Since Zygi Wilf took control of the Minnesota Vikings in 2005, he has taken great pains to make public the team's willingness to spend nearly to the salary cap each year. This year, that spending has left the Vikings with approximately $6 million in salary cap space or just above the mid-point in the range of required to allowable spending under the league's collective bargaining agreement.
The Vikings have positioned their spending as an indication of the ownership's commitment to fielding a first-class team. That may or may not be the case. What certainly is the case, and what the team does not deny, is that the spending has been undertaken as part of the team's effort to secure a new publicly funded stadium.
While a new stadium would be a welcome sight for fans accustomed to the drab interior of the Metrodome, how that stadium should be funded is quite another matter. Ardent fans who pay no regard to tax issues and their cumulative effect simply argue that they want a new stadium no matter the cost and point to the Wilf's financial support of the team as justification enough for the State to support whatever request the team makes regarding a new stadium.
The question left unaddressed, however, is whether the justification of owner engagement truly is credible. And there is reason to be suspicious of this contention, or at least to be wary of its durability given a publicly funded stadium.
Although the Wilf's have spent nearly to the cap for four of the past five years, that spending has been much different than has been the spending of many other well-financed teams in the NFL. And that's largely the consequence of how salaries are attributed in the NFL.
Under each of Wilf's five years as owner of the Vikings, the team has spent money on free agents and re-signed veterans. But the team has done so by bringing most of the dollars forward. To the casual fan, that makes the Vikings look like front-runners in building a championship team. In reality, it is a reflection both of the youth on which the Vikings have relied since Wilf purchased the team, the lack of a big-ticket quarterback that would have required a long-term commitment, and the team's eschewing of contracts that pay out over a number of years.
Because the Vikings have front-loaded their players' contracts, they have realized a persistent cycle of bountiful free-agent cap space at the end of each season. That doesn't mean that the Vikings are breaking the bank to sign players, however. In fact, it means just the opposite.
While teams like Dallas, Washington, Chicago, and even Green Bay are spending large sums of money on players in both current-year dollars and future dollars, the Vikings are spending primarily in current-year dollars. Assuming a resumption of the CBA salary cap floor and ceiling after the current agreement expires, that approach eventually will catch up with the Vikings.
The point is not that the Vikings are cheap. They clearly are spending above the salary floor each year and spending more than many other teams in the NFL. But that spending has to be viewed in the context of current-year and future-year spending. Eventually, the Vikings will be forced to spend into the future or show their unwillingness to do so. The guess here is that the team is hoping that that point does not arrive until after a new stadium is funded.
All of which points to the folly of a publicly funded stadium that does not put team ownership on the hook for a significant amount of the bill. Even in a world in which public resources were limitless, such a decision would be foolhardy, at best, as it would provide the team with no incentive to continue to put a good team on the field. Currently, the Wilfs are spending because they need to give the impression that they are committed to fielding a championship-caliber team. That they are spending at such a high current-to-future dollars ratio suggests, however, that the spending is largely about creating an impression.
Supporting a new stadium--even a publicly funded stadium--does not require taking a leave of one's senses. Instead, it requires thoughtful consideration of the value to both sides of carrying or according debt. If Vikings' fans wish to have a competitive team playing in a publicly funded stadium, they would be best served supporting a funding measure that shares revenue streams based on the financial commitment of each funding party. At some point along that continuum, the team has both the financial wherewithal and economic incentive to put a competitive team on the field each season. The question for those considering a public-stadium measure is where that breaking point is and whether that point makes sense for the public.
Up Next: Vanilla is as Vanilla Does. Plus, line concerns.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Quarterback Decision Almost Certain to Burn Vikings
In 2006, the Minnesota Vikings traded up in the NFL entry draft to select quarterback Tarvaris Jackson out of I-A Alabama State. That move came just minutes after moving up in the draft to take center Ryan Cook.
Two years later, the Vikings moved up in the draft to select USC quarterback John David Booty. That move came one year before the Vikings traded for Houston Texans' backup quarterback, Sage Rosenfels, and signed free-agent Brett Favre for $12 million in guaranteed money.
Clearly, the Vikings have been pre-occupied with the quarterback position since cutting ties with the rehabilitating Daunte Culpepper. Also clear, however, is that the organization has no evident long-term plan for how to address the team's most pressing concern.
While the signing of Favre was a good first step in the team's acknowledgment of the reality that who plays quarterback means something in the NFL, the team ought already to be looking beyond Favre's time with the Vikings, as it is certain to be short even barring injury. That, for the Vikings, means assessing what the team has and what it is likely to be able to obtain at the position in the future.
After another pre-season game thankfully has been left by the wayside, the Vikings find themselves already at cross-roads with their new corps of quarterbacks. Favre appeared immobile and rusty in a very brief stint at quarterback, and, while he looked far better than he had the previous week against the Colts, Tarvaris Jackson showed only a bit more upside than did Booty--not accounting for the disparate experience of the two quarterbacks.
Following Friday's performance against Kansas City, it is fair to wonder whether the Viking would be better served using an extra roster spot on a fourth quarterback, rather than searching for a suitor for Jackson, Rosenfels, or Booty. If Favre's immobility and Bryant McKinnie's persistent beatability continue into the regular season, there is every likelihood that the Vikings will have more than one starting quarterback in 2009. And that would give the Vikings more time to assess what they have at the position.
The difficulty for the Vikings is that Jackson is in the final year of his rookie deal and is unlikely to re-sign with the team without some assurance of having an opportunity to play. The Vikings, meanwhile, are unlikely to tag Jackson after this season or even consider re-signing him without greater evidence that Jackson can play at a consistently high level in the NFL.
