NFL teams still spending money

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Business as usual.

The absence of a salary cap has caused little change in how NFL teams approach the early stages of free agency.

There still has been a spending spree, highlighted by the $42 million guaranteed the Bears gave defensive end Julius Peppers on the first day he became unrestricted. And, as always, backup quarterbacks have been on the move, following a money trail that led David Carr to San Francisco, A.J. Feeley to St. Louis and Jim Sorgi to the New York Giants.

Starters such as cornerback Dunta Robinson and defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch are landing solid deals. Proven veterans, even those coming off injuries such as defensive end Aaron Kampman and defensive tackle Jamal Williams, are getting lucrative contracts.

But the bidding wars and stratospheric salaries some predicted haven’t occurred.

“I see contracts being done as if there is a cap,” says player agent Peter Schaffer, who represents Joshua Cribbs, Joe Thomas and Larry Johnson, among others. Schaffer just worked out a restructured deal with the Browns for Cribbs.

“I see two things at work here. Instead of signing bonuses, teams are giving a roster bonus and when they kick in those bonuses under a salary cap, there will be no proration and their cap number won’t be threatened. And I see teams preparing for a cap in the next CBA.”

The current contract between the NFL and the players association expires after next season; there is no set date, although the league’s business year normally begins in early March. When the owners opted out of the 2006 agreement two years ago, it meant not reaching a new deal before this month would trigger an uncapped season.