As I suffered through the LeBronathon last night, several thoughts went through my head about the spectacle and how the NBA relates to the NFL.
NFL version?
I believe that free agency in the NFL does not work the way it does in the NBA -- or MLB for that matter. However, with the well-conceived master plan that LeBron, Wade and Bosh (and Pat Riley) hatched years ago with simultaneous expirations of their contracts, I wondered if this could happen in the NFL.
Well, assuming a new Collective Bargaining Agreement that maintains the four-year requirement for free agency, there will be a strong group of free agents next year for a team or teams could make a Heat-ish power play.
Let's assume one of the A-list quarterbacks with an expiring contract -- Tom Brady or Peyton Manning -- actually becomes a free agent in March (I realize it's unlikely but stay with me). What if Brady -- the more likely of the two to not have his contract renegotiated -- recruited other free agents in a Wade-like fashion?
Brady could call his buddy Randy Moss -- he recruited him to the Patriots before -- or Vincent Jackson or Sidney Rice or Miles Austin for his receiver, Joseph Addai or DeAngleo Williams for his running back; Marcus McNeill and/or teammate Logan Mankins to block for him and perhaps old buddy Richard Seymour and two Broncos playing out their contracts, Elvis Dumervil and Champ Bailey, to go after the opposition.
Or what if, in 2012, somehow their teams do not extend them or they refuse such overtures and Adrian Peterson, DeSean Jackson and Darelle Revis decide to team up in free agency? For the NFL, that would be about as dynamic a trio as possible.
I know that there is not likely a team willing to gut its roster the way the Heat did to take a chance on acquiring this group. And with so many players and the injury rate what it is, the truly elite players never make it to free agency either due to extensions or the Franchise tag.
Interesting to ponder nonetheless.
LeBron's game
The power of LeBron still amazes me. While he and his childhood buddy sat back in sweats knowing they were going to Miami, caravans of owners, executives, coaches, Cap managers and celebrities groveled at their feet to beg and plead for his signature. They probably had some nice laughs about the suits and ties after the groups left.
Let's not be naïve about this whole thing. This plan was made long ago. Although Heat president Pat Riley and owner Mickey Arison couldn't talk to LeBron due to tampering rules, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh did all the work for them.
Seriously?
It is amazing how much money NBA teams -- who have been claiming poverty -- threw around for second-tier players. Carlos Boozer for $80 million? Brendan Haywood for $55 million? Travis Outlaw for $35 million? Seriously?
I understand the NBA has fewer players and plays more games. I get that. However, that does not provide equilibrium to NFL players with shorter careers and much higher injury rates. The best players in the NFL make $30 million in guarantees. Average players in the NBA make that.
When it comes to guaranteed money, NFL players clearly are sitting at the children's' table.
Cap room the winner
The NBA Cap was set yesterday at $58 million with a luxury tax threshold at $70.3M. In Miami, the three stars will take up most of that number, with the rest spread out among rookies and Cap exception. The NBA Cap -- like the NFL Cap as it was -- is a soft cap; a "yarmulke" that teams can maneuver around if willing to pay the tax.
Cap room was the winner in the long-awaited 2010 free agency in the NBA. There was a reason the Heat had only two players under contract and they played it perfectly. And isn't it interesting that players like James and Wade are lauded for "not going for the money" when they will be making around $15 million this year, rising by 8 percent each year?
The Heat orchestrated the perfect storm. Chances are it will never happen in the NFL, if ever again in any sport.