The Sad State of the Bills and the NFL.

[Justice]

When Ralph Wilson warned us about the Collective Bargaining Agreement and Buffalo not being able to compete in today's NFL, he was exactly right. Buffalo cant compete. We don't generate enough revenue to keep up with the big dogs. We will never be able to sign a Bill Cowher, elite free agents or even our own free agents that have played their way to greener pastures.

 

The NFL has forced us into a never ending spiral of recycling established stars for unknown and cheaper rookies. I no longer blame RW for this mess, instead I point the finger directly at the NFL and specifically at the fact that luxury suites are not a shared revenue. The luxury suites revenue SHOULD be shared. There is no NFL without the Buffalo's and Cleveland's of the world. All 32 teams can't be economic powers. Those that don't pull in a great deal of cash shouldn't have to suffer because of their geographical location. What kind of league will this be if you take away the small market teams that are not rich in cash but rich in tradition and team pride?

 

Why not share the revenue from luxury boxes? What makes them so special? Are they not watching a game like the ordinary folk in the seats? What's to stop them from building a stadium full of luxury suites and no seats at all? Why should a team with 80,000 seats share their money with a team that only has 60,000 seats due to all the space being used for their suites? That doesn't seem fair.

 

Every dollar needs to be shared equally. I don't care what it is. TV revenue, merchandise sales, seats, suites- whatever. All of it should be split amongst all 32 teams. If that happens, every team will have the same net worth. Every team will be on a level playing field as it should be.

 

I realize this will never happen. Ownership will never allow it. They will argue that this type of system is nothing more than communism. That they work harder than other owners to generate income and deserve a bigger share. They will also argue that some teams paid more money for their teams than others because their team is located in bigger markets.

 

Well, I have an answer for that problem as well. For the first few years, those owners that paid more for their team than others can be reimbursed by receiving a larger share until they are paid off the difference of the going rate for each individual team. For example, if revenue is equally split amongst all 32 teams, a financial expert can then put a value on each team according to all the income generated by the NFL as a whole. Once that value is established, owners that paid too much for their teams should get the difference paid back until all teams are equal.

 

As far as the other arguments go such as working harder for my money than others do, here's a simple answer to that problem as well. All economic geniuses will be paid and hired by the league. The owners don't have to do anything but sit back and collect a check. All coaches, GM's and everyone else involved in the front office should be paid the same as everyone else that has their same job description with other teams.

 

Every team will have to pay the exact same amount yearly in player salaries as well. Owners can't pick up extra cash for being cheap.

 

This is the fairest way to run the NFL. I know it'll never happen, but one can dream, can't he?

[Poeticlaw]

When Ralph Wilson warned us about the Collective Bargaining Agreement and Buffalo not being able to compete in today's NFL, he was exactly right. Buffalo cant compete. We don't generate enough revenue to keep up with the big dogs. We will never be able to sign a Bill Cowher, elite free agents or even our own free agents that have played their way to greener pastures.

 

The NFL has forced us into a never ending spiral of recycling established stars for unknown and cheaper rookies. I no longer blame RW for this mess, instead I point the finger directly at the NFL and specifically at the fact that luxury suites are not a shared revenue. The luxury suites revenue SHOULD be shared. There is no NFL without the Buffalo's and Cleveland's of the world. All 32 teams can't be economic powers. Those that don't pull in a great deal of cash shouldn't have to suffer because of their geographical location. What kind of league will this be if you take away the small market teams that are not rich in cash but rich in tradition and team pride?

 

Why not share the revenue from luxury boxes? What makes them so special? Are they not watching a game like the ordinary folk in the seats? What's to stop them from building a stadium full of luxury suites and no seats at all? Why should a team with 80,000 seats share their money with a team that only has 60,000 seats due to all the space being used for their suites? That doesn't seem fair.

