If owners opt out of CBA, what will happen?
A: None for the next two seasons. The salary cap would be abolished in 2010. The CBA would then officially expire in early 2011.
Q: Why are NFL owners set to opt out of the CBA?
A: Team owners believe the current labor agreement, which gives players 59 percent of the league's annual defined gross revenues, is too lopsided in favor of the NFL Players Association. Those same owners approved the CBA by a 30-2 vote in March 2006 (Cincinnati and Buffalo were the only dissenters).
Franchises are still turning a profit, but not nearly as great as under the previous labor agreement. For example, FOXSports.com's John Czarnecki reported that the St. Louis Rams — a franchise valued by Forbes Magazine at $750 million — cleared only $10 million in 2007.
Q: Why opt out of the CBA now?
A: Under CBA rules, owners had until November to opt out of the agreement. But taking that step now makes sense. This may trigger early negotiations toward what will be a lengthy and complicated process. Plus, the CBA will become much less of an in-season distraction that would detract from on-field news.
Q: What could lead to a new agreement?
A: Doomsday scenarios that would greatly damage both sides. The thought of a 2010 season without a salary cap is frightening for the NFL's small-market franchises. But there are also CBA mechanisms that negatively affect player freedom to change teams. The amount of service required to become an unrestricted free agent would jump from four to six seasons. Teams could use one franchise and two transition tags to try and restrict movement of their top players. Some playoff teams also would be subject to spending limits unless they lose some of their own players in free agency. Such clauses were designed to bring both sides to the bargaining table.
Q: What is the worst-case scenario?
A: The first NFL work stoppage since 1987. NFL owners could try locking out players in 2011. The NFLPA is prepared to counter by decertifying as a union, which may force teams to welcome the players back. Arbitration is also a possibility if NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw can't spearhead a new deal.
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