2012 NFL Free Agents: How Cap Penalties Will Affect Player Destinations

The NFL has brought harsh penalties upon the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys, and it will change the entire face of free agency.

Each team front-loaded contracts during the uncapped 2010 season. This means the owners were willing to pay new players more money during the first season of the contract in order to allow more free space in future years.

Although this was legal according to the rules, the league decided to take away cap space for these clubs over the next two seasons. Dallas has been docked $10 million in spending money, while the Redskins are out $36 million.

This extra money will be spread across the rest of the league, with the exception of the Oakland Raiders and the New Orleans Saints. 

While this type of penalty would be a major blow to any program, it will cause even more problems for the Cowboys and Redskins, two teams that are consistently the biggest players in free agency every year.

Specifically, Washington needs to be more aggressive in the free agent market after trading four high picks for the rights to this year's No. 2 overall pick (presumably Robert Griffin III). The Redskins will now have a tougher time building around the young quarterback without the ability to spend money.

Therefore, the free agents that would have been overpaid by owners Dan Snyder and Jerry Jones, now will need to find new destinations. This will also drive the market price down on some of the league's best athletes.

Front-loading contracts was a bit of gamesmanship by these two front offices, but it was a smart move based on the league rules at the time. 

By imposing these sanctions, the NFL now affects the competitive balance and completely changes the landscape of the league. Hopefully, Roger Goodell does not make any more power moves to impact the sport.