February 4, 2004 - For General Manager Michael Marra and Head Coach Ed McGregor, the task of building for the 2004 Season begins with the conclusion of the 2003 season and a disappointing 6-10 record after a year that saw the office turn upside down with a new management and coaching staff put into place.
Currently the Jets have 43 players under contract and are about $1.8 million under that. However, the Jets need that money to sign their future draftees, so if the Jets want to upgrade any position through free agency they will need to cut and re-work some salaries. The Jets franchise value has been rated the following compared to the rest of the league:
Code:
Team Stadium Roster Support Economy Franchise Value
Philadelphia 81 77 92 51 $580,640,000
Washington 88 45 92 53 $556,320,000
Pittsburgh 81 64 96 43 $554,800,000
Dallas 88 32 90 61 $545,680,000
Denver 84 42 96 51 $542,640,000
New England 62 58 99 48 $500,080,000
San Francisco 57 74 95 39 $489,440,000
Minnesota 57 60 90 51 $478,800,000
Cleveland 70 43 92 36 $472,720,000
Tampa Bay 57 56 99 36 $463,600,000
Carolina 57 55 83 51 $460,560,000
New York G 28 65 96 68 $433,200,000
Baltimore 73 1 88 47 $428,640,000
Kansas City 37 69 95 43 $427,120,000
Seattle 30 88 78 48 $416,480,000
**New York J 27 84 80 55 $414,960,000
Miami 19 100 99 35 $413,440,000
Detroit 67 1 82 52 $408,880,000
Tennessee 39 48 99 40 $402,800,000
Green Bay 27 71 96 39 $395,200,000
Buffalo 39 61 78 42 $393,680,000
Chicago 30 57 82 59 $392,160,000
San Diego 51 44 71 36 $384,560,000
Indianapolis 28 51 88 40 $368,600,000
Atlanta 28 52 73 53 $367,840,000
Houston 26 56 78 45 $365,560,000
Oakland 30 21 80 50 $350,360,000
Cincinnati 39 10 75 38 $342,760,000
St. Louis 15 37 88 43 $340,480,000
Arizona 44 12 42 43 $330,600,000
Jacksonville 24 18 79 40 $330,600,000
New Orleans 7 38 79 26 $309,320,000
The franchise value is on the rise and it is expected that the Franchise will look to make a stadium proposal for the upper west side that will include a retractable roof with a grass playing field and a capacity of about 70,000 with 200 luxury boxes or so. It is estimated that the cost will be around $600 million. The Jets are expected to contribute approximately 25% with the rest of the funds coming from the tax payers.