Dead on. But that's only part of it; if Giambra was correct about those nasty little 'qualifiers', there's major trouble there, as well. For example: the Bills can sell out every home game for the next fifty years, but if the ticket prices stay the lowest in the league, they still won't meet the "ticket revenue within 80% of league average" qualifier mentioned in one of the Rochester D+C articles this morning.
The CBA isn't what needs to be changed. Read this quote from Tagliabue's press conference on March 8th:
The revenue-sharing is among the owners, not between the league and the NFLPA... and that's the agreement we have to find a way to change.
More on revenue-sharing, from later in that PC:
For those who may not understand the "cash over cap" concept: it refers to the league-wide average of each team's total player payroll, including signing bonuses. So when teams such as the Redskins or Cowboys throw huge signing bonuses at players and end up with a payroll $20 or $25 million over the 'official' cap, that average goes up... meaning the Bills would have to spend more "cash over cap" money themselves before becoming eligible to collect from the revenue-sharing fund.
The Bills will likely hit the 65% maximum Tagliabue cited before reaching the salcap-"cash-over-cap" midpoint. Still means the Bills will be spending at least 65% of their total revenue on player salaries, while the big-market teams will be spending less than 50%. Now tack on the rest of the payroll, from Marv Levy and Dick Jauron all the way to the receptionist at the front desk of the administration building. Don't forget marketing/advertising costs, either -- unlike the big-market teams with huge fanbases (and season-ticket waiting lists), the Bills have to put some real effort into selling out the stadium on a regular basis.
Anyone still think this is all about "Ralph being cheap"?