COMPETITION OR COLLUSION?

09.17.12

Are salary caps enforced by the NFL a method for maintaining competitive balance among the leagues teams, or are they simply a gentlemen’s agreement among the 32 team owners to keep their personnel expenses in check?
In a current lawsuit filed in Minnesota, the NFLPA is accusing the teams of enforcing a secret $123 million salary cap per club in 2010, when there was no cap.
NFL attorney Gregg Levy, citing that with the signing of the 2011 CBA, the NFLPA gave up the right to sue in court, told the judge, “There was no collusion. There was no secret salary cap. But that doesn’t matter.”