Frustrated Roger Goodell Expects Uncapped Season

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has stated that unless an agreement is reached between the Players' Association, that there will be an uncapped season in 2010, unfortunately.  Although it sounds good for players, this is a huge blow for a league that has kept good standing with their players.  This season will be hard for players that have been in the league for less than six years and were planning on cashing in on a huge payday.  According to the rules of an uncapped season, players that have less than six years experience in the league will be considered restricted free agents.  This is amendment to the rule of four years experience and will cause certain players to remain with their teams for better or worse.  Players such as Denver Broncos WR Brandon Marshall, who is at odds with his team, are less likely to be given huge contracts because of the restricted label.  Because of this restricted label, teams wanting to sign the players are forced to give some sort of compensation for the team's loss and this will very well be the sticking point for any contract that is offered to free agents.  This uncapped year is not only going to hurt restricted free agents, but also some of the big name unrestricted free agents, such as Pro Bowl DE Julius Peppers.    Peppers has been at odds with the Carolina Panthers and it is believed that they will allow him to walk without placing the franchise tag on him.  The problem is, that with an uncapped season, the Final Eight Plan comes into affect.  The Final Eight Plan stipulates that the eight clubs that make the Divisional Playoffs in the previous season have additional restrictions that limit their ability to sign unrestricted free agents from other clubs  The catch is, that these teams can not sign unrestricted free agents until an unrestricted free agent is signed away from their team and in the case of all final eight teams, the first year salary of any unrestricted free agent signed to replace those lost can't exceed the first year salary of the player lost.  This is something that few are really grasping because everyone believes that it is going to be a "free-for-all" and all these teams will get better when that just simply is not the case.  The best thing for the league is a Collective Bargaining Agreement. There is nothing good that will come from an uncapped year next year and the likelihood of a lockout the year after.