During the spot I just completed on Sporting News Radio’s The Monty Show, Monty and I talked about the realities of the labor negotiations and the uncapped year.
Monty said that he’s had Cardinals linebacker Karlos Dansby on the show, and Monty said that Dansby is excited about hitting the market.
But Dansby is one of the few who’ll benefit from the rules of the uncapped year -- he’ll have six years of service, so he’ll be an unrestricted free agent.
And because Dansby already has been slapped with the franchise tag not once but twice, the Cardinals can restrict him in 2010 only by offering him a one-year guaranteed deal equivalent to the average 2009 salary of the five highest-paid players in the league.
In other words, Dansby will hit the market. And he’ll get a huge pile of money from the Redskins or the Seahawks or one of the few teams not finishing in the final eight who will be willing to spend like crazy in the hopes of buying a championship.
In making a point regarding the other end of the spectrum, however, I misspoke regarding the status of Vikings receiver Sidney Rice. His four-year rookie contract doesn’t expire until next year, so he’s not one of the would-be unrestricted free agents who will be restricted because of the bump in minimum years of service from four to six.
But Braylon Edwards falls into that category. So let’s assume Braylon has a huge game on Sunday and that he wins the Super Bowl MVP award with a record receiving performance.
Despite having five years of service, he’ll be only a restricted free agent.