"Stern already has admitted that the salary cap – which is calculated each year based on the previous season's revenues – is going down slightly in 2009-10 based on this season's revenue. But Stern's worst-case projection of a 10 percent decline next season would cause the 2010-11 cap to be slashed significantly."

"But the fact that less money will be available in '10, coupled with the fact that a new collective bargaining agreement will take effect in '11-'12, makes the decision of whether to sign an extension this summer even more difficult. Those players now have two moving targets to consider: a declining cap under the current system, and an uncertain cap under a new system they know nothing about yet."