Imagine if all 20 teams in the Premier League had exactly the same budget with which to pay players. Regardless of who owns them, Man City would have to have the same wage bill as Wigan. They could distribute that amount however they wish, but the bottom line is that every team would be paying their squad exactly the same. Immediately, you've got a fairer league and greater control over costs.
Of course, this will never happen in football, as the Premier League isn't franchised, so the richer clubs would never agree to a Cap. However, this is how things work in the NFL, all 32 teams are restricted by an annual Salary Cap of $120.6m and have to work within the confines of it. NFL revenue is shared between franchises so any money from TV deals, merchandise etc is split between all 32 franchises. Even gate receipts are split 60-40 between the 2 teams. The overall purpose is parity. No oil barons buying the league, no teams monopolizing the SuperBowl and plenty of open divisions that are very difficult to predict. Teams can still make money via other revenue streams (eg using the ground for other events) but the money that they can invest in the playing squad is equal.
Between early March and the April Draft teams can trade for players who are out of contract (Free Agents) to try and improve their squad. It's a very tricky balancing act for teams as they have to strike the right balance between paying the elite players massive wages and having enough depth to have a strong squad. Players that are under contract can move teams, but only if their existing club is happy for them to go and/or the buying clubs gives them Draft picks for future years.
Naturally, the way a team uses Free Agency is dictated by how much Cap space they have - ie how many of their own players become Free Agents - and also how the team's management want to move forward. There are a few different approaches to Free Agency...
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| Sadly, this wasn't a Dream |
The Marquee Signing - Putting your eggs into a big basket by adding an elite player to your team. The Bronco's signing of Peyton Manning has been the story of this year's Free Agency (well until yesterday it was!). One of the all time great QBs becoming available led to a frenzy of activity and Manning racking up a bucket load of Air Miles, as team's tried to convince him to come to them. Denver were the eventual winners and their odds for next season were halved by bookmakers. But, it's a big risk - Manning is 36, missed last season and is coming into a team that played in as "unManning" a style as possible last season.
Stick with what you know - The New York Giants FA activity in 2011 was pretty low key. They signed some "road" Free Agents (Players with no team the previous season) and improved the contracts of some existing players. No big name new players, no radical change of strategy - just some minor changes. The result - a SuperBowl victory.
Wait for the Draft - Some teams don't make many FA moves, preferring instead to wait for the Draft where they can build a young team for the future. This was the Bengals 2011 plan and their Draft signings saw them reach the play offs and they look set for a bright future. I'll be discussing the Draft in more detail in a couple of weeks time. It's highly unusual for a team like the Bengals to make a big money FA signing.
Go Deep - Sometimes it's not the marquee signings that make the difference, sometimes teams can go deeper into the FA pool and unearth some hidden gems that can become huge upgrades. Nobody paid much attention to the 49ers signing players such as Carlos Rogers and David Akers last year, but they proved to be massive upgrades and helped the team to a successful season that was a fumble away from a SuperBowl appearance.
2012 Free Agency
Clearly, there are many different ways to use Free Agency, and whatever approach a team takes there is a risk involved. The Giants and 49ers low key approaches last year worked for them, but who knows which team will be the big winners of the 2012 Free Agency. Let's have a look at some of the moves that have happened so far. These aren't necessarily the biggest moves but just ones that have caught my eye...
Mike Tolbert to Carolina - Hmm, a bit like a tramp buying a 4th harmonica - it's not the most pressing concern. Tolbert is a good multi purpose back, but the Panthers have Williams, Stewart and a decent 3rd string RB in Goodson. A quick look at last year's Points Conceded column and it's pretty clear that the Panthers have more pressing issues to address.
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| Campbell holding a ball. Not as much fun as holding a clipbaord! |
Jackson, Nicks and Wright to Tampa Bay - Not quite in the Dream Team league of FA splashes but the Bucs have been the big spenders so far. They've signed 3 excellent players, who are all big upgrades from the 2011 season....in theory. As the Eagles discovered, it's not always that simple, but on the surface, I like what the Bucs are doing. Josh Freeman will be delighted with the moves, whilst Raheem Morris is in a dark room, shaking his head and muttering "why not last year?".