 

Every dollar needs to be shared equally. I don't care what it is. TV revenue, merchandise sales, seats, suites- whatever. All of it should be split amongst all 32 teams. If that happens, every team will have the same net worth. Every team will be on a level playing field as it should be.

 

I realize this will never happen. Ownership will never allow it. They will argue that this type of system is nothing more than communism. That they work harder than other owners to generate income and deserve a bigger share. They will also argue that some teams paid more money for their teams than others because their team is located in bigger markets.

 

Well, I have an answer for that problem as well. For the first few years, those owners that paid more for their team than others can be reimbursed by receiving a larger share until they are paid off the difference of the going rate for each individual team. For example, if revenue is equally split amongst all 32 teams, a financial expert can then put a value on each team according to all the income generated by the NFL as a whole. Once that value is established, owners that paid too much for their teams should get the difference paid back until all teams are equal.

 

As far as the other arguments go such as working harder for my money than others do, here's a simple answer to that problem as well. All economic geniuses will be paid and hired by the league. The owners don't have to do anything but sit back and collect a check. All coaches, GM's and everyone else involved in the front office should be paid the same as everyone else that has their same job description with other teams.

 

Every team will have to pay the exact same amount yearly in player salaries as well. Owners can't pick up extra cash for being cheap.

 

This is the fairest way to run the NFL. I know it'll never happen, but one can dream, can't he?

 

I am sorry to have a differnt opion than you But the salry cap is the shared revenue that each team receives it is not the NFLs fault that the BIlls will not spend the entire cap on its players and if I was the NFL I would pull back any of the money allocated to these team that are not used and deduct the amount for the next season for teams that go over the salary cap.

 

If the Buffalo Bills want to mainitain the lowest $ per ticket in one of the NFL most seated stadiums that his is perogative. He Ralph wilson wants a self imposed coaches salary cap that again is his pererogotive.

 

However, Its the Free agents the good coaches that sell out every stadium and play well enough to get to the playoffs and additional playoff games hopefully at home which in turn genreates more income.

 

This is not the MLB where the ticket sales pays the players saleries its the shared revenue that pays the saleries so teams should be trying to put the best product on the field to produce sell-outs in their stadiums, increase corporate sponsorship and other team genreated sales such as merchandise.

 

The bills biggest problem is they cannot move their merchandise like the days of the superbowl runs because nobody knows if this player is going to be on the team oe not the best selling Jersey since the kelly days was drew bledsoe. If anyone is to blame for the woes of the Buffalo Bills its the Owner of the Buffalo Bills.

[Kelly the Dog]

The bills biggest problem is they cannot move their merchandise like the days of the superbowl runs because nobody knows if this player is going to be on the team oe not the best selling Jersey since the kelly days was drew bledsoe. If anyone is to blame for the woes of the Buffalo Bills its the Owner of the Buffalo Bills.

I'm pretty sure the NFL shares all merchandise pretty equally if not completely equally amongst the 32 teams. Not corporate sponsorships, but merchandise like hats and jerseys and accessories.

[Gordio]

When Ralph Wilson warned us about the Collective Bargaining Agreement and Buffalo not being able to compete in today's NFL, he was exactly right. Buffalo cant compete. We don't generate enough revenue to keep up with the big dogs. We will never be able to sign a Bill Cowher, elite free agents or even our own free agents that have played their way to greener pastures.

 

The NFL has forced us into a never ending spiral of recycling established stars for unknown and cheaper rookies. I no longer blame RW for this mess, instead I point the finger directly at the NFL and specifically at the fact that luxury suites are not a shared revenue. The luxury suites revenue SHOULD be shared. There is no NFL without the Buffalo's and Cleveland's of the world. All 32 teams can't be economic powers. Those that don't pull in a great deal of cash shouldn't have to suffer because of their geographical location. What kind of league will this be if you take away the small market teams that are not rich in cash but rich in tradition and team pride?

