Redskins consider suing NFL

The Washington Post reported last weekend that the Washington Redskins were considering suing the NFL in an attempt to have their $18 million cap penalty overturned. As part of the lawsuit, they would file a motion to block the March 12 start of free agency.

The Redskins hinted that they were not done fighting the cap penalty, but this seems drastic. The cap penalty assessed to the team is a blatant act of collusion and completely unfair, but so far the courts have disagreed. I am not sure the legal arguments of the situation, but I don’t know how 30 organizations can have an “unwritten rule” regarding the types of contracts teams can offer players without it being labeled as collusion. Still, the Redskins have lost every legal challenge to the NFL’s ruling thus far.

It may be unfair, but the Redskins need to swallow their pride and accept it. Suing the NFL and disrupting free agency is just a bad idea.

The Redskins do not operate independent of the NFL and the other teams or in a vacuum. The team should want to have good relations with the league, the owners, the players, and their agents. Basically, if you make life tough for everyone else, they’ll make life tough for you.

Remember the late Al Davis? He wasn’t always considered a pariah. He sued the NFL in 1980 so he could move the Raiders to Los Angeles. The Redskins need to avoid having a similar type of relationship with the rest of the league, especially with the team facing numerous potential problems in the coming years.

The Redskins are under attack over their team name. Thus far, the NFL has not voiced a strong opinion either way, but that could easily change if the Redskins choose to go forward with this lawsuit. They may feel sudden pressure to rebrand themselves despite how committed to the name the organization currently is.  The condition of the field at FedEx is a disgrace; do not expect any help from the league in improving those conditions.

Mike Shanahan was able to orchestrate a trade last season with St. Louis in order to draft Robert Griffin III. The Cleveland Browns were reportedly willing to give up just as much, but the Rams instead choose to deal the pick to the Redskins. I do not see the Redskins being able to make these type of deals in the future if they choose to pursue their lawsuit.  Teams will be much less inclined to work out trades, agents will try to steer players away from DC, and whatever vain hope Daniel Snyder may have had about bringing the Super Bowl to FedEx would be completely extinguished.

Perhaps more troubling than the logistical nightmare of suing the NFL is the fact that the Redskins have not taken any measures thus far to free up cap space. They remain approximately $3 million over the salary cap with holes on the roster to fill and numerous free agents left to sign including Fred Davis. The Redskins need to prepare for the next season, but they’ve seemingly put everything on hold. The last thing the Redskins should want is for their pending free agents to hit the open market.  If the team does not make room for the players they need to sign, then they will simply sign somewhere else. The Redskins risk making things worse for themselves if they are not prepared to absorb the cap penalty.

The first reports of this lawsuit began surfacing about a week ago and since then nothing has happened. It could be that the Redskins are hoping the threat of a lawsuit will be enough to force some kind of settlement from the league and they do not intend to actually go to court. If they do, they should first consider the long-term ramifications of such a move. Saving $18 million now could cost them a lot in the future.