In 1936 the NFL adopted the Draft Rule, a system that assigned graduating
college players to various league teams in such a way that a fair distribution
of talent was assured. The threat of a lawsuit caused the NFL to change its
original policy in 1989 and allow collegiate underclassmen to enter the draft.
Juniors are now eligible, and many collegiate stars turn professional before
exhausting their college eligibility. Free agency emerged in 1992 in a
settlement of a lawsuit filed in 1987 by the NFL Players Association. The
association formed in 1956 when players began to demand improved conditions. The
union brought the suit in 1987 on behalf of players demanding freedom of
movement between teams. The NFL's Management Council initially objected to any
form of free agency, so in 1987 veteran players held a three-game strike to
protest. Now in place, free agency is accompanied by a salary cap that limits
teams to an annual player payroll of $34.2 million per team. The NFL's free
agency system presents a number of new questions for the league. For many owners
it is an attractive means of curtailing the league's free-spending owners. For
the coaches and some players, on the other hand, it presents significant
problems. As teams near the salary cap, they are compelled to cut expensive and
aging veterans who may still be useful. A player whose contract has expired can
move to another team at will. Squads that have been carefully built through
years of planning can lose their entire identity in the space of a few weeks
when prominent players switch teams.
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