 

Why not share the revenue from luxury boxes? What makes them so special? Are they not watching a game like the ordinary folk in the seats? What's to stop them from building a stadium full of luxury suites and no seats at all? Why should a team with 80,000 seats share their money with a team that only has 60,000 seats due to all the space being used for their suites? That doesn't seem fair.

 

Every dollar needs to be shared equally. I don't care what it is. TV revenue, merchandise sales, seats, suites- whatever. All of it should be split amongst all 32 teams. If that happens, every team will have the same net worth. Every team will be on a level playing field as it should be.

 

I realize this will never happen. Ownership will never allow it. They will argue that this type of system is nothing more than communism. That they work harder than other owners to generate income and deserve a bigger share. They will also argue that some teams paid more money for their teams than others because their team is located in bigger markets.

 

Well, I have an answer for that problem as well. For the first few years, those owners that paid more for their team than others can be reimbursed by receiving a larger share until they are paid off the difference of the going rate for each individual team. For example, if revenue is equally split amongst all 32 teams, a financial expert can then put a value on each team according to all the income generated by the NFL as a whole. Once that value is established, owners that paid too much for their teams should get the difference paid back until all teams are equal.

 

As far as the other arguments go such as working harder for my money than others do, here's a simple answer to that problem as well. All economic geniuses will be paid and hired by the league. The owners don't have to do anything but sit back and collect a check. All coaches, GM's and everyone else involved in the front office should be paid the same as everyone else that has their same job description with other teams.

 

Every team will have to pay the exact same amount yearly in player salaries as well. Owners can't pick up extra cash for being cheap.

 

This is the fairest way to run the NFL. I know it'll never happen, but one can dream, can't he?

 

1st of all if your an owner of say NE & you just put in 200 mill to help build a new stadium, why should you share the luxury suites with Wilson, who does not put in a dime of his own money for stadium upgrades. 2nd, I think where the NFL has it wrong & where Ralph Wilson is arguing about is that fine, let the teams have all the revenue for their lux boxes, but that should not count on the % of that salary cap. In other words, the salary cap should be just based on the shared revenue. Which I think is rational.

 

3rd, It is a copout to use the small market excuse as to why the bills have not been good for over 10yrs. They have not been good for over 10yrs because they have made horrible personal decisions, have f&cked up the draft time & time again & refuse to pay at least the average salary for a 1/2 way decent coach. How come Pittsburgh is good year in & year out. How come SD can have top level talent? As to why the bills have been bad for the last 10yrs one only has to look at the owners box to find the reason why.

[stuckincincy]

...The NFL has forced us into a never ending spiral of recycling established stars for unknown and cheaper rookies...

Direct your anger at the NFLPA union.

 

Its' one that in contradiction to others, demands that membership be restricted (see 53 man rosters and 45 game day players), demands a cut of profits, demands a cut of trinkets (why folks buy jerseys to enrich millionaires and advertise their names escapes me).

[Ramius]

Ralph cries poor, yet for some reason, he refuses to sink any of the 78 million from toronto into the team. Ralph is the guy who sits there and collects his welfare check and then bitches about being poor instead of going out and getting a job.

[BuffaloBill]

1st of all if your an owner of say NE & you just put in 200 mill to help build a new stadium, why should you share the luxury suites with Wilson, who does not put in a dime of his own money for stadium upgrades. 2nd, I think where the NFL has it wrong & where Ralph Wilson is arguing about is that fine, let the teams have all the revenue for their lux boxes, but that should not count on the % of that salary cap. In other words, the salary cap should be just based on the shared revenue. Which I think is rational.

 

3rd, It is a copout to use the small market excuse as to why the bills have not been good for over 10yrs. They have not been good for over 10yrs because they have made horrible personal decisions, have f&cked up the draft time & time again & refuse to pay at least the average salary for a 1/2 way decent coach. How come Pittsburgh is good year in & year out. How come SD can have top level talent? As to why the bills have been bad for the last 10yrs one only has to look at the owners box to find the reason why.

