Author: John Paulsen (Page 894 of 937)

The NFL owners approved a revenue-sharing deal and agreed to a six-year extension of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which means the salary cap isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

This much was known: The cap in 2006 will be $102 million, an increase of $7.5 million over the projected $94.5 million cap for 2006. That’s a $16.5 million increase from the $85.5 million cap of 2005. The 2007 cap will be $109 million.

What all this means for the league, the owners and the players is labor peace. For fans, it means roster peace.

The owners voted 30-2 in favor of the agreement. The two lone holdouts were the Bengals and Bills, which leads me to believe that the deal wasn’t exactly what the low-revenue teams wanted in terms of revenue sharing.

With the extra cap space, some of the roster cuts that we saw last week may be rescinded. Free agency will probably start on Saturday and it shouldn’t be as chaotic as we thought it might be.

If you like parity in the NFL, this is very good news.

Following Daunte Culpepper’s worst season as a pro, which ended with a brutal knee injury, he did an odd thing – he asked for a raise. The Vikings, like most sane people around the country, just shrugged their shoulders. They said the right things – that he’s a good player and that he’s in their future plans – but according to Daunte the team is trying to trade him and he wants out.

“Two days ago I got an e-mail from management that confirmed for me that they did not see me as the player or person that I see myself,” Culpepper told ESPN’s Andrea Kremer. “I was shocked. It pushed me to this point [seeking a trade]. The e-mail made no mention of trying to trade me, but I confirmed from an outside source that they were attempting to trade me. While I have not yet told the Vikings, if they do not trade me, I intend to ask the Vikings to terminate my contract.”

Minnesota won’t confirm Culpepper’s comments, but if they’re smart, they’re trying to unload him. Culpepper still has some value around the league and there’s a chance that a team like the Raiders or Cardinals would be willing to give the Vikings a good draft pick for the quarterback.

If I were a GM, I wouldn’t touch this guy with a ten-foot pole. Last season, he wasn’t able to prove that he could play without Randy Moss and if that knee injury negatively affects his mobility, then his game is in serious trouble.