On the defensive about the salary cap

Sporting News, The, August 15, 1994 by Bob Glauber

During his 16-year career with the Raiders, Gene Upshaw was regarded as one of the greatest offensive linemen in NFL history. But lately, Upshaw has had to test his skills on defense as he attempts to fend off mounting criticism of the labor agreement he helped forge as executive director of the NFL Players Association.

Unfortunately for Upshaw, his prowess as a defender isn't quite on the same level as his work in the trenches for the Raiders.

Talk to just about any player these days and he'll have some gripe about the new system, whether it's the introduction of the salary cap or the succession of established veterans getting squeezed out of the league for financial considerations.

Upshaw has been the lightning rod for much of the criticism, having been accused by a number of players of selling out to the owners on the new deal. But if you ask Upshaw, he'll tell you many of the players are failing to look at the greater good provided by the agreement, choosing instead to view things in selfish terms.

"On every team, you hear players complain about the system, but there are also players on that same team that have benefited," he says. "We took a backward system, Plan B, that was rewarding the wrong players, and turned it into a system where you're judged on your performance. Players have to look at themselves in the mirror and see if they're as good as they were a year ago."

Upshaw points to the Colts as a good example of his theory. Last year, Indianapolis designated linebacker Duane Bickett as its franchise player and then released him in February for financial considerations.

"Everyone's talking about how Duane Bickett was released (he subsequently signed with Seattle), but the Colts thought Tony Bennett was a better player, so they paid him more money," Upshaw says. "That's just the marketplace at work. That's competition."

Another frequent complaint among many players and agents is that the introduction of the salary cap this year will save owners a pile of money, because teams cannot spend more than $34.6 million in salaries. But Upshaw contends just the opposite is true.

"Believe it or not, this system causes owners to spend more money," he says. "Under no other system could we have forced traditionally cheap teams like Cincinnati, New England and Seattle to spend more money. Under this system, they had to."

Upshaw, therefore, believes there will be even greater parity because all teams are now on the same financial playing field. "One of the underrated features of the salary cap is that parity is enhanced," he says. "I see free agency as being very, very good for the league. I guarantee they're pretty excited in Green Bay right now. A few years ago, there was no chance of Green Bay improving fast enough."

But the grousing goes on, and Upshaw now spends his days fending off accusations from many of the same players who almost unanimously approved the deal last year.

"This system is working about the way we thought it would," he says. "We couldn't design a system to make a good football player better. At some point, you have to be able to stand on your own ability. This system is rewarding the right people. It's not about egos or seniority, it's about playing. And if (teams) think you can play, they're going to find a way under this so-called terrible system to fit the players in."

But what about all these players bashing the agreement, even though 98 percent of the voters approved the deal? "Yeah," Upshaw says, "and no one voted for Nixon either."

Hey, at least give the man credit for getting off a good one-liner. Too bad his constituents aren't laughing.

And we aren't laughing either. The union keeps on telling us this is a great deal, but the fact of the matter is that the NFLPA caved in on negotiations because it was running out of money. So now we're left with a collectivebargaining agreement that will almost certainly have a negative impact on what has been a wonderful sport.

We're left with an agreement that has put too many gifted veteran players out on the street because of salary-cap concerns and has placed too much importance on younger, cheaper players -- players who simply aren't capable of producing the kind of football we're used to.

It's an agreement that has created a watered-down league -- a league that's now concerned too much with promoting bottomline finances instead of producing an on-field product that is second to none.

Green sees red

Vikings Coach Denny Green doesn't mind the two-point conversion. And he isn't against moving kickoffs back to the 30. But of all the rules changes adopted this year, the one he detests is the introduction of quarterback headsets.

Coaches now can communicate with their quarterbacks through transistorized speakers in the quarterback's helmet until 15 seconds before the 40-second clock expires. But Green fears defenses will be put at a disadvantage.

"I think it's giving the offense an unfair edge," Green says. "What you don't want is a quarterback standing there at the line in a spread formation and, because of the alignment of the defense, he's got a guy up in the press box telling him every single thing he should do. I don't want a quarterback with his hand being held while some guy tells him every single thing going on."