Friday's numbers were promising for Jackson, but some of his flaws--an egregious miscalculation of the line of scrimmage, difficulty on sideline passes, and downward aim on several of his short passes, continued to plague the fourth-year player. Those would seem to be easy problems to correct, but that's been the thought for four years now and the problems persist.
With Booty putting up some acceptable numbers of his own, the Vikings will be hard-pressed to decide whether to keep a second-round pick for whom they traded up in the draft and who has yet to put it all together after three plus years or a fifth-round pick for whom they traded up in the draft and who has yet to have an opportunity to put it all together but has shown some small glimpses of promise in his short time in Minnesota.
The two certainties for the Vikings' quarterback position this year are that, barring injury, Favre and Rosenfels will make the team. Favre will make the team because he's the starter, he's making loads of guaranteed money and he's the most consistent quarterback on the roster. Rosenfels will make the team because, while he will not carry the team, neither is he likely to implode. That leaves Jackson and Booty.
If the Vikings were to trade Jackson, now would be as good of a time as any since the quarterback joined the team. Though every team in the NFL is aware that the Vikings would not mind moving Jackson, after Friday's performance, there at least is some doubt as to whether the Vikings will cut Jackson. That means that Jackson now actually has some trade value outside of Canada.
The sticking point for the Vikings, however, remains the fact that Jackson is of no value to the team if he is not going to start a significant number of games in 2009. With Rosenfels the most sensible option at backup, that suggests that the Vikings must trade Jackson in 2009 or risk the loss of another useful position player owing to the retention of four quarterbacks. The only alternative is to cut Booty, which is an even worse option as it likely would leave the team with only Rosenfels at quarterback following the 2009 season. And that would put the Vikings right back where they were at the position heading into Childress' first season as coach of the team.
Up Next: Stadium Pabulum. Plus, concerns on defense.
Two years later, the Vikings moved up in the draft to select USC quarterback John David Booty. That move came one year before the Vikings traded for Houston Texans' backup quarterback, Sage Rosenfels, and signed free-agent Brett Favre for $12 million in guaranteed money.
Clearly, the Vikings have been pre-occupied with the quarterback position since cutting ties with the rehabilitating Daunte Culpepper. Also clear, however, is that the organization has no evident long-term plan for how to address the team's most pressing concern.
While the signing of Favre was a good first step in the team's acknowledgment of the reality that who plays quarterback means something in the NFL, the team ought already to be looking beyond Favre's time with the Vikings, as it is certain to be short even barring injury. That, for the Vikings, means assessing what the team has and what it is likely to be able to obtain at the position in the future.
After another pre-season game thankfully has been left by the wayside, the Vikings find themselves already at cross-roads with their new corps of quarterbacks. Favre appeared immobile and rusty in a very brief stint at quarterback, and, while he looked far better than he had the previous week against the Colts, Tarvaris Jackson showed only a bit more upside than did Booty--not accounting for the disparate experience of the two quarterbacks.
Following Friday's performance against Kansas City, it is fair to wonder whether the Viking would be better served using an extra roster spot on a fourth quarterback, rather than searching for a suitor for Jackson, Rosenfels, or Booty. If Favre's immobility and Bryant McKinnie's persistent beatability continue into the regular season, there is every likelihood that the Vikings will have more than one starting quarterback in 2009. And that would give the Vikings more time to assess what they have at the position.
The difficulty for the Vikings is that Jackson is in the final year of his rookie deal and is unlikely to re-sign with the team without some assurance of having an opportunity to play. The Vikings, meanwhile, are unlikely to tag Jackson after this season or even consider re-signing him without greater evidence that Jackson can play at a consistently high level in the NFL.
Friday's numbers were promising for Jackson, but some of his flaws--an egregious miscalculation of the line of scrimmage, difficulty on sideline passes, and downward aim on several of his short passes, continued to plague the fourth-year player. Those would seem to be easy problems to correct, but that's been the thought for four years now and the problems persist.
With Booty putting up some acceptable numbers of his own, the Vikings will be hard-pressed to decide whether to keep a second-round pick for whom they traded up in the draft and who has yet to put it all together after three plus years or a fifth-round pick for whom they traded up in the draft and who has yet to have an opportunity to put it all together but has shown some small glimpses of promise in his short time in Minnesota.
The two certainties for the Vikings' quarterback position this year are that, barring injury, Favre and Rosenfels will make the team. Favre will make the team because he's the starter, he's making loads of guaranteed money and he's the most consistent quarterback on the roster. Rosenfels will make the team because, while he will not carry the team, neither is he likely to implode. That leaves Jackson and Booty.
If the Vikings were to trade Jackson, now would be as good of a time as any since the quarterback joined the team. Though every team in the NFL is aware that the Vikings would not mind moving Jackson, after Friday's performance, there at least is some doubt as to whether the Vikings will cut Jackson. That means that Jackson now actually has some trade value outside of Canada.
The sticking point for the Vikings, however, remains the fact that Jackson is of no value to the team if he is not going to start a significant number of games in 2009. With Rosenfels the most sensible option at backup, that suggests that the Vikings must trade Jackson in 2009 or risk the loss of another useful position player owing to the retention of four quarterbacks. The only alternative is to cut Booty, which is an even worse option as it likely would leave the team with only Rosenfels at quarterback following the 2009 season. And that would put the Vikings right back where they were at the position heading into Childress' first season as coach of the team.
Up Next: Stadium Pabulum. Plus, concerns on defense.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)