Where Is The Outrage For The NFL?
By: Ryan Wooley
I think it's pretty clear that no matter whom you ask the question of what the number one sport of the four professional leagues is that that the NFL comes out of most everyone's mouth.
From draft talk, to OTA's, training camp and free agency signing, the NFL leads the major news networks and talk shows because that is what people want to hear about. So I raise the question, why is there no public outcry over what the league has done to both the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins in relation to the uncapped season of 2010, as well as what they're doing to both the New Orleans Saints and Oakland Raiders now?
Both Dallas and Washington have been docked a combined $46 million in cap space over the next two years with the money being spread evenly throughout the rest of the league, with the exception of Oakland and New Orleans because the NFL says that all four teams took an unfair advantage during the 2010 season by having a payroll of over $123 million.
Does anyone else see a problem with this? How is it an unfair advantage to go over $123 million when it was an uncapped season, especially when all 32 teams had the same opportunity?
Does it seem a little shady that the Redskins made adjustments to Albert Haynesworth and DeAngelo Hall's contracts to create cap flexibility during the season, while Miles Austin was paid a hefty $17 million to free up cap space in 2011 and beyond? Sure. But what both teams did, by the rules within the 2010 season, was legal.
What's not legal however and what the NFLPA issued a lawsuit over is that the league according to multiple media outlets acted in collusion by reportedly telling all 32 teams in advance not to overload contracts during the uncapped season and remain below a secret $123 million salary cap. Because the Raiders, Saints, Cowboys and Redskins didn't listen and were all over, they're now being punished for it, and punished unfairly.
This issue may have fallen on deaf ears and proved not to be an issue if it was just the Redskins and Cowboys being punished and their money being allocated to the other 30 teams since their appeal was denied --but since Oakland and New Orleans are also being singled out, the NFL doesn't seem to have a leg to stand on because all four teams were over $123 million—which can't be a coincidence when 28 other teams were below.
I just find it quite ironic that in a society that lives and dies with football that there hasn't been a bigger uproar about this issue. I'm sure in the four football cities that were penalized that the fans and media have talked till they were blue in the face about it, but what if the Lions took the opportunity in 2010 to try and make their first Super Bowl or help with their cap issues that are coming? Would you have been upset about it and even more upset if the NFL was to penalize Detroit for doing something that was totally legal?
It's no secret the Lions will have an issue rather soon with the contracts of Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson and Ndamukong Suh, so I would have had no problem if the Lions took advantage of the uncapped season to help with that issue, and to be quite honest, I'm kind of upset they didn't.
I truly hope that the NFLPA wins this collusion lawsuit against the NFL because for as good of a league as it is, they're doing things that even the worst commissioner's like Bud Selig and Gary Bettman would be proud off—and that's not a good thing.
Follow Ryan Wooley on Twitter: @WooleyMammoth85
