There are some who look at the mind boggling mega deals like Goff's and Elliott's and say "the market is the market". I don't entirely disagree.
However, the same goes for NFL ownership and the League in general: "the market is the market" when it comes to the number of games, ticket prices, and all the avenues of revenue.
Salaries and revenue go hand in hand; in fact the Union contract explicitly links the two.
So any thought that year after year of escalating salaries for the biggest stars into the stratosphere is going to mean that the players will accept less salary escalation for fewer games is smoking something. And any thought that after obligating themselves to these mega contracts that the NFL and it's teams are going to play fewer games and decrease their revenues, preseason or otherwise, is also not facing reality.
Whatever the next CBA will look like, it will not include fewer anything. The players don't want a ceiling on their salaries, and the NFL doesn't want a ceiling on their revenues. As long as fans and TV networks are willing to shell out the bucks, the owners and players will make more money. And that doesn't come from offering less of their product.
This is capitalism at work.
