NFL: Crabtree speaks loudly on opening day

Michael Crabtree could scarcely have been more productive Sunday had he been in uniform. For starters, his camp fed a report to ESPN's Adam Schefter, who dutifully relayed it to a breathless world:

Crabtree, the would-be 49ers receiver, will sit out the 2009 season and re-enter the NFL draft next spring.

Then the 49ers, even in their inspiring upset of Arizona, confirmed themselves to be a team in need of a game-breaking pass-catcher. Which is what they thought they were getting in April when they took Crabtree with the 10th pick in the draft.

Crabtree, and his agent Eugene Parker, were thinking he should have been taken higher than 10th and paid accordingly, a stance the 49ers have summarily rejected. Therein lies the conflict.

This is the second time in two months that Crabtree has threatened to sit out the season; Sunday's posturing could be nothing more than his all-in bluff. But if he's serious, if he's gambling that he'll be picked higher than 10th next year, he should understand there are more moving parts to his strategy than meet the eye.

One, the collective bargaining agreement between NFL owners and players is a lame duck. The owners opted out of the current agreement, set to expire in 2011. Meaning: A new deal could be negotiated between now and then, perhaps one that includes a rookie salary cap.

The owners are said to favor a rookie cap, for obvious reasons. It's hard to imagine current players objecting too strenuously, since the less money owners spend on rookies, the more they have to lavish (theoretically) on veterans.

Could it come to pass in the next seven months? Yes, but it doesn't seem likely. For now, NFL owners seem content to let new players association boss DeMaurice Smith work his way through the seven stages of pay-attention-to-me. But Crabtree must at least consider the possibility that he might take this bold stand only to find himself subjected to a formatted contract next spring.

Two, in the absence of a new CBA, the 2010 season would be uncapped for rookies and veterans alike. At first blush, this would seem to be a good thing for Crabtree. But think about it.

The last time we checked, NFL owners were averse to the concept of economic anarchy. It's possible they have some kind of "agreement" that would prove as effective as a cap. Even if they don't, the sluggish economy figures to be as big a talking point then as it is now. So maybe this scenario favors Crabtree, and maybe it doesn't.