The Dolphins - To borrow a phrase from the Walking Dead, Miami appears to be overrun with walkers! Nobody wants to go near the place; Manning, Smith, Flynn, my auntie Jean - they've all said no to the chance of becoming the Dolphin's new QB. At least they've managed to land the serviceable David Garrard, to at least give Matt Moore someone to talk to on the sidelines. But the Dolphins have been the big losers of FA and now need to either take a big Draft gamble on a QB or hope Moore/Garrard is the answer. And as for trading away Brandon Marshall?! Let's just say, I'm happy that I didn't end up as a Miami fan.
Tebow to the Jets - Just joking, I'm sure you don't want to read anymore about this. The Eagles - Finally, it'd be remiss of me not to talk about my new team. In contrast to last year's headline grabbing antics, the Eagles have taken a much more conservative approach this year. They've tied up 3 of their existing stars to longer contracts. Stars with youth on their side, so the Eagles are building long term, which can only be a good thing.
And then, out of the blue, they make a trade for linebacker Demeco Ryans of the Texans for a couple of low round Draft picks - a very good deal for the Eagles, as whilst Ryans has had injury problems of late, he appears to be over them and has a superb pedigree. He is the Texans all time leading tackler, a Team Captain, a former Defensive Rookie of the Year and an All Pro player. Linebacker was a weak area for the Eagles in 2011 and this is undoubtedly a big upgrade. The subsequent disappointment and surprise coming from Houston only served to enforce the idea that the Eagles had made a great move.
Wow - I'm supporting a sports team I feel optimistic about! That's a unique feeling for me. I'll be carrying this optimism into next week, when I look at rivalries in sport, the NFL and, in particular, the teams that the Eagles love to beat.
Another great post. The Eagles truly have made some great FA moves, my facebook and twitter feeds have been awash with Eagles announcements about re-negotiating long term contracts with good players I really like.
ReplyDeleteThough I do think you rate Jason Campbell too highly - he will be a decent backup to Cutler (who will probably high-five someone and break his hand halfway through the season) but I wouldn't take him as a starter anywhere in this climate; not even Miami! I only say this because of the QB roulette that we've been seeing not only in this off-season, but during the regular season too.
Cam Newton came in and tore up the league - great, #1 draft spot well earned. Not so much hope for something like that for Miami, Andrew Luck and RGIII are heading to the Colts and Redskins.
But as of right now, with all these FA moves, most teams have starting QBs and decent backup QBs. It goes against everything Miami do historically (they haven't drafted a QB since Dan Marino) but I think they're going to be looking at the mid round picks.
Christian Ponder (12), Andy Dalton (35!) and Jake Locker (8) were all QBs which impressed me, and did a serviceable job out of the gate. Colin Kaepernick (36) and T. J. Yates (152!!) were less impressive but still QBs I expect to see starting in the next few years. Less said about Blaine Gabbert the better, though he showed flashes of brilliance, and honestly the Jags passing game this year wasn't helped by the complete and total lack of weapons. I can usually name pretty much every starter on every team, but the Jags just draw a blank.
Look forward to your post on the draft - good luck with that... gonna be a fun few days!
I am with Simon on Campbell actually, he's probably somewhere around the 23rd range.
ReplyDeleteIn my eyes he'd have been an upgrade for the Cards, Browns, Jags or Miami. And he could have gone to somewhere like Seattle, Jets or Titans to compete for a starting role.
But hey-ho, Chi-town it is. And Caleb Hanie looks set to go to the Broncos, lucky them...
I must be the only one who thought Miami were pretty decent last season despite their appalling early season record. I wouldn't worry about them too much. I agree about Campbell and Tolbert (what a strange signing by both individuals).
ReplyDeleteThe Eagles have upped the ante for this coming season. McCoy called Vince Young's "Dream Team" and raised him a "guaranteed" championship!
Just trying to give you ammo for when you talk about rivalries, honest!
Campbell might seem like an odd signing, but cutler has had a few strange seasons of late - injuries have stopped him being the QB he could have been in both of the last two seasons and Campbell might be looking for that spot, the 'the QB got injured but I'll still take them to the playoffs' QB - bit of an weird place to put your hope, but with a team like the bears, a realistic reality
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