Report: New NFL CBA May Change Salary Cap Rules

At the time that this post is published, NFL owners and players are locked in an infuriating last-minute battle of minutiae that is delaying the time at which both sides will vote on the proposed global settlement that would start the process of ending the NFL lockout.

Most football fans are past the point of caring about these struggles, favoring a "just tell me when it's over" stance. We can't do that yet, unfortunately, but we can talk about an angle to the new CBA that isn't getting nearly as much play as it should be thanks to the aggravating blow-by-blow coming out of Atlanta.

Lance Zierlein of The Houston Chronicle reported earlier today that the salary cap in the new CBA may not function as it did in the previous labor deal. Zierlein indicates that teams already over the projected $120 million cap won't need to cut massive salaries, as has been previously predicted, because he's heard indications that teams won't be penalized for having a payroll above the set cap.

Zierlein is less clear on whether or not there will be a salary cap, or if there is, what its actual purpose will be if there's any longevity to this idea that the cap is just a random number that teams don't have to comply with. Rest assured, however, that if this report is legitimate, and that big-market NFL franchises don't have to comply with a cap - even if just for a year or two - folks like Ralph Wilson probably aren't going to be too happy.