If the NFL were uncapped...?

**moose10101** · 03-08-2013, 01:44 PM

Originally Posted by Coastergenius

Take the same model that the NFL used to share TV revenue evenly. Link all of the baseball networks together, and create two giant networks, one for the American League and one for the National League. Maybe call one CBS Baseball Network and one Fox Baseball Network, or something like that. Push hard to have these networks included in every basic cable package. Regionalize the games shown the same way that the NFL does, where a game will always be showing when one is on, but the team closest to you will get priority. Show nationally televised games on ESPN and Fox as you wish. That way, nobody has control over their broadcasting rights, but everybody gets paid evenly. Considering that merchandise is already split, there will be little revenue differences between the teams. Only gate revenue and concessions.

Do that, and the Yankees would probably leave MLB and start their own league.

**Brien Jackson** · 03-08-2013, 03:22 PM

Originally Posted by AirFlacco

The richest teams in football went to most of the SBs in the pre-cap era during the 90s signing the FAs as proven above.

Dem's da facts Jack.

Um...no they're not. There was no free agency in football prior to the salary cap.

**Brien Jackson** · 03-08-2013, 03:27 PM

Originally Posted by Coastergenius

Take the same model that the NFL used to share TV revenue evenly. Link all of the baseball networks together, and create two giant networks, one for the American League and one for the National League. Maybe call one CBS Baseball Network and one Fox Baseball Network, or something like that. Push hard to have these networks included in every basic cable package. Regionalize the games shown the same way that the NFL does, where a game will always be showing when one is on, but the team closest to you will get priority. Show nationally televised games on ESPN and Fox as you wish. That way, nobody has control over their broadcasting rights, but everybody gets paid evenly. Considering that merchandise is already split, there will be little revenue differences between the teams. Only gate revenue and concessions.

I'm fairly certain that if one of the networks wanted to work out an NFL style television deal with MLB and pay MLB the same amount of money that the NFL is getting for their national television rights, they'd jump on it in a second. The problem is that this isn't how baseball as a game is set up, and the bulk of the money is in local broadcasting rights, not national TV.

As far as revenue sharing goes, MLB and the NFL have basicallly the exact same rules governing central revenue (national television money, merchandise, and All-Star Game revenue is split between all 30 teams through the league office), and they have even more sharing of local media money than the NFL does as a result (with the court ordered exemption for the Dodgers new television deal, anyway).

**AirFlacco** · 03-08-2013, 07:36 PM

Originally Posted by Brien Jackson

Um...no they're not. There was no free agency in football prior to the salary cap.

Wrong again. Free Agency or a Form of Free Agency goes back 25 years to 1989 called Plan B. It wasn't much, something like restricted free agents today. Then it was done away with and 8 players sued the NFL for a better plan and won. The dominant Benglas teams of the late 80s began to fall apart as players left for better deals in the early 90s and before the cap.Anthony Muinoz was one of the earliest free agents in the early 90s before the cap.

Here's the history of free agency. And actually, Tom Matte was one of the very first free agents all the way back in 1960. Colts released him after rookie year because he was injured. He made $14,000 in 1960 with a signing bonus of $5,000. Browns offered him $20,000 and he was about to accept it when Don Kellet, our Ozzie Newsom of the era, matched it and he accepted. He actually turned down the chance to return to his home town and became a great RB for Bmore. His record of the longest run from scrimmage in SB 3 still stands. His record for the most yardage by a RB in SB 3 was broken by Seattle in their SB vs Squeelers.
In a funny, he had one of his best games vs Cleveland in the 1968 NFL Championship game where the Colts slaughtered them. He was seen in the end zone after scoring a TD yelling something at their fans who were heckling him. I said what did you say to them Tom when he spoke to Nest 1. He said I'm not allowed to repeat it here. LOL

I asked him if he ever regretted not going back to Cleveland and he said no. I would have never had the career I had here and a ring had I gone home. BTW, Bobby Knight and Jack Nicholas were in his graduating class at Ohio State.

But FA goes back 25 years and was modified to it's current level in the early 90s.

http://www.cincyjungle.com/2013/3/5/...-b-free-agency

**ballhawk** · 03-08-2013, 07:50 PM

Hard to compare the truest team sport (football) with baseball, which is totally an individual sport. I don't think you could buy an NFL championship, but you could retain all your great draft picks and build a dynasty if there was no cap.

