Quote Originally Posted by Guiness View Post
a counterpoint to that would be that 59.6% is the cap. Last several years, a lot of teams were well under the cap. There's also the billion or so off the top to account for. Look at the 'A CBA Math Problem' thread.



According to that, player salaries are a lot closer to 50% than 60% of Total Revenue.
Yes, that's true, I stated the 50% of total revenue figure in my post. I get the difference, but personally, I believe this debate is 90% political, and 10% financial.

Honestly, I think the NFLPA* only wants to see six or seven teams financials. I don't believe they care about the rest. Hell, the union has financial people. They understand the numbers, much better than we do, even without "looking" at the numbers. It really isn't about that.

The Packers numbers are published. I think it was reported that we rank somewhere around 9th in the league in total revenue. By any standard we're one of the healthiest teams in the league. On that basis, you know that 2/3rd's of the league has (on average) less robust financials than we do. You can see from the Packers numbers, good evidence that what the owners are maintaining is true. But, there will be exceptions. If the NFLPA* can find even one example, then, that'll be all the financial details that we will see, because the real battle is not about money.

Regarding the cap, I don't believe that some of the lower market teams can afford to spend all the money that the cap affords them. They are doing the best that they can, in the environment that they have. The NFL is really becoming the "have's" and the "have nots", in a matter of speaking. Mike Brown's world is much different than Jerry Jones' world. It's just true. The single biggest thing that most of the worlds business can control is payroll. The CBA limits that control to a certain extent. The NFL reality limits the rest. You have some flexibility in the cap, and you can cut back, some years. Not all. Eventually, you won't be competitive.

Finally, I wasn't talking about player salaries. I started there. I was talking about total salaries. That boosts the number for the team. Player salaries are the biggest component of that, but only one. Coaches salaries have skyrocketed in the past 10 years, as have GM's and scouts also to an extent. It used to be that a coach getting $2m was a big salary, now, it's $8m. At the end of the day, all I was maintaining is that there must be downward pressure on ROI, and that a reasonable person could come to that conclusion without seeing the financials. (I do believe that the very top tier of revenue teams are not experiencing this to the level of most of the teams, but they are probably the exception, and not the rule).

You can look to Miami as a great example of this. Ross is selling off little bits and pieces of the team. Why? I think he needs the cash, and it's the only way you can tap into the equity besides borrowing the money. I think there is a small bit of marketing going on in Miami as well, but I think those funds are being invested into the team to try and make it grow. It would be illogical to sell off part of your team if you didn't have a financial reason to do so. (in most cases)