Buzz: Will Owners Opt Out of Labor Agreement?
Roger Goodell just can’t seem to catch a break. With Spygate now in his rear-view, he’s going to have to deal with a bunch of cantankerous owners.
With the spring owner’s meetings starting up today, word is being passed around that the owners very well might decide this week to opt out of the current labor deal. Owners think it’s unfairly sharing revenue with the players, and the coalition that pulled the deal through in 2006 has fractured, leaving owners unlikely to keep the current deal in place if it’s put to a vote at this meeting. If the owners do nullify the agreement, then it would end after the 2011 season with 2010 being an uncapped year with some free agency restrictions.
The owners remind me of Mikey in the scene in Swingers where Trent and Sue talk to him about (NSFW language) being a bear batting around a bunny, unable to determine how to kill it. This is easily the most popular sport today in America, and somehow owners can’t make enough money at it to make themselves happy … with those big claws and fangs, some owners still don’t know how to kill the bunny. They don’t see that they are overly greedy or they just have no idea how to run a business … either way, they’re clueless.
Meanwhile, I’ll tell you what’s unfair; raising ticket prices at precipitous rates higher than inflation and then (although no announcements have been made yet) slapping loyal fans with PSLs for a shiny new stadium that stands next to one that was prematurely demolished … all so the teams can complain they aren’t making enough money, THAT is what’s unfair.
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The owners are out of their minds here. The salary cap in football is what has helped make it great. Opting out would create an uncapped season in 2010 and eliminate the salary cap. Players have already said that if the cap goes away it will never come back.
Disaster. I cannot believe that this is even being discussed.
The only justification for a labor stoppage would be to restructure the way rookie contracts are done. That’s it. (And it’s a goal the player’s union should be sympathetic to, since reduced rookie contracts in a salary cap world means more money for the veterans.)
well you know the saying…what goes up must come down…i just hope this doesn’t end up in a strike…then we have to watch scabs play again…that would really suck…
I don’t know if it would help generate more revenue, but Direct TV’s monopoly on the NFL Sunday package must end.
So must EA’s exclusive license to make games for the NFL. But it’s not going to happen.
seanmac, i don’t disagree with you but the owners aren’t happy with giving up 60% of revenue to players, they want that number to go back down.
seanmac
i agree…all fans will agree with you and so will the owners…but the (pricck) gene upshaw doesn’t want to hear it…he has to get down off his high horse and compromise with the owners on rookie contracts but like i said…the guy is a pricck…true the owners are greedy but at the same time its a 60-40 in favor of the players…if the owners can get a rookie cap in place the GMs can better utilize the teams cap money for players ( proven vets.) that truely deserve the big contracts…just my thoughts…
I’ve heard one of the concessions on a rookie salaries is to limit the number of years on the deal — I thought I read it would be like 2-year deals to balance out the lower signing bonuses. I’ll have to see if I can find where I read that …
Here’s the story I got the two-year idea from — for anyone who is interested.
We will never see scabs again. If we did, I’d be just about the most knowledgeable source around assuming they were all recent late round and undrafted draft candidates that never made it to the league.
ozzie newsom has the right idea…2-3 year rookie contracts sound great…that should be a quick fix…