Modern free agency in '77 possible? Who would dominate?

[DTF955]

I know John Riggins left as a free agent from the Jets to the Redskins, but can't find out how; perhaps someone here can elaborate?

More to the point, could this have led to free agency like the early '90s, with a subsequent salary cap, etc.? If so, who would have been the dominant teams? Would a lot of players have switched?

I'd guess not as many at first, just like when keith Jackson first went to Miami in '90, i fmemory serves. Pittsburgh was so good that players might initially want to go to them; but Dallas, WAshington, and San Francisco all had rich owners. (I think Tex Schramm was pretty wealthy, but I dont' know for sure.) Al Davis would jump into the fray.

So, maybe not much change in the dynasties, anyway.Maybe Washington in '79 has that 1-2 extra player they needed in a very tight race where they lost out on the playoffs on a timebreaker that was pretty far down the list, and they go to the Super Bowl to face the Settlers, but otherwise, probably not a lot.

the 1980s would be the interesting time; a salary cap perhaps put in place by owners, with a strike akin to '82?

[cheo25]

According to this Bleacher Report article, here's what happened:

"And, in 1976, there was a loophole in the rules that made it legal for free agents to sign with other teams with no compensation. There was a gentleman’s agreement among the owners and general manager—something that would be called collusion today—to stay away from each other’s free agents.

George Allen would have none of this gentleman’s agreement stuff. He went out and signed Dallas tight end Jean Fugett, running back Calvin Hill, and a running back from the Jets named John Riggins.

Although it took six years for the Redskins to figure out that Riggins was best utilized as a battering ram and not a blocking back or outside runner, he eventually was the difference in a Super Bowl winning team."

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/13833-washington-redskins-new-free-agency-stance-goes-against-teams-nature

Not sure how free agency would have changed the course of history in the late 1970s. While Pittsburgh dominated, it's possible they would have lost depth and maybe they wouldn't have dominated. I sorta think the Raiders might have been big players in free agency because of Al Davis's win-at-all-costs mentality in those days.

[Galloping Ghost]

If modern free agency had existed in the 1970s there is no way the Steelers keep their entire core of players together from their dynasty years.

[CCN]

I wonder if the World League had succeeded, would the NFL had implemented something sooner. The Dolphins famously lost some players in the midst of their run, and if the league had been hit harder, would they have made concessions to make sure the players at least would have stayed in the league? I really was too young to remember that, but I do remember the NFL did not take the USFL too seriously.

[Denbrnc]

Yes, maybe the NFL would have had to. Getting back to the Steelers, though, I heard something about how Jack Ham and L.C. Greenwood were going to bolt for the World League after they won their first SB, but Joe Greene called them up and told them how much of a mistake they were making, and they changed their minds. But, if FA would have existed in the late 70's, maybe my Broncos could have signed a few good O-linemen and a good RB to put them over the hump.