Who Fed It & Who Ate it: Training Camps In Session

The season approaches, as training camps have opened with the Hall of Fame Game between the Denver Broncos and the Atlanta Falcons in sight. What we'll cover today will be kind of scattered around the NFL landscape. Bear with your humble scribe as the extrapolation before you looks to have ramifications that far reach past the impact of the present.

The NFL signaled some good news about Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations, but a current tiff between CBS affiliates and DirecTV has the NFL caught square in the middle For what it's worth, the new CBA will be a contentious fight between the NFL owners and the NFLPA, the players' union. As each side are looking for particular concessions that the other may find intolerable, the league and the NFL Players Association were quick to put a positive spin on the recent talks each side engaged in just recently. This is no surprise; it has been projected for the past two years that either a players strike or an owner's lockout is highly likely, as players look for more money and better conditions while the owners are fiercely reticent to fork over more revenue dollars without an offsetting concession, namely lengthening the regular season to 18 games while contracting the preseason to 2 games. That will be a theme that will linger over the league for the foreseeable future. But one issue that directly affects today is a standoff between CBS and its affiliates versus AT&T, the parent company of DirecTV. AT&T has balked at CBS for its unwillingness to allow DirecTV the ability to offer CBS All Access, the network's streaming service, while CBS has viewed AT&T's carriage fees contract a lowball offer. This impasse has the NFL caught up this mess, since DirecTV has been the long time home of the league's out of market package Sunday Ticket, and CBS is a broadcast partner of the NFL, primarily showing National Football Conference games on Sunday afternoons. This could serve to be problematic for AT&T/DirecTV, as Sunday Ticket is a very popular package for the satellite service, and in some cases the sole reason people sign up for the service. One has to presume that both parties have much to lose if this protracted battle extends into September, when the regular season begins. If CBS and AT&T have their individual interests at heart, then they should realize their mutual partnership is in the best interest of business. We'll see if this intrasiegence continues further.

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill has been cleared by the league in their investigation of child abuse allegations Hill, the supremely gifted but increasingly troubled wide receiver that is the resident speed merchant of the high octane Chiefs offense, will not be subject to league sanctions after the NFL concluded their investigation into allegations of domestic violence, specifically child abuse, that arose this spring after authorities in Kansas City and the state of Missouri opened criminal investigations of their own. All agencies and entities looking into this all concluded the same thing: that there was no conclusive evidence that Hill broke the arm of his 3 year old son. A recording that was released a few months ago put Hill in a damning light, making threats to his wife. However, that was only a snippet of the full recording. The full recording not only changed the context of conversation of both Hill and his spouse Crystal Espinal, but may have put in doubt his perceived guilt in a 2014 domestic violence incident in which he plead guilty to avoid jail time and remain eligible to play in college, and thus keep his hope of turning pro alive. People who have made their mind up about Hill have vented their anger at the league office for their inaction, accusing the NFL of hypocrisy and cynically claim that Hill avoided league punishment because of his status as a star player and related ability to draw television ratings with KC. In that regard, the NFL has no one to blame but themselves for that public perception, as all Personal Conduct Policy violations and their subsequent sanctions handed down by commissioner Roger Goodell are all administered by Goodell on a case by case basis. This has led to fines and suspensions that vary in size and severity. While mitigating circumstances should be considered in each instance, there is no hard and fast baseline punishment that anyone, be it player, team owner, journalist, or fan can point out and have a reasonable expectation of what could come. Add to this the specious nature of previous accused rulebreakers in Dallas RB Ezekiel Elliott and New England QB Tom Brady were given four game suspensions, and subsequent legal appeals that were ultimately fruitless, the public reputation of the NFL and their hang 'em high commissioner is deserved. And regrettably, given how long Goodell has served as the NFL's chief executive, that will be a knock that he'll never shake. All that can be asked for out of this ordeal would be that Hill attempt to put himself in a better position to avoid such scrutiny and that the league continues to improve their investigative procedures, regardless of how those on the outside view them.

Three young skill players, marquee names for their respective franchises, are holding out for better pay and commitment by their teams Nothing irritates fans more than the contract holdout. However, NFL careers are relatively short and have the potential of ending in an instant, so players, especially those who have been highly productive, feel the need to leverage a situation to get both higher pay and security of their professional careers. And that is why Dallas Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott, Los Angeles Chargers RB Melvin Gordon, and New Orleans Saints WR Michael Thomas have all opted to not report to training camp, all three holding out for new, more lucrative contracts. As far as the amount each man is looking for, they may find difficulty based on current salary trends. For instance, Thomas can easily expect at least $16 million a year as an average per season, as every wide receiver in the top 10 of that position does so (H/t overthecap.com for all salary information). However, for Gordon and Elliott, receiving higher compensation will be tricky. There are only 3 running backs earning more than $10 million per year on average; the Rams Todd Gurley ($14.375 M/yr), the Jets Le'Veon Bell ($13.125 M/yr), & the Cardinals David Johnson ($13 M/yr). To put this into perspective, second year runner Saquon Barkley is sixth in average salary at an eyelash under $8 per year. Running back is a position that has drastically changed over the years in the NFL. With teams passing more and carrying more running backs for situational substitution, the bellcow rusher (or stud buffalo, as former head coach Mike Shanahan would refer) is the exception in today's league instead of the norm. Complicating matters for Elliott in particular is not only his expressed desire to leapfrog Gurley's earnings, but looming extensions to fellow offensive mates in WR Amari Cooper and QB Dak Prescott. Even at current market rates, Cooper and Prescott will seize a combined estimate of $40 million per season. That's two players ostensibly chewing up nearly 20 percent of the salary cap in the coming years. Will Cowboys owner & GM Jerry Jones make such a top heavy salary structure for his team or will he be forced to draw the line regarding what Elliott wants? Can Gordon leverage the Chargers into a new deal with owner Dean Spanos struggling to collect cash to pay out bonuses, which is a significant chunk of a player's guaranteed money? The Saints and Thomas are reported to be close to a deal, but can GM Mickey Loomis set it up where the Saints can be ready when Drew Brees is ready to walk away? A lot of questions, but only time will tell.