Now
that we have an agreement between the players and owners, we now know the new
ground rules.
There are some subtle changes that will have a huge impact going forward. The
biggest change to me is the amount of cap space available.
This
will allow teams to keep their players, which will have a profound effect on
free agency. Fewer teams will be in bad shape cap wise, and will be able to
keep key veterans.
New
rules in the new collective bargaining agreement include limiting contract
lengths to drafted rookies in rounds 2 through 7 to four years.
Another rule to take effect will be bonuses spread out over five years, instead
of the previous seven. This should play an effect on almost all contracts.
Free
agency and the draft will be more interacting with the new settlement. Teams
won't have the luxury to miss on draft picks, if they ever did, because there
will be less talent available.
For
a team like the Lions, the extra $10 million they gain in cap space means less
leverage. This basically means less leverage for most teams, although teams
will sign their own players. The after effect of this Collective Bargaining
Agreement probably means that more players will stay with the same team, making
each draft pick that much more important.
How
does this affect this draft?
This
is a pretty deep draft. This year's draft will improve the talent base in the
NFL by providing a deeper group of solid linebackers than the past 10 years or
so, and a really deep pool of running backs.
These two positions have been devalued of late, with more importance and money
spent on deeper wide receiver pools in previous drafts.
Positions that retain their value, such as quarterbacks, cornerbacks, defensive
ends, and wide receivers, will still see the money, but other groups such as the
offensive line, tight ends, safeties, defensive tackles will gain value
according to talent.
Teams will be able to afford the luxury of drafting a Michael Huff and keeping
him at safety, paying him top ten money. He's a great match up guy, where you
could leave covering little guys in space.
Before, the cap didn't allow for such luxuries; you'd be forced into making Huff
a corner. This should have a huge effect on how players are utilized, and how
teams are now constructed.
The
NFL will change by staying the same.
