THE NEW COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT - SOME FACTS & FIGURES
Thankfully, we'll soon be talking about football & not the business of football. That can be as soon as later this morning when at 9:01AM the Chiefs can begin negotiating with undrafted college players, their own restricted & unrestricted free agents as well as their draft choices. Offers may also be extended to free agents from other teams. Since the NFL's 2011 season doesn't officially begin until Thursday, August 4th, none of the free agents changing teams or traded players will be able to participate in training camp until that date. Teams will have only until August 20th to sign their own unrestricted free agents. The August 4th start-up for the 2011 season can be moved forward if the players ratify the CBA sooner.
The soon to be re-certified NFLPA agreed to a 47% average share of the league's total revenue. This figure is down from the 52% they had in the old CBA. But in that agreement ownership took $1 billion off the top before the players got their 52%, in the new CBA, the players get between 46.5% & 48% of the first dollar of revenue, no more billion dollar skim for ownership. This will allow the players a sizable increase in personal salaries. The guaranteed minimum pay breaks down as follows:
Rookies - $375,000
2nd season - $450,000
3rd season - $525,000
4th season - $600,000
5-7 seasons - $685,000
8-10 seasons-$810,000
over 10 years-$910,000
A new injury pay-protection plan was established. Any player placed on I.R. will receive his full pay the year he was injured. If he is unable to return by the following season he will receive 50% of his salary up to $1 million, whichever is less & in year three, players suffering catastrophic injuries will receive 30% of their salary up to $500,000. This is a vast improvement for what ends up essentially as severance pay..
The 16-game schedule will remain in place thru the end of the 2012 season. If ownership wants to revisit the 18-game schedule they floated during the past off-season, they'll need the NFLPA to go along with it.
Despite threats from both sides, there is no opt-out clause in this CBA, it will expire after the 2021 college draft. It can be renewed before the expiration but why pass up all the fun we've had the last 6 months.
The league has set aside $50 million for medical research, healthcare programs & NFL Charities. Honestly, that figure should have been triple the $50 mil. Just the research into concussions, lingering head trauma & their long term effects should have been a more pressing financial commitment.
Training camps will open over a 4-day period & those dates are set by the league. Each team will begin training camp 15-days before their 1st preseason game. Since the Chiefs play Tampa Bay on August 12th, they'll open training camp this Thursday. Because of the extended layoff, no hitting is allowed the first 3-days of camp. Another new rule for training camp will be for teams that continue to schedule two-a-days. In the day's second practice, no hitting, pads or helmets will be allowed.
Training camp rosters will be expanded to 90 players. Cut-down days will be as follows:
August 30th - reduce from 90 to 75.
September 3 - reduce from 75 to 53.
In-season practices also have a hitting limitation now. Teams may only have contact practices 14 times during the regular season. Only 11 practices can feature contact during the first 11 weeks of the regular season & only 1 week during this period may have 2 contact practices. During the final 6 weeks, only 3 contact practices will be allowed. During the postseason, all teams may have 1 contact practice per week.
Gameday active rosters will now be 46 players. The old system was 45 players plus an "emergency quarterback."
Off-season OTA's(organized team activities) will be reduced from 14 to 10. Mini camps & rookie camps have been reduced as well. All of the off-season programs have been cut a total of five weeks.
Rookie wage scale changed the financial landscape for new players dramatically. Cam Newton will make about half of what Sam Bradford was paid just one year ago. First rounders, especially those in the top half of round one, will take the biggest hit. Players drafted in rounds 2 thru 7 won't see much of a hit money wise. First round draft choices will have a major incentive to sign on time, any draftee holding out will see his guaranteed offer reduced for everyday he's not in camp & it's money he will not recoup like he could've in the old days. The only part of the rookie contract to be negotiated is the percentage of the entire deal that's guaranteed. This should forever eliminate extended holdouts by high draft picks. All first round picks will receive 4-year contracts with a fifth year added at the teams' option. Players selected in rounds 2 thru 7 wil receive 4-year deals & undrafted rookies will receive 3-year deals.
Undrafted college free agents already got hosed by the lockout & the new CBA hurts them even more. Teams are limited to a total of $75,000 in signing bonuses for all their undrafted signees. In the past, teams would offer up $10K-$20K each to convince players they were serious about giving them the chance to make their roster. With just $75k to spend on about 25 players, you can see there won't be much to go around. This is the one group that really got hammered by the lockout & now by the new agreement. There are a number of prospects who should make NFL rosters & they're going to have to accept whatever they're offered, there just isn't any "real money" to be had.
Players who retired before 1993, when the pension plan was completely restructured, should see about $500 more per month in their retirement check. Over $600 million was set aside over the next ten years for those pre-1993 retirees. Another $280 million was designated for improvements in health care benefits. Current players will now be able to keep their health care plan for life if they choose to pay for it. Before this CBA, retired players' health insurance ran out 5-years after their retirement leaving them without coverage as they approached their golden years when they really need those benefits most
Finally, the most confusing part of this agreement & don't you know it's all about money. The players accepted a smaller percentage of the total revenue & also agreed to a smaller cap in exchange for a much higher floor in minimum cap spending. The cap for 2011 is $120.375 million per team. Every team is required to spend 99% of the cap in 2011 & 2012. The league has guaranteed a 95% average after that. Individual teams may spend as little as 89% from 2013 thru 2020 as long as the league average stays at or above 95%. Teams can "borrow" cap money if they want to go over the current cap limit. They may borrow as much as $3 million against next season's cap, thereby reducing their available cap money by $3 milllion next season. This is for the 2011 season only. Next year teams will be able to "borrow" as much as $1.5 million against the 2013 cap. Everybody understand these numbers? I must confess, I had to read it over 2-3 times before it sunk into my thick skull.
