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Article: A LEAGUE IN TRANSITION // NFL Struggling With Realities Of New System Series: FREE AGENCY: A SPECIAL REPORT
- Article from:
- Chicago Sun-Times
- Article date:
- April 28, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1996 Chicago Sun-Times. (Hide copyright information)
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NFL stands for National Football League, but in these days of
free agency, it just as easily could stand for National Freedom
League.
Since its inception in 1993, free agency has had a tumultuous
effect on the NFL. It has sent players' salaries spiraling through
the roof, made Redskins out of Cowboys and provided the rope for team
executives to hang themselves.
"Free agency," said San Francisco 49ers president Carmen
Policy, "has changed the very way we think and do business."
Among the most significant changes:
Salaries for starting players have increased more than 80 percent in
the past three years. Last year, teams paid out $1.3 billion in
player salaries. The average starter's ...