The CBA and the Patriots: What We Don't Know Could Hurt Us

(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

One story that has been monstrously under-reported is the end of the NFL's collective bargaining agreement after the 2010 season.

For those who don't know, the team owners voted in 2008 to opt out of the current agreement, arguing that the current system allocates too much revenue to the players. The players, obviously, disagree, and there has been very little reported progress since that announcement.

When the topic is mentioned, it's normally in the context of the potential uncapped year causing havoc with the league's finances.

Those who are more cynical point to a confluence of circumstances (such as the death of mostly-cooperative NFL Player's Association head Gene Upshaw, pictured above with league commish Roger Goodell) that could lead to a work stoppage.

Truly, one of the reasons the NFL is the most popular sports league in America is because of its relatively long period without a strike or lockout.

A work stoppage could have the same deleterious effect as the 1994 Major League Baseball strike. That event damaged Major League Baseball to the point where it was only saved by the historic Mark McGwire/Sammy Sosa home run chase.

The truth is, even if the league and union come to a new agreement in time, the resulting agreement could cause a league-wide upheaval.

Let's consider the last time the CBA was significantly changed. The 1993 update of the agreement created the salary cap system as we know it today.

When the salary cap was created, it caused a massive shift in the NFL. Teams that could not adapt to the cap became noncompetitive. There was a time when no team seemed to be good over multiple seasons, leading sportswriters to declare the end of the dynasty.

The cap hadn't prevented the appearance of dominant teams—league front offices had merely failed to understand how to work in the new environment the cap created.

The Patriots became one of the first teams designed to work with the cap in mind. They build through low-cost draft picks and free agents. They ruthlessly cut players who can no longer help them. They demand cap-friendly, below-market deals from their stars.

In short, the Patriots' personnel aim is to exploit the cap, and this approach has led to a perennially good team.

Now, should the new agreement sufficiently change the way salaries are handled in the league, what would this mean for the Patriots?

A comparison could be drawn with nature: Whenever the environment changes on a massive scale, it often becomes an extinction-level event. Species must either adapt or die.

In short, the team's front office must be wary that the new agreement does not become the asteroid to their Tyrannosaurus.

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