 

The NFL built their model on the assumption that the good times would just roll along without a problem. They are at risk of alienating their fan base and pricing themselves beyond a point where the average fan can attend a game. If ticket costs and merchandise costs get high enough people will find other ways to entertain themselves. I look at what is happening here in Dallas with Jerry Jones' new Taj Mahal. The ticket pricing and associated PSA's are absurd. What is happening is that companies are buying these up so they can send customers to games and entertain other VIP's the average fan will be hard pressed to attend a game.

[Peter]

I do not know how this is going to play out, but it is going to be interesting to see how many PSLs Dallas and the two New Jersey teams are going to be able to sell in this economy. Jerry Jones may have picked the wrong time to open the new Dallas stadium

 

There also was an interesting article in the NY Times a few months ago about how long time Giant fans are being priced out of the new stadium. The article featured a 40 year + season ticket holder of the Giants who reminded me of a lot of Bills fans. Salt of the earth. He made going to Giant games a family event for him and his sons for years and years. He got his fancy brochure for the new stadium and realized that neither he nor his sons would be able to afford the thousand and thousands of dollars that the Giants wanted for the PSLs for his lower deck 40 yard line seats. The Giants offered to put him in the upper deck. He decided that, rather than spend the money, he would just watch the games with his family on his big screen tv. He and other fans are bitter about the way that the average fan has been treated.

 

As time goes by, the core group of fans are being priced out of going to games. That is not good for the game, the NFL, or the individual teams.

[Gordio]

The NFL built their model on the assumption that the good times would just roll along without a problem. They are at risk of alienating their fan base and pricing themselves beyond a point where the average fan can attend a game. If ticket costs and merchandise costs get high enough people will find other ways to entertain themselves. I look at what is happening here in Dallas with Jerry Jones' new Taj Mahal. The ticket pricing and associated PSA's are absurd. What is happening is that companies are buying these up so they can send customers to games and entertain other VIP's the average fan will be hard pressed to attend a game.

 

 

Yep, places like Dallas, NE, NY(with their new stadium next year) are pricing the diehard fans to the upper decks. My guess is like yours, pretty soon they are going to price the average fan right out of the stadium. It is already happening in NYC. I do have alot of customers in NYC & you would not believe the stories people tell me about how their family has been 3 generation season ticket holders for the Ynakees/Mets & how they are being forced to drop their season tickets because they are too pricey. Or they are buying & saying they are only going to be able to afford to go to 10 of the games & have to sell the rest. Or how they had 10 rows up 3rd baseline club level seats at Yankee Stadium for 20 years & now they are being forced to move to the upper deck. It is sickening what sports has become.

[BillsVet]

The secret to being an effective small market is having the best scouts, along with Pro Personnel and Amateur Scouting directors. Plenty of smaller market teams make do with less.

 

Check the Forbes report, and you'll see that Indy had less revenue in 08 than Buffalo. Ironically, their success (7 straight seasons with 10 or more wins) shows small market teams can win. Sure they built a stadium, but as some on this board have pointed out, it was a cumulative effort in that part of Indiana among counties. It helps they have the best modern era GM helping.

[Boatdrinks]

When Ralph Wilson warned us about the Collective Bargaining Agreement and Buffalo not being able to compete in today's NFL, he was exactly right. Buffalo cant compete. We don't generate enough revenue to keep up with the big dogs. We will never be able to sign a Bill Cowher, elite free agents or even our own free agents that have played their way to greener pastures.

