They say when you go back in time, you’re not supposed to mess with anything, because crushing a butterfly can cause a chain reaction that could wipe out the British Isles (I love, by the way, how everyone’s agreed on the rules of things that don’t exist. It’s like someone getting angry that a unicorn’s sh*t isn’t rainbowy enough). This rule applies to sports as well: the signing of Wayne Gretzky in Los Angeles expanded the league to too many teams in an apathetic southwest that drove the sport from prime time to deep cable. The Tuck Rule started a dynasty, derailed the Greatest Show on Turf, and doomed the Raiders to league doormat (they played in the Super Bowl the next year, but were unable to attend; korean schoolgirls donned the black and gold against the Bucs. True story). Time will tell if what happened yesterday will actually be as impactful, but at least one team, probably two, will be affected for years to come.

The Ravens extended outside linebacker Terrell Suggs to a gigantic six year, $63 million contract. The obvious ramification is that the star OLB/DE/mutant will be staying in Baltimore until well after the world ends according to the Mayan Calendar. But the other big one is that the Carolina Panthers are likely in a lot of trouble.

The other big name franchise player (other than Cincinnati kicker Shayne Graham…why are the Bengals a joke? Exihibits A through FF) to go unsigned was Julius Peppers. Yes, he’s had a few on and off seasons and has been hurt. But he’s still one of the best defensive linemen in the league, and the engine that runs a perpetually tough Carolina defense. In fact, the last time Carolina was good without Peppers. Kerry Collins was playing Edward Fortyhands in training camp. With Suggs inking a deal likely much richer than any Peppers can expect to see from Carolina, they’ll probably enter a second sans-Peppers era. With the Saints and Falcons on the way up and the Bucs doing their rebuilding this year, Carolina will likely slip to the basement of a loaded division.

And now for the slippery slope:

-Peppers plays reluctantly for Carolina in 2009, registers 20 sacks in a contract year and gets the Panthers to the playoffs for the last time in many years. They get bounced by division rival New Orleans as Jake Delhomme throws 15 picks and Steve Smith punches him in the throat.

-The prize of the 2010 offseason, Peppers gets a colossal $90 million contract to sign with the Washington Redskins, who are looking for ways to replace the oft injured and equally oft suspended Albert Haynesworth on the defensive line. Plus, they can’t replace through the draft, since they sent all of their picks to the Giants for the corpse of Jeff Hostetler. They squeeze in under the cap hoping the CBA expires.

-The CBA doesn’t expire and a new CBA is in place. The Redskins have to clear $50 million in cap space and go into the season with backup quarterbacks at left and right tackle. Peppers chokes on a mussel at Granville Moore’s in Northeast and, through a near-death experience, finds spirituality in Buddhism and flees DC for Tibet. The Redskins finish 1-15.(they still beat the Lions). The local mid-Atlantic tribes win a lawsuit, forcing the team to change their name to the Warlocks.

-Dan Snyder, dejected by driving his beloved childhood team into the ground, buys the Chicago Cubs instead. His psychotic name-collecting fits perfectly into Major League Baseball. The Northsiders’ payroll doubles the Yankees’ and sports future hall of famers at every position. The Cubs win twenty straight World Series.

So, as you can see, one tiny contract can impact quite a few people. Now as long as Suggs can make sure his parents meet at the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance, the Cubs will finally reach the promised land. This is science.