We are going nowhere (if we keep playing this way)

[pensodyssey]

The salary cap is just a plan to redistribute wealth.  It's socialism, pure and evil.

Prolly created by a bunch of sand-pissing animals.

[PghSteel-43]

The salary cap is just a plan to redistribute wealth.  It's socialism, pure and evil.

Prolly created by a bunch of sand-pissing animals.

HEY-OOOOO!!!....

[Puma170]

The salary cap is just a plan to redistribute wealth.  It's socialism, pure and evil.

I get into this argument with my economics classes all the time.  In a word, it is socialism but that is a good thing for sports.  The goal of unchecked capitalism is to drive your competition out of business (not just defeat them on the field - shut them down entirely.)  Sports leagues, by that nature, must operate on a socialist basis since if left unchecked, you would have no one to play. 

Baseball, uncapped, is useless.  People make the argument for parity in that so many teams have made the playoffs recently (8 different teams in the last 4 years have played in the World Series) but that is just evidence that small market team, even if they are run well, have one shot and then their talent will be off to LA, New York, or Boston (maybe Chicago.) 

NFL is the model as it currently arranged for success.  Everyone is making gobs of money.  Teams rise and fall but well run organizations have a chance every year.  Perfect.  Which is all the more reason that all millionaires will sit around and argue about hundreds of millions or billions...

PUMA

[kluisi61]

I think the Steelers are probably in trouble if the NFL goes uncapped. They're a great front office, and a great organization, but they can't compete with the Dan Snyders and Jerry Joness of the world. Imagine a team with no stars. We'll still draft well, but the big market teams will be taking all of our players as soon as their contracts are up. Imagine MLB for the NFL because that's what's coming if the salary cap goes away.

I don't know if I'm looking for us to challenge in 2010...or 2011, whichever year is the uncapped year.  But if we're smart, we'll wait it out and let the process take its course.  The owners are never going to go back to the old days, and Snyder and Jones will end up stuck with contracts they can't afford to keep.  I think the teams that blow a bunch of money in that season are going to end up with little to show for it in the long-run.

Agreed if it is only one uncapped year, then back to some sort of salary cap. My scenario was based on the assumption that the cap would be removed for good. The Steelers would just become another small market team and they can make a spot next to the Pirates competition wise. Of course, the Steelers have much better management and would get a chance to win every once in a while, but IMO would become very mediocre. The Rooney's simply will not be able to keep up with the big players in the big markets.