 

The NFL has forced us into a never ending spiral of recycling established stars for unknown and cheaper rookies. I no longer blame RW for this mess, instead I point the finger directly at the NFL

 

 

Your theory is wrong on many levels. No, luxury revenue is not shared equally and it is the major reason why the current labor contract will be unanimously squashed after this season. But the Bills have only themselves and their poor management to blame, not being cash poor. The Bills payroll this season is squarely in the middle of the pack at 16th. The signing of big buck free agents has not proven to be a panacea in the NFL, as those teams rarely win superbowls. Most teams have seen what overpaying for talent will do and are more judicious with free agent dollars. No team can keep all of its players all of the time. The Bills are no different there, and most of their FA departures in recent times were good no-signings( Jonas Jennings, Nate Clements, Antoine Winfield). But this free agency system is there to enrich the players, and has made good drafting and resigning of talent before hitting free agency all the more critical. This is where the Bills have failed in recent years.Yes, they've had misfortune-the trade up with Houston in the '04 draft to select Ben Roethlisberger that the Texans backed out of last second,for example. But they have overpaid for average talent and production ( Kelsay, Denney, even Schobel), have drafted poorly ( M Williams, Losman, McCargo, ) and ignored drafting for the lines when excellent players were available, only to take skill position players who would not be resigned when they became free agents.(haloti Ngata, Tommie Harris, Osi Umenyiora) Allowing a stud DT like Pat Williams to escape over nickels and dimes was another short sighted move. These had zero to do with salary cap and everything to do with lack of foresight and strategy by the Bills personnel dept. The Bills will not improve until they upgrade their front office. The team made a 135 million profit in 2004. They have a rent free stadium on which they owe no debt payments. Ralph just will not pay an elite coach. He certainly can, but he WON'T. This has nothing to do with revenue sharing. The Bills front office is a crashing failure post Polian and needs a major overhaul.

[buckeyemike]

This is one big reason why I'm having a hard time watching the NFL anymore.

 

What we're seeing in Buffalo may eventually kill the franchise...or force it to move. We all know the economic troubles the country is having. And it's much worse in both NE Ohio and WNY.

 

It's also why if I'm going to root for one certain NFL team from now on, it's the Packers, for the following reasons:

 

a) They will never move. I will walk through hell in a gasoline suit before I go through that again (to paraphrase Pete Rose).

 

b) The stadium. Lambeau Field is for REAL fans. All the club seats and luxury boxes are at the top of the stadium, which means the best fans are on top of the action, and the rich people get the crappy seats.

 

c) The tailgating. Simply great, one of the three best in the league (along with Buffalo and KC).

 

d) They seem to be somewhat fan-friendlier than other NFL teams, probably because of the stock ownership setup. The Browns certainly aren't.

 

e) Success in recent years. I think this year's been a blip on the radar screen.

 

f) Great, great history. Only the Bears come close.

 

g) Most of an entire state (and many across the nation) support the team.

 

h) They are more dependent upon the fans than other teams, as most of their supplementary income is through Pro Shop sales (visit their website here.), stadium tours, concessions, and Curly's Pub restaurant at Lambeau, which is open year-round.

 

i) The Packers, in order to increase their income, are looking at purchasing property around the stadium for further development. A hotel/waterpark and parking garages have been discussed if the Packers buy additional surrounding property. All the more to compete with the Cowboys' new palace that Jerry Jones is mortgaging his team for.

 

ij They will never move.

 

k) Stadium is on the fringes of a residential neighborhood, with smart looking ranch houses...similar to OP, but quite a bit more built up. Two blocks from the stadium looks like my hometown of Rocky River, Ohio; except for the green and gold fire hydrants and the signs that say "No Parking on Game Days".

 

l) Bars and restaurants all around, most notably Favre's steakhouse and the Stadium View Bar.

 

m) They will never move.

 

n) A Hall of Fame inside the Lambeau Field Atrium. I went to the old one the only time I was up in Green Bay, in 1998. I hear the new one is much bigger and nicer.

 

o) Did I mention that the team will NEVER, EVER move? Sorry, but that's a big one for me.

