My idea for a revamped salary cap system

[Larry Brown #43]

A thought occurred to me about how the NFL could improve its salary cap system. If the goal of a salary cap is to prevent teams from "buying" a championship, that goal could still be achieved under my new system, while making a lot of other things better too.

In my system, any player you draft would be exempt from the salary cap. So if the Skins wanted to pay Chris Cooley or LaRon Landry $5 billion, they could do so without penalty. The salary cap itself would be somewhat lower than it is now, because it would only include players you've acquired from other teams, undrafted free agents, etc. Again, any player you draft on Day 1 or Day 2 of the draft would be exempt, forever...as long as they don't leave your team and come back (like Dockery).

The idea here is that a team shouldn't be penalized for drafting well. If you have the foresight to draft great players--or players who play well in your system--you shouldn't be forced to cut them because of salary cap issues.

But if you rely solely on free agency to build your team, the cap will bite you in the ***.

Thing is, there's a difference between trying to buy a championship, and drafting great players. Yet the current salary cap penalizes both approaches. If you draft a great player and he later demands loads of money, the cap may prohibit you from keeping him.

In my system, since you drafted him, you can offer him the moon because he's homegrown. Now, if he becomes a free agent and another team offers him more than you do, he'd be free to leave. But he'd then become subject to his new team's salary cap.

The system would encourage good drafting, and would also encourage keeping teams intact. Everyone hates the transient nature of sports these days, where you buy a jersey of a player one year, and the next year he's gone. This could help restore the old days where teams grow up together, and fans grow up with them.

As for the Skins, this system would likely hurt them in the short term, but long term it would force them to refocus their attention on the draft.

There are probably a million reasons why it couldn't work exactly as I've stated it (and I'm sure I'll hear about those reasons), but could my approach at least provide inspiration for a revamped cap system? Thoughts?

[pointyfootball]

I guess I don't understand what's wrong with it now, besides 1st round draft picks pay being exorbitant. As to changes, I don't really care, as long as it doesn't become like baseball or basketball.

[boofMcboof]

Larry Bird rule?

[Larry Brown #43]

I guess I don't understand what's wrong with it now, besides 1st round draft picks pay being exorbitant. As to changes, I don't really care, as long as it doesn't become like baseball or basketball.

As I said, you can be penalized for drafting well under the current system, and that's unfair. Under my system, the cap would never force you to say goodbye to a player you drafted.

Larry Bird rule?

Well, sort of...although my understanding of the Bird rule is it only gives you ONE salary cap exemption...and that one exemption wouldn't necessarily have to go to a player you drafted.

Under my system, every single player you drafted would be exempt from the cap, as long as they've continuously been on your roster from the time they were drafted.