Redskins and Cowboys file suit

[Ravens2006]

Of COURSE there's "collusion" going on. The owner's "collude" most of the time to protect the strength of their product (and profits). The players and agents "collude" to drive up contract prices. Sometimes owners and agents "collude" to negotiate unofficial deals while the player is still with a different club. Sometimes coaches (technically on the "team" side of things) and players "collude" to form bounty programs to remove other players from the equation. They ALL "collude" when it comes to driving up costs to the consumers... which results in more money for ALL of them. They can do this because the game itself is stunningly popular.

Like it or not, "collusion" among the owners has actually led to the structure of the game today, and is a HUGE factor in why it captivates the largest audience in the country. It's created a league where virtually every market thinks their team "has a chance" when the season kicks off. When labor strife broke down that structure for a brief window... a time which the league had basically warned the ownership collective about well ahead of time, and cautioned them that certain actions DURING the "uncapped" period could result in penalties AFTER it expired... 28 of the 32 franchises stuck together. Yep, that's "collusion". 4 did not. 2 of those 4 basically jaywalked when they thought nobody was looking, and they got slapped on the wrist. The other 2 hopped in a convertible, put the top down, and blew through the red light. And a camera caught them waving their middle fingers as they went through. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit. But that's how the league treated it. And it's collusion that they all signed off on at some point as well.

The "two owners" that everybody seems to dislike (one of which is even heavily disliked in his OWN market) both look at their own situations... their stadium deals and fanbase and gobs and gobs of additional cash they feel they deserve... and see an opportunity to make HUGE profits for themselves while also getting a substantial leg up on the rest of the league. But the league has operated for decades now in a way that tries to prevent that.

[Bowie-Bruce]

Yeah, because revenue doesn't matter. You know what does matter? The owner's height. Right, stretch?

I'm not blessed with height, nor a Napoleon complex.

Hey, if you are pleased with the way that Snyder runs his team, more power to you.

And tell me this, if you had to guess which two NFL owners would be the most likely to circumvent salary cap rules, who would your first 10 choices be? This shouldn't come as any great surprise.

[Ravens2006]

Never mind there were two teams who did the same thing who weren't penalized...

The Raiders and the Saints were penalized in that they were not able to take advantage of the additional cap allocation. We can split hairs over semantics, but I think saying the Raiders and Saints "weren't penalized" is not quite accurate. The league penalized teams in line (in their opinion) with the magnitude of the offense. Take exception to the magnitude of the penalties, fine, but let's not claim that they were non-existent.

[HAIL2BNG]

The Raiders and the Saints were penalized in that they were not able to take advantage of the additional cap allocation. We can split hairs over semantics, but I think saying the Raiders and Saints "weren't penalized" is not quite accurate. The league penalized teams in line (in their opinion) with the magnitude of the offense. Take exception to the magnitude of the penalties, fine, but let's not claim that they were non-existent.

Not getting additional money is not the same as being penalized. They weren't penalized. At all.

[HAIL2BNG]

I'm not blessed with height, nor a Napoleon complex.

But you do have a glass house.

Hey, if you are pleased with the way that Snyder runs his team, more power to you.

I have never said this. I stick to the facts though.

And tell me this, if you had to guess which two NFL owners would be the most likely to circumvent salary cap rules, who would your first 10 choices be? This shouldn't come as any great surprise.

Tampa and Cincy, the cheapskates. Oh wait, they did. They violated the salary floor. Good thing they won't be penalized either. Envy is an ugly shade of green.

[Ravens2006]

Not getting additional money is not the same as being penalized. They weren't penalized. At all.

This is the splitting hairs part. They weren't "given a bonus" that 28 other teams were afforded. In regard to competitive balance, that's a penalty.

[HAIL2BNG]

This is the splitting hairs part. They weren't "given a bonus" that 28 other teams were afforded. In regard to competitive balance, that's a penalty.

It isn't splitting hairs at all. The Redskins and Cowboys received salary cap deductions directly related to the contracts the other owners took issue with. Two other teams received ZERO penalties for the exact same thing. The only reason the other 28 teams received the deducted money as bonuses was to get the patsy NFLPA on board. The NFLPA signed off on it because they didn't want to have to tell their members the salary cap was going DOWN one year into the CBA.