"After several years of double-digit salary cap
increases, the NFL is seeking a double-digit deduction
toward the cap" for the '98 season, according to Dan
Wasserman of the Newark STAR-LEDGER. The NFL and NFLPA are
set to meet on or about April 9 at an arbitration
proceeding, "which could have as much impact on next year's
NFL salary cap as the coming television contract
negotiations." At the hearing, the NFL will argue that it
is "entitled to an offset against the salary cap which could
run as high" as $4.2M per team toward the '98 cap. The
offset is based on "a complicated formula" agreed to by the
league and NFLPA officials, and Wasserman notes any
reduction of the cap "could wipe out the anticipated
spending spree for free agents that was expected after the
league completes a new network deal" (STAR-LEDGER, 3/18).
MEETINGS: USA TODAY's Jarrett Bell reports that a
"committee of African-American NFL assistant coaches meets
with NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue Monday to air concerns
of head coaching hires." The committee's concerns include:
a perception that there are no viable head coach candidates,
double standards that allegedly include pay differences;
lack of African-American voices in ownership and management
of teams and poor portrayal in the media (USA TODAY, 3/18).
