CBA Agreement Disputes Threaten To Lockout 2011 NFL Season

The Collective Bargaining Agreement is the documentation which determines what percentage of revenue shares go to the players/union and to the owners/league. Within the last few weeks, talks have stalled to agree on a new "treaty", more or less. As a result of this stall in talks, as many people may have heard, the 2010 NFL season will become an "un-capped" year. What this means is that there is no limit to the amount of money teams can shell into acquiring Free Agents in the off-season. This may sound normal to some fans, especially those of baseball, and even more so, those of the New York Yankees. However, this brings about an interesting situation in which the NFL has never found itself. Due to the lack of a salary cap, something the NFL has had since its inception, there are new restrictions to the "Final Eight" teams; teams that advanced to the Divisional Championship rounds in the playoffs.

The "Final Eight" teams are the New Orleans Saints, Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings, San Diego Chargers, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, and Arizona Cardinals. These teams may not sign Free Agents until one of their Free Agents signs with another team. On top of that, they may only sign Free Agents whose salaries from the previous year do not exceed that of the Free Agent that the team lost.

Sounds Complicated doesn't it?

For an In-Depth look at the intricacies of the Debates and their effects Tim Graham, the AFC East Blogger for ESPN.com, has written an article explaining all the little details that even I may not still know.

About the 2011 season however. The lack of a CBA agreement may mean a lockout. What this means is that the owners won't allow the players to play. It's very reminiscent of the 2004 National Hockey League lockout. What is the cause of the lockout you may ask? Graham's article can explain better than I can but to simplify, the percentage of revenue shares going to the owners isn't nearly as much as it is going to the players. In even shorter, the owners feel as though they got the short end of the stick.

So enjoy this un-capped 2010 season sports fans, because unless a new agreement can be made, 2011 should be one interesting year.