Owners approve cap reductions

Updated: March 28, 2012, 11:29 AM ET

Associated Press

PALM BEACH, Fla. -- NFL owners ratified the agreement between the league and players' union that takes away $36 million in salary cap space from the Redskins and $10 million from the Cowboys.

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Other than Dallas and Washington, no club voted Tuesday to oppose the agreement, which raised the salary cap for 2012 from about $113 million to $120.6 million. The Cowboys and Redskins have sought arbitration, which will be conducted by University of Pennsylvania professor Stephen Burbank.

Both teams were penalized for overloading contracts in the 2010 uncapped season despite league warnings not to do so. Each must take at least half the reduction this year.

The owners also approved competition committee recommendations for points of emphasis in the upcoming season, including blows to the head, horse-collar tackles and taunting.

The competition committee reviewed video of blows to the head delivered by both offensive and defensive linemen and sought to re-emphasize that striking, swinging, or clubbing an opponent in the head or neck area is illegal. Game officials will be instructed to closely monitor those acts, which draw a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness and can bring fines.

Horse-collar tackles increased enough that it alarmed the committee. Rich McKay, president of the Atlanta Falcons and chairman of the committee, said examples of horse-collar tackles will be part of a video shown to players at training camp.

The owners will vote Wednesday on whether to make horse-collar tackles of quarterbacks in the pocket a penalty.

Although the committee did not say that taunting of opponents increased, it is urging policing such acts be emphasized.

Other points of emphasis will spotlight pre-snap movement; players not lining up on the line of scrimmage; a runner declaring himself down; and substitutions that try to confuse the opponent.