What we have now is labor peace for the next ten seasons which should pave the way for record TV contracts, the fuel that runs the machine. Neither side can truly claim victory tho both got some items that were very important to their future goals. Now we can talk about football again, not the business of football & for that I'm truly thankful.
The soon to be re-certified NFLPA agreed to a 47% average share of the league's total revenue. This figure is down from the 52% they had in the old CBA. But in that agreement ownership took $1 billion off the top before the players got their 52%, in the new CBA, the players get between 46.5% & 48% of the first dollar of revenue, no more billion dollar skim for ownership. This will allow the players a sizable increase in personal salaries. The guaranteed minimum pay breaks down as follows:
Rookies - $375,000
2nd season - $450,000
3rd season - $525,000
4th season - $600,000
5-7 seasons - $685,000
8-10 seasons-$810,000
over 10 years-$910,000
A new injury pay-protection plan was established. Any player placed on I.R. will receive his full pay the year he was injured. If he is unable to return by the following season he will receive 50% of his salary up to $1 million, whichever is less & in year three, players suffering catastrophic injuries will receive 30% of their salary up to $500,000. This is a vast improvement for what ends up essentially as severance pay..
The 16-game schedule will remain in place thru the end of the 2012 season. If ownership wants to revisit the 18-game schedule they floated during the past off-season, they'll need the NFLPA to go along with it.
Despite threats from both sides, there is no opt-out clause in this CBA, it will expire after the 2021 college draft. It can be renewed before the expiration but why pass up all the fun we've had the last 6 months.
The league has set aside $50 million for medical research, healthcare programs & NFL Charities. Honestly, that figure should have been triple the $50 mil. Just the research into concussions, lingering head trauma & their long term effects should have been a more pressing financial commitment.
Training camps will open over a 4-day period & those dates are set by the league. Each team will begin training camp 15-days before their 1st preseason game. Since the Chiefs play Tampa Bay on August 12th, they'll open training camp this Thursday. Because of the extended layoff, no hitting is allowed the first 3-days of camp. Another new rule for training camp will be for teams that continue to schedule two-a-days. In the day's second practice, no hitting, pads or helmets will be allowed.
Training camp rosters will be expanded to 90 players. Cut-down days will be as follows:
August 30th - reduce from 90 to 75.
September 3 - reduce from 75 to 53.
In-season practices also have a hitting limitation now. Teams may only have contact practices 14 times during the regular season. Only 11 practices can feature contact during the first 11 weeks of the regular season & only 1 week during this period may have 2 contact practices. During the final 6 weeks, only 3 contact practices will be allowed. During the postseason, all teams may have 1 contact practice per week.
Gameday active rosters will now be 46 players. The old system was 45 players plus an "emergency quarterback."
Off-season OTA's(organized team activities) will be reduced from 14 to 10. Mini camps & rookie camps have been reduced as well. All of the off-season programs have been cut a total of five weeks.
Rookie wage scale changed the financial landscape for new players dramatically. Cam Newton will make about half of what Sam Bradford was paid just one year ago. First rounders, especially those in the top half of round one, will take the biggest hit. Players drafted in rounds 2 thru 7 won't see much of a hit money wise. First round draft choices will have a major incentive to sign on time, any draftee holding out will see his guaranteed offer reduced for everyday he's not in camp & it's money he will not recoup like he could've in the old days. The only part of the rookie contract to be negotiated is the percentage of the entire deal that's guaranteed. This should forever eliminate extended holdouts by high draft picks. All first round picks will receive 4-year contracts with a fifth year added at the teams' option. Players selected in rounds 2 thru 7 wil receive 4-year deals & undrafted rookies will receive 3-year deals.
Undrafted college free agents already got hosed by the lockout & the new CBA hurts them even more. Teams are limited to a total of $75,000 in signing bonuses for all their undrafted signees. In the past, teams would offer up $10K-$20K each to convince players they were serious about giving them the chance to make their roster. With just $75k to spend on about 25 players, you can see there won't be much to go around. This is the one group that really got hammered by the lockout & now by the new agreement. There are a number of prospects who should make NFL rosters & they're going to have to accept whatever they're offered, there just isn't any "real money" to be had.
Players who retired before 1993, when the pension plan was completely restructured, should see about $500 more per month in their retirement check. Over $600 million was set aside over the next ten years for those pre-1993 retirees. Another $280 million was designated for improvements in health care benefits. Current players will now be able to keep their health care plan for life if they choose to pay for it. Before this CBA, retired players' health insurance ran out 5-years after their retirement leaving them without coverage as they approached their golden years when they really need those benefits most
Finally, the most confusing part of this agreement & don't you know it's all about money. The players accepted a smaller percentage of the total revenue & also agreed to a smaller cap in exchange for a much higher floor in minimum cap spending. The cap for 2011 is $120.375 million per team. Every team is required to spend 99% of the cap in 2011 & 2012. The league has guaranteed a 95% average after that. Individual teams may spend as little as 89% from 2013 thru 2020 as long as the league average stays at or above 95%. Teams can "borrow" cap money if they want to go over the current cap limit. They may borrow as much as $3 million against next season's cap, thereby reducing their available cap money by $3 milllion next season. This is for the 2011 season only. Next year teams will be able to "borrow" as much as $1.5 million against the 2013 cap. Everybody understand these numbers? I must confess, I had to read it over 2-3 times before it sunk into my thick skull.
What we have now is labor peace for the next ten seasons which should pave the way for record TV contracts, the fuel that runs the machine. Neither side can truly claim victory tho both got some items that were very important to their future goals. Now we can talk about football again, not the business of football & for that I'm truly thankful.
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