[Ranger Ranchod]

Lotsa cash waiting to be deposited by simply selling the naming rights to the stadium... yeah, generic corporate sponsored names are lame, but I'd rather have a dopey named stadium and improved team/improved odds at keeping the team from moving than the alternate.

[KD in CA]

Your theory is wrong on many levels. No, luxury revenue is not shared equally and it is the major reason why the current labor contract will be unanimously squashed after this season. But the Bills have only themselves and their poor management to blame, not being cash poor. The Bills payroll this season is squarely in the middle of the pack at 16th. The signing of big buck free agents has not proven to be a panacea in the NFL, as those teams rarely win superbowls. Most teams have seen what overpaying for talent will do and are more judicious with free agent dollars. No team can keep all of its players all of the time. The Bills are no different there, and most of their FA departures in recent times were good no-signings( Jonas Jennings, Nate Clements, Antoine Winfield). But this free agency system is there to enrich the players, and has made good drafting and resigning of talent before hitting free agency all the more critical. This is where the Bills have failed in recent years.Yes, they've had misfortune-the trade up with Houston in the '04 draft to select Ben Roethlisberger that the Texans backed out of last second,for example. But they have overpaid for average talent and production ( Kelsay, Denney, even Schobel), have drafted poorly ( M Williams, Losman, McCargo, ) and ignored drafting for the lines when excellent players were available, only to take skill position players who would not be resigned when they became free agents.(haloti Ngata, Tommie Harris, Osi Umenyiora) Allowing a stud DT like Pat Williams to escape over nickels and dimes was another short sighted move. These had zero to do with salary cap and everything to do with lack of foresight and strategy by the Bills personnel dept. The Bills will not improve until they upgrade their front office. The team made a 135 million profit in 2004. They have a rent free stadium on which they owe no debt payments. Ralph just will not pay an elite coach. He certainly can, but he WON'T. This has nothing to do with revenue sharing. The Bills front office is a crashing failure post Polian and needs a major overhaul.

 

Post of the year.

[VJ91]

When Ralph Wilson warned us about the Collective Bargaining Agreement and Buffalo not being able to compete in today's NFL, he was exactly right. Buffalo cant compete.

 

Buffalo can compete. All they have to do is decide they want to. The one thing Ralph Wilson never says is that he is committed to winning the Super Bowl for his Buffalo Bills. Everything starts at the top. The Irsay's were jokes for years as NFL owners. Bill Polian was a hot tempered vulgarian bully, according to some people "in the know." On top of that, Jim Irsay seems to be a man of Christian Faith these days, based on some of his accpetance speeches I heard him give the year his Colts won the SB. That did not stop him from hiring the vulgarian with the temper to run his entire franchise did it?

 

Ralph can win a Super Bowl for Buffalo. He's wealthy enough, even if he doesn't have as many luxury suites or high enough ticket prices. He can pay for Bill Cowher out of his own pockets............if he wants to.

[buckeyemike]

Yep, places like Dallas, NE, NY(with their new stadium next year) are pricing the diehard fans to the upper decks. My guess is like yours, pretty soon they are going to price the average fan right out of the stadium. It is already happening in NYC. I do have alot of customers in NYC & you would not believe the stories people tell me about how their family has been 3 generation season ticket holders for the Ynakees/Mets & how they are being forced to drop their season tickets because they are too pricey. Or they are buying & saying they are only going to be able to afford to go to 10 of the games & have to sell the rest. Or how they had 10 rows up 3rd baseline club level seats at Yankee Stadium for 20 years & now they are being forced to move to the upper deck.

 

I agree 100%. It's like the owners want to cater only to the ones who are rich, who can afford the club seats and luxury boxes. They're the ones saying to the average fan, "Sorry, you've had a good run, but we're pricing you out now. We gotta pay Teixiera $22.5 million a year for the next eight years, so we're kicking you up to the fringes of the upper deck to make way for 10,000 more club seats."

 

It is sickening what sports has become.

