to make changes every day to fantasy rosters.

I do think the fantasy aspect of the game in the end will make fans, fans of players rather than teams. I do think that will affect stadium attendance If that wasn’t the case, then I don’t think people would care one way or the other whether they had wireless internet access in the stadiums or not.

What about those who spent below the required amount that year like many did? No ladies agreement there?

This whole thing is CRAP and if you think otherwise look at the timing last year, announced on the EVE OF FREE AGENCY!

Goodell is buddies with Mara and I hope tp God Mr. Snyder throws the whole freaking case of grenades at them all!

Independent commercial bodies are prevented by federal law from engaging in “gentlemen’s agreements” because it leads to price fixing (e.g., imagine all of the airlines having a gentlemen’s agreement to double prices). Simply put, free market capitalism doesn’t work if the market isn’t free but is manipulated by ‘gentlemen’s agreements’ among those holding a monopoly. The NFL gets an anti-trust exemption when the NFLPA agrees to waive their rights, but that exemption does not apply during a year without a CBA. In other words, you are making the Redskin’s case quite clearly when you repeatedly scold them for not going along with collusion.

Mike, I know you’ll remove this comment quickly, but after you do, please broach the topic of a class action in a future post. Unlike the NFLPA, the ticket-holders who paid up front for a product and then saw that product diminished illegally gave up now rights in the CBA.

They should. And the point isn’t that there wasn’t “technically” a cap to “exceed”, it’s the fact that they were looking to be sneaky via a technicality when everyone else in the league abided by the gentleman’s agreement to not conduct such subversive acts. But then again, the two renegade owners in the league do as renegade owners do…
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No, the point is that when your so-called “gentlemen” made their so-called “gentleman’s agreement,” they violated the laws of the United States of America. The rest is, frankly, irrelevant.