Breaking down the contracts of the future

A report by Pro Football Talk, suggested that a new contract could be on the way that’ll change the way the New York Jets negotiate forever.

While the New York Jets are currently in the midst of multiple contract negotiations with their stars, a unique concept was brought up. In an article written by Mike Florio over at Pro Football Talk, he raised an interesting point on the current status of the salary cap and how it could affect future negotiations:

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“Long-term deals are getting done at a time when the salary cap is increasing by more than $10 million per year. By the time the last few years of the contract arrive, the player’s compensation will necessarily seem lower in comparison to the salary cap and the market reflected by contracts negotiated by other players.”

According to the report, currently nothing prevents teams from tying compensation to a percentage of the cap:

“That’s why players like Luck should be requesting not specific salary amounts in the final years of the contract but specific percentages of the salary cap. If, for example, Luck signs a $25 million-per-year deal when the cap is $155.3 million, that’s 16.1 percent of the cap. So if/when (when) the cap hits $200 million in 2020, Luck should be making $32.2 million.”

It’s something that is going on right now in the NBA, with the salary cap increasing due to new TV sponsorship deals, players are trying to take advantage. The same can be said for the mega stars on the roster, like cornerback Darrelle Revis for the Jets.

Apparently, 2016 wasn’t the first time this concept has been brought up, ironically enough Revis’ negotiating team offered this kind of contract to the Jets. A very similar report was released by PFT and here were their findings:

“Specifically, per a league source with knowledge of the negotiations, the term was proposed to the Jets during the protracted Darrelle Revis holdout of 2010. The idea was submitted to the Jets by agents Neil Schwartz and Jonathan Feinsod, who until recently had represented Revis for his entire career. The Jets refused to tie compensation to a percentage of the salary cap.”

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Which of course the Jets balked on, which contributed to the long stand-off that occurred back in 2010.

But it begs the question, is the future of NFL contracts set to change forever?

Well, players can continue to ask for this, looking out for themselves, but if the league’s owners stick together they may be able to prevent it.

Obviously, collusion is illegal; but we’ve seen instances in the past where rules were bent for the “betterment of the game”.

In all reality, the players have all the control and there is nothing in the rule book about players sticking together and making a stand. The problem is, it only takes one player who takes the money for the whole house of cards to collapse.

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It’s definitely worth the conversation, especially with certain mega stars approaching historic extensions. Quarterback Andrew Luck being the face of such conversations, if anyone can demand a cap percentage, you’ve got to think it’d be one of the games’ youngest and brightest stars at footballs’ most important position.