**AirFlacco** · 03-08-2013, 08:02 PM

How soon they forget. Ravens bought SB 35 when they signed Shannan Sharpe. He's the guy who put us over the top. We finally beat JAGs. Who can forget his winning TD vs him here. The play was right in front of me. He also scored vs Tenn on the road to the SB, one TD was on a post play vs them.

Ravens also signed Sam Adams on Mike McCreary's recommended after they signed Mike from Seattle so FA was a big part of us winning the SB. Adams signed a FA contract for $20M for 4 years and was a pro bowl candidate his first year after he was under-appreciated in Seattle. See link.. OUr fortunes diminished when Ravens gutted the team and he left. We no longer had the giants in the line as Tenn ran on our under-sized line in the 03 playoff here and Eddie George got his balls back or at least one of them.

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/keyword/sam-adams

And who can forget the Goose who was cut by Indy and signed as a FA by Ravens?

Ravens sure bought a trophy with all those guys, which is why they had to gutt after winning it all. It's just impossible to keep a SB team together as we're painfully finding out now with the guys that are about to leave.

And getting back to Jones, he sure tried to buy a SB with these failures including Tony Banks. Anyone remember him? LOL

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowbo...gents-signings

**ballhawk** · 03-08-2013, 08:16 PM

Greatest defense ever:

R. Lewis
Boulware
Sharper
Cmac
Starks
Herring

And the guys that drove us there:

Jamal Lewis/Jermaine Lewis

Ogden

All drafted by the Ravens. They didn't buy that team, they augmented it with a few key FA's. Kinda like 2012.

**AirFlacco** · 03-08-2013, 08:23 PM

Yea, but we didn't have the final pieces to that team until Ozzie bought em. Sometimes you just need 1 FA just like when the Yankees bought Reggie Jackson and went to the series with him. Ozzie bought several after drafting the guys above.

And don't forget Leach and Jacoby. Oz bought them too. Take just one of Jacoby's SB TDs away and we lose. He was one of Ozzie's greatest FA signings.

Did we ever send our farm team the HOuston Texans a thank you note?

**ballhawk** · 03-08-2013, 09:35 PM

Originally Posted by AirFlacco

Yea, but we didn't have the final pieces to that team until Ozzie bought em. Sometimes you just need 1 FA just like when the Yankees bought Reggie Jackson and went to the series with him. Ozzie bought several after drafting the guys above.

And don't forget Leach and Jacoby. Oz bought them too. Take just one of Jacoby's SB TDs away and we lose. He was one of Ozzie's greatest FA signings.

Did we ever send our farm team the HOuston Texans a thank you note?

I agree. I just don't think you could buy a championship like the cowboys/redskins/eagles try to do. You gotta start with the draft. Even if the league was uncapped.

**Coastergenius** · 03-09-2013, 09:57 AM

Originally Posted by AirFlacco

Yea, but we didn't have the final pieces to that team until Ozzie bought em. Sometimes you just need 1 FA just like when the Yankees bought Reggie Jackson and went to the series with him. Ozzie bought several after drafting the guys above.

And don't forget Leach and Jacoby. Oz bought them too. Take just one of Jacoby's SB TDs away and we lose. He was one of Ozzie's greatest FA signings.

Did we ever send our farm team the HOuston Texans a thank you note?

I think that you could argue that in any of the four major sports that you need to have a healthy mix of great draft picks and savvy and effective free agent signings. Draft picks to build your team core, and free agency signings to help fill in holes that you couldn't address in the draft. I'd say on any championship team of the last 5 years in any sports that you could pick out key players who weren't drafted by that team.

**AirFlacco** · 03-09-2013, 02:31 PM

Like Labron James in basketball.
A-Rod in baseball.

Just to name two. Them dudes were bought just like Shannan Sharpe, McCreary, Adams, Goose and don't forget Boldin. We
don't even get to SB w/o buying him.

**AirFlacco** · 03-09-2013, 05:23 PM

A caller 105.7 FM just asked what happens to teams that are over the cap. Teams over can and will get a steep fine and or loss of draft picks which is what happened to Jones and Danny boy a couple of years ago when they were over the cap. They were both livid too.

Those cats are so arrogant even with the cap flashing the finger to the comish, just think what they would do without a cap?

Steinbrenner #s 2 and 3.

____________________________________

OK, here's the link to those fines above. It was during the UN-CAPPED 2010 season and Skins were fined $36M and Boyz were fined $10M for over-loading contracts despite warnings from the NFL. Doesn't look like they lost any draft picks. They filed joint appeals but an arbitrator ruled in favor of the NFL. Both owners abided by the decision but JOnes said the cap was akin to using a credit card.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/79...appeals-denied