Granted, they’re not as important as the Lincoln-Douglas debates, but as long as there have been barstools, there have been men sitting on those stools arguing about sports. This week, John Paulsen and Anthony Stalter sit at a virtual bar and debate what life would be like if the NFL didn’t have a salary cap. Take a seat, order a beverage and feel free to give us your two cents.
Anthony: With the NFL threatening to have an uncapped year following the 2009 season, the first thing most fans want to do is panic. Who wants a situation in the NFL with haves and have-nots like they do in baseball? Well, the fact of the matter is that small market teams can still survive and MLB has proved that. Small market teams (i.e. teams that don’t spend big in order to win) like the 2007 Rockies and 2003 Marlins are prime examples that winning is accomplished on the field and not with a big budget.
John: I’m glad you brought up the Marlins. It’s true that a small-market/low-budget team can succeed for a year or two with a great farm system and good scouting, but what happens to those small market World Series teams the following year? Or the year after that? They either sell of their parts because they can’t afford to keep them or they are raided by the big market teams, who are looking to simply buy themselves a championship. In the four seasons since the Marlins’ 2003 World Series win, they haven’t finished higher than third in their division. It’s true that they can be competitive for a year or two, but they can’t sustain their excellence like the big market teams can. And that’s simply not fair.
Anthony: But at least these teams can still be competitive. Some fans assume that just because a team doesn’t spend a lot, it means that team is destined to finish in the cellar every year. And besides, it’s up to the owners whether or not to spend. We can assume that there’s going to be a huge gap in terms of budget between a team like the Cowboys (we know owner Jerry Jones will spend to win) and maybe a smaller market team like the Seahawks, but we simply don’t know what owners are going to be willing to spend. In other words, we don’t know if the NFL would turn into MLB if the league went without a cap. It sounds like a crazy thought now, but maybe not having a cap will drive the competition even more because owners in the lower market cities will still be willing to spend to win. (Unlike how it is in baseball, where clubs like the Marlins, Royals and Pirates simply don’t want to spend.)
John: It’s definitely possible for a small budget team to make a run here and there, but think what it must be like to be an American League team competing with the payrolls of the Yankees and Red Sox. Since MLB expanded its playoffs in 1995, the Yankees have made the postseason every single season, essentially gobbling up one of the four AL playoff spots each year. Now that the Red Sox started to catch up in payroll, they have made the postseason four of the last five years. So if you’re an AL team other than the Yankees or Red Sox, you’re basically competing for the two other division titles because the AL East and Wild Card berths are pretty much decided going into the season. Then imagine being a fan of the Devil Rays, Orioles or the Blue Jays, who are also in the AL East. Why even bother? In the NFL, the small market teams are already at a disadvantage when it comes to generating stadium revenue and attracting free agents. Removing the salary cap will only serve to eliminate the one thing keeping a competitive balance in the NFL. It’s parity that makes the league so popular, because most fans know that if their favorite team catches a few breaks, they’ve got a good shot to make the postseason. It’s no coincidence that the league exploded in popularity at the same time the salary cap was implemented.
Anthony: I actually agree 100%, John. I love how parity has made the NFL ultra competitive, but it’s interesting to play devil’s advocate regarding this topic. While I don’t think an uncapped year in the NFL would be a total disaster, I would much rather see things continue the way they are and preserve the balance in the league. How great is it that your favorite team has a shot to win every year if they can have a solid draft and make wise free agent pickups? It’s fun for fans.
