Print edition: 
A memorable season capped by a super title game with a record TV audience has NFL executives and fans beaming.
The smiles might soon disappear.
Pro football is headed into the great unknown. Barring a quick — and totally unexpected — agreement with the players' union on a new contract, 2010 will have no salary cap. After that, perhaps a work stoppage, something NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith puts at "14" on a scale of 1 to 10.
Commissioner Roger Goodell doesn't agree, believing negotiations will lead to a new deal before March 2011, when the collective bargaining agreement expires. But an accord before the New Orleans Saints begin defense of their Super Bowl championship in September is unlikely.
The 32 team owners clearly are prepared for a go at the first uncapped season since 1993. Enough restrictions are in place, including extending the minimum years of service for unrestricted free agency from four years to six, that baseball-like bidding wars are improbable.
With the owners claiming they are losing millions and the players arguing that teams are making money by the fistful, a common ground will be difficult to find.
"The labor agreement is a very important agreement," Goodell said during his annual Super Bowl week news conference. "It's something that is important to our players. It's certainly important to our clubs, and it's important to our fans.
"We have to sit at the table and we have to get an agreement that works for everybody. And that's what people expect. They want solutions, and that's what we should deliver."
Browns release Stallworth — Donte' Stallworth will get the chance to resurrect his NFL career, but it won't happen in Cleveland.
The Browns released the troubled wide receiver on Monday, wasting little time after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Friday that Stallworth would be reinstated following the Super Bowl.
Stallworth was suspended for the 2009 season by Goodell after he pleaded guilty to killing a pedestrian while driving drunk in Florida. He spent 24 days in jail.
"I think he's in a better place than he was," Goodell said on Friday, adding that he met with Stallworth about a month ago. "I think he recognizes what he did and the horrific nature and the unfortunate outcome, and I think he's prepared himself to get back in and play."
Stallworth, 29, spent one season with the Browns, catching 17 passes for 170 yards and one touchdown in 2008 while battling injuries. A college star at Tennessee, he has also played with New England, Philadelphia and New Orleans since the Saints drafted him in the first round in 2002.
Browns coach Eric Mangini dodged questions about Stallworth's future with the team throughout the season. Since then, Mike Holmgren took over as president of the Browns. The team released a one sentence statement on Monday stating Stallworth's contract had been terminated.
Stallworth struck 59-year-old crane operator Mario Reyes the morning of March 14 in Miami. He pleaded guilty June 16 to DUI manslaughter, a second-degree felony, and was suspended by Goodell two days later.
Stallworth signed a seven-year, $35 million contract with Cleveland in 2008 and received a $4.5 million bonus the night before the crash.
Colts are favorites to win 2011 Super Bowl —Peyton Manning and the Colts are favored to win next year's Super Bowl, according to odds released Monday by BetUS.com.
Indianapolis is a 7-1 favorite to take home the NFL championship, followed by the Chargers (8-1), Saints (9-1) and the Patriots (10-1).
