Not stingy by ay means but not a Steinbrenner/Snyder type either. However, I do think the Collective Bargaining Agreement will be renegotiated and signed. Then again, I am praying that Comcast and the NFL Network settle their differences as well. Doesn’t matter too much as I’ll be switching to Verizon FiOS at some point this summer.

other rules will take effect to prevent total anarchy like mlb and nyy …

• A 30% increase rule restricts salary increases from 2009 to 2010. For example: a player with a $1,000,000 Salary in 2009 would be limited to annual salary increases of $300,000 per year beginning in 2010.

• In capped seasons (2008 and 2009), a player whose contract has expired becomes an unrestricted free agent if he has four or more accrued seasons. In the uncapped year (2010), a player whose contract has expired becomes an unrestricted free agent only if he has six or more accrued seasons. An unrestricted free agent is free to sign with any club with no compensation owed to his old club.

• In capped years (2008 and 2009), a club may designate a Franchise Player or a Transition Player. In the uncapped year (2010), a club may designate one additional Transition Player. A Transition Player must be offered a minimum of the average of the top 10 salaries of the prior season at the player’s position or 120 percent of the player’s previous year’s salary, whichever is greater. A Transition Player designation gives the club a first-refusal right to match within seven days an offer sheet given to the player by another club after his contract expires. If the club matches, it retains the player. If it does not match, it receives no compensation.

• During the uncapped year, the eight clubs that make the divisional playoffs in the previous season have additional restrictions that limit their ability to sign Unrestricted Free Agents from other clubs. In general, the four clubs participating in the Championship Games are limited in the number of free agents that they may sign; the limit is determined by the number of their own free agents signing with other clubs. For the four clubs that lose in the Divisional playoffs, in addition to having the ability to sign free agents based on the number of their own free agents signing with other clubs, they may also sign players based on specific financial parameters.

there are other more esoteric rules but i think this accurately portrays the key points