 

And I think it may eventually backfire on the leagues. Wait until they completely price themselves out of the average fan's income bracket. People can, and will, find something else to do with their Sunday afternoons, or their free time.

[HelloNewman]

Ralph cries poor, yet for some reason, he refuses to sink any of the 78 million from toronto into the team. Ralph is the guy who sits there and collects his welfare check and then bitches about being poor instead of going out and getting a job.

 

 

AMEN

[Steve In Atlanta 2008]

plunkets reports an almost 35M profit fot the bills in 2007

 

 

http://books.google.com/books?id=0plTunCFH...5&ct=result

[TheLynchTrain]

I am sorry to have a differnt opion than you But the salry cap is the shared revenue that each team receives it is not the NFLs fault that the BIlls will not spend the entire cap on its players and if I was the NFL I would pull back any of the money allocated to these team that are not used and deduct the amount for the next season for teams that go over the salary cap.

 

If the Buffalo Bills want to mainitain the lowest $ per ticket in one of the NFL most seated stadiums that his is perogative. He Ralph wilson wants a self imposed coaches salary cap that again is his pererogotive.

 

However, Its the Free agents the good coaches that sell out every stadium and play well enough to get to the playoffs and additional playoff games hopefully at home which in turn genreates more income.

 

This is not the MLB where the ticket sales pays the players saleries its the shared revenue that pays the saleries so teams should be trying to put the best product on the field to produce sell-outs in their stadiums, increase corporate sponsorship and other team genreated sales such as merchandise.

 

The bills biggest problem is they cannot move their merchandise like the days of the superbowl runs because nobody knows if this player is going to be on the team oe not the best selling Jersey since the kelly days was drew bledsoe. If anyone is to blame for the woes of the Buffalo Bills its the Owner of the Buffalo Bills.

 

I don;t think thats absolutely correct. Its not the money the team receives; I believe its the average revenue of the teams. And when teams like the Cowboys make fans pay a quarter mil for the RIGHT to have a ticket in a luxury box (not the actual ticket itself, which they also have to pay), that money goes directly to the Cowboys.

 

BUT, it also counts AGAINST the salary cap. I remember reading (and posting on here) a few months ago how each box in Cowboys stadium adds another 80,000 dollars to the salary cap. 80,000 dollars! And theres about 150-200 of them!

 

As someone above mentioned, yea its alright that the luxury boxes aren't included, and that's not Ralph's argument. Those owners have spent the money so that they can be in a position to make money. The real problem is that the money generated from the luxury boxes is COUNTED AGAINST the cap, even if its not included.

 

If the NFL could come up with a compromise where the luxury boxes don;t count against the cap, the cap wouldn't go up at a rediculous rate, like the 40 mil its gone up since 2003. That is the real problem. Until its fixed, the Bills will become more and more like the Florida Marlins of football

[Justice]

I don;t think thats absolutely correct. Its not the money the team receives; I believe its the average revenue of the teams. And when teams like the Cowboys make fans pay a quarter mil for the RIGHT to have a ticket in a luxury box (not the actual ticket itself, which they also have to pay), that money goes directly to the Cowboys.

 

BUT, it also counts AGAINST the salary cap. I remember reading (and posting on here) a few months ago how each box in Cowboys stadium adds another 80,000 dollars to the salary cap. 80,000 dollars! And theres about 150-200 of them!

 

As someone above mentioned, yea its alright that the luxury boxes aren't included, and that's not Ralph's argument. Those owners have spent the money so that they can be in a position to make money. The real problem is that the money generated from the luxury boxes is COUNTED AGAINST the cap, even if its not included.

 

If the NFL could come up with a compromise where the luxury boxes don;t count against the cap, the cap wouldn't go up at a rediculous rate, like the 40 mil its gone up since 2003. That is the real problem. Until its fixed, the Bills will become more and more like the Florida Marlins of football

 

One can only wish. They won two titles already.