In 1936 the NFL adopted the Draft Rule, a system that
assigned graduating college players to various league
teams in such a way that a fair distribution of talent
was assured. The threat of a lawsuit caused the NFL to
change its original policy in 1989 and allow collegiate
underclassmen to enter the draft.
Juniors are now
eligible, and many collegiate stars turn professional
before exhausting their college eligibility. Free agency
emerged in 1992 in a settlement of a lawsuit filed in
1987 by the NFL Players Association.
The association
formed in 1956 when players began to demand improved
conditions. The union brought the suit in 1987 on behalf
of players demanding freedom of movement between teams.
The NFL's Management Council initially objected to any
form of free agency, so in 1987 veteran players held a
three-game strike to protest. Now in place, free agency
is accompanied by a salary cap that limits teams to an
annual player payroll of $34.2 million per team. The
NFL's free agency system presents a number of new
questions for the league. For many owners it is an
attractive means of curtailing the league's
free-spending owners.
For the coaches and some players,
on the other hand, it presents significant problems. As
teams near the salary cap, they are compelled to cut
expensive and aging veterans who may still be useful. A
player whose contract has expired can move to another
team at will. Squads that have been carefully built
through years of planning can lose their entire identity
in the space of a few weeks when prominent players
switch teams.
|
