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• The idea of this hitting the Mut 21 coins possible floor of 175M seems remote at best based on what I’m hearing, but I would still caution against those projecting the normal feeding frenzy in the start of the league season that we have become accustomed to. I continue to see considerable signs that owners, stung by the pandemic as well as the inability to satisfy their revenue goals in 2020 and in 2021 too, will be ready to hold the lineup longer on spending and take aim at the NFL’s middle course, and it could lead to an offseason that more closely resembles the drip-by-drip nature of baseball offseason, instead of the standard pace of a standard hot stove season.

  Even with long-term tv contracts on the horizon, if an owner was inclined to want to bargain shop in 2021 and series out the market, there are ample reasons (excuses?) for doing do. Uncertainty about the level of fans in the stands in 2021, after having almost none in 2020, and with a cap stagnant at best and with the final details of this cap likely not being finalized until shortly before free service starts next year creates a possible climate for owners to settle back and waitrather than rushing in with both hands, throwing contracts to fill as many roster holes as possible a month from now.

  One year ago, just half of the teams in the NFL really spent up into the salary cap; is there really reason, under these conditions, to project even that number repeating, let alone a surge? Do we not think there will be financial motivation to try to bide one’s time in the hopes that a whole class of players who might normally earn $3M-$5M could be obtained for close to $1M? There will be a rash of players stuck awaiting the best one-year, prove-it deal they can muster, I would contend, and some might start grabbing the small bird in hand sooner instead of later. Listen below and register to the Pick Six podcast to get a daily dose of everything you want to follow pro football.

  The group of teams who seem to be clear spenders is not really that long. The Eagles and Saints have fueled that fire in the past few years, but both are coping with significant cap difficulties and will not be able to push the industry anything near to what we have seen in the past. The Patriots have as much cap space and roster flexibility as cheap Madden nfl 21 coins anyone, but do we really think Bill Belichick is going to go hog wild throwing around best-of-breed money and resetting the marketplace at multiple positions? The Falcons and Rams — also never averse to making new norms in spending at certain positions — have more or less made their beds for 2021. The Cowboys could be hamstrung by a quarterback on a second franchise tag counting close to $40M from their cap through most, if not all, of the offseason.