Lockout Done?  Almost!

Get ready Arrowhead Pride!

Kansas City put on your Sunday Chiefs best, because NFL football is coming back in Kansas City.  The Owners and the Players are as close to being done as we have seen them be yet, on every major issue in order to hammer out a new CBA. 

Free Agency Restrictions… Almost Done!

Rookie Salary Cap?  Almost Done!

Salary Cap max? Almost Done!

Revenue Split? Pffft… was it ever really an issue? Almost Done!

So get ready!

Pre-order your Jonathan Baldwin jerseys, or be a more sophisticated Chiefs fan and have a Jerrell Powe jersey made up just for you.  Heck, be a true loyal American and have a Ricky Stanzi Pro Bowl Chiefs jersey custom made so you feel as red, white and blue as he does in your new statement about your insider fandom.

The NFL is going to be back, it will happen quickly, and be one of the most exciting Free Agency signing periods in history.  I promise if you blink, you will miss it.  If the speculation is correct, then Free Agency will begin on July 25^th and be the most frantic spending period we have ever seen in the NFL.  So that doesn’t give you much time Arrowhead Pride.

You have 9 days. Are you ready?

Who are the Chiefs going to pick up?

We have heard multiple reports about the Chiefs Salary Cap.  Too many to get an accurate read on what is true and what is false.  Some people have gone on record saying the Chiefs will be about $50 million under the Salary Cap floor.  Example:

The new Salary Cap $120 Million.

The Salary floor has been said to be around 93%(not solid info) of that, which would put the Salary Cap Floor at: $108 Million +.  Everyone has heard that the NFL teams are going to have to at least hit this number when finishing up their payroll for the 2011 season in a cash amount.

If they were $50 million under that, then the Chiefs payroll is only at about $58 Million dollars right now.  I believe that to be false information and do not know what the real numbers are.  Do you, does MN (read this), Does Aiken, Does Joel?  I have no correct idea.

A lot more talk after the jump...

What has become clear is that the salaries of Jamaal Charles and Derrick Johnson are going to add to that number.  Plus, Mike Vrabel retiring to go Coach at Ohio State is going to take away from that number as well.  So regardless of the exact particulars, the Chiefs are going to be in a position to spend some money this crazy offseason.  A lot of money, enough money to re-sign Tamba Hali, Brandon Carr, Wallace Gilberry and any other Chief that they want to offer a contract to.

That means we could see contract extensions for Brandon Flowers, Branden Albert, Dwayne Bowe or Glenn Dorsey this season, front loaded to give us extra room for the 2012 season.

I don’t want to get anyone too excited (lie), but the Chiefs have enough money that they will be able to afford any Free Agent on the market, and sign all of their players.  That is the talk anyway.

A lot Chiefs fans on Arrowhead Pride and around the country are very skeptical about the Chiefs signing any big name Free Agents this year, and that feeling is rightfully so.  In the past few seasons, the Chiefs have been at the bottom of the league in Salary and have not broken the bank in Free Agency.

However, I see a team that went out and got the best General Manager available in Scott Pioli and was thrifty during a rebuild.  This rebuild was different from the Carl Peterson rebuilds of the past.  The Chiefs didn’t go out and sign any older overpriced Free Agents, the Chiefs went young and they went cheap.

I have a theory that they did that in order to spend money wisely for a Super Bowl run in future seasons.  2011 is one of the future seasons included in my theoretical group.  I predict that that Scott Pioli will surprise us all during this signing period like he did in the draft, when he selected Jonathan Baldwin in the First Round with the 26^th overall pick.

Think about it.  Didn’t that shock you?

Expect to be shocked come Free Agency.

Is Cowboys LT Doug Free a possibility?  What about Raiders CB Nmandi Asomugha?  Neither are likely, but who knows.  Scott Pioli says he wants a Championship caliber football team in Kansas City, and I think this year we will see that happen.  The question is how?

"My job is not to collect talent, it’s to build a team," Pioli stated upon his arrival in Kansas City. "Individuals make Pro Bowls, teams win championships. That’s our goal here. Win championships, win football games — to build this team with the right kind of people, with the right kind of players, to consistently compete for championships." here

Will the Chiefs go big or stay home?  History with Scott Pioli here and in New England tells us no, but I think Pioli wants everyone to think they have him all figured out.  During the draft, I sure thought I had him figured out with the whole "Right 53" mantra, and then they take Baldwin and Georgia LB Justin Houston.  Neither of whom, 24 hours prior to the draft would have been lumped into that category at all.

So expect the unexpected, but get ready.

Start cleaning up your tailgating gear, and start honing your trash talking for outsider AFC West fans.

Who is going to training camp in St. Joseph, and what is your itinerary going to be once you get there?

What bar are you going to watch the Chiefs at this season, or are you going to get out to Arrowhead for every home game?

There are some football decisions that fans are going to have to start making soon that have been put on the back burner, because we were unsure of the future.  There are questions that need to be answered, such as:

What fantasy players will you be choosing from the Chiefs, and what is the highest spot you would draft them in?

Does Arrowhead Pride need a Fantasy Football League competition?

Who will you brag about having a breakout season in Kansas City, so that you can look like a genius when it happens at your Red Sunday Chiefs parties in your Man Cave?

What beer goes best with a Chiefs Super Bowl victory?

Make your Free Agents wish lists today, and figure out who will make this team even better for 2011.  As it stands now, even without making a single move via Free Agency.  I truly believe the Chiefs have a legitimate chance to win the division and the Super Bowl this season.  With a few smart moves, this team will only get better, but what will those moves be?

Will new OC Bill Muir call any plays this season? Personally, I think that Todd Haley will call the plays and that he will do a phenomenal job, especially on fourth down..........

Can Jamaal Charles rush for 2000 yards?

Will Dwayne Bowe be even better than last season with Jonathan Baldwin freeing him up?

Is it possible that the Chiefs have the best secondary in football, and will Eric Berry get even better?

What effect will Jim Zorn have on Matt Cassel and the Kansas City Chiefs potent passing attack. Which will only get better if they add one of the gifted receivers available in Free Agency soon?  I mean come on: Santana Moss, Sidney Rice, Steve Smith (Giants), Steve Breaston, Mike Sims-Walker, Danny Amendola, Vincent Jackson, Malcom Floyd, Legedu Naanee, Early Doucet, Eric Weems, Brad Smith, Santonio Holmes, Braylon Edwards, Jacoby Jones, James Jones, Lance Moore, Mark Clayton, Terrell Owens, Randy Moss, Plaxico Burres, Chad Johnson… okay so maybe not those last four.  Though, if they were brought in to camp, it would definitely be interesting.

Our Grumpy Head Coach is a receivers guy first, so I am sure that at least a few of those bodies have him excited about what they could do for the Chiefs in terms of X’s and O’s.

Though more importantly Arrowhead Pride.  The Kansas City Chiefs season is right around the corner.  The NFLPA and Owners have been negotiation like crazy (literally like crazy people) agreeing to this and that lately.  Just check the SB Nation news line; there are good news stories galore.  We were all somewhat worried that the NFL season would be delayed, but I am not going to worry anymore.

It is going to happen.  There will be an NFL season in 2011…  Maybe??? (Don’t you just love when they say that?)