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Arrowhead Without A Salary Cap?
Feb 27, 2006, 9:07:15 AM by Bob Gretz - FAQ
We may well be sitting at one of the most important crossroads in the history of the Kansas City Chiefs right now. Two pending developments will help paint the future of this franchise, and make no mistake these two items are intertwined.
On one hand there are the ongoing negotiations over a new labor agreement between the NFL owners and players. As part of any extension of the collective bargaining agreement, there must be some new revenue-sharing between the owners themselves.
On the other hand is the vote come April 4th on a sales tax in Jackson County that will pay for renovations of the Truman Sports Complex and a use tax that will bring a rolling roof to the stadiums.
Let’s start with the labor situation. NFL Players Association President Gene Upshaw continues to paint a very pessimistic picture of his group and the owners getting together on a new agreement. He’s set a deadline of late this week, or he says the players will allow the uncapped year in 2007 to happen. Upshaw has also said that if the uncapped season happens, the chances of the players agreeing to another salary cap is slim and none, and slim is on the waiver wire.
Again, there’s a great deal of posturing going on right now, which is not unusual for these types of situations. Also, seldom do agreements like this get done until the 11th hour. Even as Upshaw is talking gloom and doom, folks on the other side are whispering that an agreement is close to be finalized.
But let’s pause for a minute and consider the possibility that the NFL may soon operate without a salary cap. It would be the first time since 1993 that the league would have unrestricted free agency without a salary cap. In fact, that’s the only year in NFL history where that was the case. It was the first year of the agreement between owners and players, with the cap kicking in the next year.
Without some sort of internal agreement among the 32 teams, the cost of players would begin to immediately rise without a cap. The cost of draft picks and free agents would accelerate markedly. Even teams that did not want to play the free agency game would be paying more to keep their own players. The price of poker would increase significantly.
To compete, teams will have to maximize their revenues. Right now, the only place where revenues differ from team-to-team in the league comes from stadiums and the money streams derived from them. The high-revenue teams that are fighting the idea of more revenue sharing are making their money from stadiums: New England, Philadelphia, Washington, Houston and others.
Which brings us to the votes on the stadiums; the lease the Chiefs have had at Arrowhead dating back to the opening of the stadium has been a good one for the team. They’ve realized monies from parking, suites and concessions. But that revenue pales in comparison to what some of these other teams are making, with newer stadiums that have far more suites, club seating and other opportunities. A renovation of Arrowhead would provide the Chiefs with more revenue streams and thus more dollars to play the free agency game.
Should the NFL somehow come out of this labor situation with a continuation of the salary cap, those new revenue streams and the updated facilities are also imperative to the future of the team. The Chiefs have fallen behind most of the league in things like meeting rooms, workout facilities, training rooms, offices, etc. Those are important factors when it comes to attracting and keeping free agents.
From the first days of the American Football League, Lamar Hunt has never shied away from spending money on playing talent. When given a chance to play on the open market, the Texans-Chiefs have always done so, through the AFL-NFL wars, to the battle with the USFL over players, to the days of free agency-salary cap. The Chiefs may not have always spent wisely, and they certainly have seldom spent foolishly, but they’ve always been a player when it comes to acquiring players.
The ability to continue that approach will be effected by these approaching events.
The opinions offered in this column do not necessarily reflect those of the Kansas City Chiefs.
http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2006/02/27/gretz_arrowhead_without_a_salary_cap/
Feb 27, 2006, 9:07:15 AM by Bob Gretz - FAQ
We may well be sitting at one of the most important crossroads in the history of the Kansas City Chiefs right now. Two pending developments will help paint the future of this franchise, and make no mistake these two items are intertwined.
On one hand there are the ongoing negotiations over a new labor agreement between the NFL owners and players. As part of any extension of the collective bargaining agreement, there must be some new revenue-sharing between the owners themselves.
On the other hand is the vote come April 4th on a sales tax in Jackson County that will pay for renovations of the Truman Sports Complex and a use tax that will bring a rolling roof to the stadiums.
Let’s start with the labor situation. NFL Players Association President Gene Upshaw continues to paint a very pessimistic picture of his group and the owners getting together on a new agreement. He’s set a deadline of late this week, or he says the players will allow the uncapped year in 2007 to happen. Upshaw has also said that if the uncapped season happens, the chances of the players agreeing to another salary cap is slim and none, and slim is on the waiver wire.
Again, there’s a great deal of posturing going on right now, which is not unusual for these types of situations. Also, seldom do agreements like this get done until the 11th hour. Even as Upshaw is talking gloom and doom, folks on the other side are whispering that an agreement is close to be finalized.
But let’s pause for a minute and consider the possibility that the NFL may soon operate without a salary cap. It would be the first time since 1993 that the league would have unrestricted free agency without a salary cap. In fact, that’s the only year in NFL history where that was the case. It was the first year of the agreement between owners and players, with the cap kicking in the next year.
Without some sort of internal agreement among the 32 teams, the cost of players would begin to immediately rise without a cap. The cost of draft picks and free agents would accelerate markedly. Even teams that did not want to play the free agency game would be paying more to keep their own players. The price of poker would increase significantly.
To compete, teams will have to maximize their revenues. Right now, the only place where revenues differ from team-to-team in the league comes from stadiums and the money streams derived from them. The high-revenue teams that are fighting the idea of more revenue sharing are making their money from stadiums: New England, Philadelphia, Washington, Houston and others.
Which brings us to the votes on the stadiums; the lease the Chiefs have had at Arrowhead dating back to the opening of the stadium has been a good one for the team. They’ve realized monies from parking, suites and concessions. But that revenue pales in comparison to what some of these other teams are making, with newer stadiums that have far more suites, club seating and other opportunities. A renovation of Arrowhead would provide the Chiefs with more revenue streams and thus more dollars to play the free agency game.
Should the NFL somehow come out of this labor situation with a continuation of the salary cap, those new revenue streams and the updated facilities are also imperative to the future of the team. The Chiefs have fallen behind most of the league in things like meeting rooms, workout facilities, training rooms, offices, etc. Those are important factors when it comes to attracting and keeping free agents.
From the first days of the American Football League, Lamar Hunt has never shied away from spending money on playing talent. When given a chance to play on the open market, the Texans-Chiefs have always done so, through the AFL-NFL wars, to the battle with the USFL over players, to the days of free agency-salary cap. The Chiefs may not have always spent wisely, and they certainly have seldom spent foolishly, but they’ve always been a player when it comes to acquiring players.
The ability to continue that approach will be effected by these approaching events.
The opinions offered in this column do not necessarily reflect those of the Kansas City Chiefs.
http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/2006/02/27/gretz_arrowhead_without_a_salary_cap/
As for the tax vote in KC...well, I lived in KC for 3 1/2 years and people up there can be pretty weird about stuff at times!! No telling what will happen. I was a big Royals fan at one time, but lost interest because of post-poned/cancelled games.....it was just crazy....I agree with you though....I'd definitely hate to see the chiefs end up the way the Royals have.