Reggie Bush can't outrun the league

Actually, you are wrong. The salary cap is a set percentage of league revenue. I don't have the specifics in front of me, and I don't feel like looking, but before the new collective bargaining agreement, which increased that percentage, the players were getting about 65 percent of league revenue. Included in that revenue is the money from licensing deals, like the ones that the NFL has with Reebok, Nike and now Under Armour. The players actually benefit more from the licensing deal than the owners do--they see a greater percentage of that money. The NFL may indeed be the "no fun league," but there has been a definite method to their madness. They are the strongest league financially because of their savvy in negotiating licensing deals. And the players as a whole have greatly benefited from it.

 

It's not BS, Pastor. The collective bargaining agreement is what it is. But either way, look at it in real dollars. The NFL salary cap this year is $102.5 million per team. That means there is a total of close to $4 billion being put toward player salaries. Whatever percentage of league revenues that represents--and it is greater than 65 percent, whether people want to believe it or not--it's still a lot of money. And that money doesn't exist without the league making money; the salary cap is set as a percentage of revenue.

Keep in mind that the salary cap has about doubled in the last 8 years, as league revenues have gone through the roof. The TV deals have accounted for a lot of that, but the way they've handled their licensing arrangements has contributed greatly too. At one time, the NFL was handing out licensing deals like crazy. They've whittled down the number of licensees, and the result has been that by giving degrees of exclusivity, they realized they can earn more overall.

When the typical person sees that Reggie Bush isn't allowed to show the Adidas logo on his cleat, it sounds like the league is being overly authoritarian. It does sound kind of lame, even to me. But there is sound financial reasoning behind it. I don't know the particulars of Reebok's deal with the NFL, but they are getting bled to the tune of millions of dollars. Among other things, they are essentially paying an obscene amount of money to make sure that Adidas' logo isn't seen on an NFL field. And in the end, because there is a salary cap that is based on overall league revenues, this is most definitely a case where the owners, the league, the players--really, everyone--benefits.