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Category: Football, Sport Author : Joshua Lobdell Posted: February 5, 2010
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Who is to blame for the NFL labor strife?


The NFL team owners, players, and most of all the fans face a big problem, and that is a looming lockout that threatens the 2011 NFL season. These two sides continue a war of words that seems to escalate each and every day, and the fans that make all of this possible are not represented in any part of this process. All three sides need to come to this conclusion without the fans, there is nothing. Without the players there is no league, and without the league there is no chance for these players to make the kind of living that they already do. With that said let us see who is to blame for this mess:

It is the player’s fault- The players union has really over simplified every argument that have brought up. They say the league has already asked the players to cut their pay by 18%; the real truth is that 18% is just the available pool of revenue used to pay the players. Salaries in the NFL are hardly down. They also claim that the NFL is a not for profit business. Anyone who has been to a NFL game lately knows that this assertion is rubbish at best.

It is the Owner’s fault- Yup, instead of treating the players union like a partner (and that is essentially what it is) they say feel sorry for us, we are losing money, but we will not open up our books for you to verify that. Sure many teams like the Detroit Lions or Jacksonville Jaguars are losing money due to poor attendance, or stadium construction debt. It seems hard to believe that they are losing big money, but some of the teams clearly are.

In the end a compromise must be reached. Currently the players get 60% of all football related revenue. It seems that the NFL should give the players a bigger percentage of the revenue streams they affect directly. I am talking of course of TV money, and tickets sales. In return the players give the owners a rookie salary cap (that would limit their exposure to untested players), and take their hands out of some of the revenue streams like concession and merchandise sales. It really seems like there is a fair way to settle this, before we fans lose the thing we love, Football.

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Comments


2 Archived Responses to “ Who is to blame for the NFL labor strife? ”

  1. Anonymous
    Feb 5, 2010

    Do you know who am I?
    Here is a hot news
    The Colts continue to surprise everyone and keep playing their stars. Players such as Peyton Manning, Dwight Freeney, and Reggie Wayne continue to suit up for the Colts. The Colts have accomplished everything set out so far but it still remains a question if going perfect is one of those items.More interesting NFL Shop
    This week will be interesting to see what happens with the Jets. The Jets are fighting for their playoff lives and also have the best defense in football. Is that something that Peyton Manning needs to see right now? It’s a hard question to answer but all I know is that this is still the #1 team in football.

  2. harrystyris
    Feb 6, 2010

    While I like to think I would have played my players till the 16th game (just to go for the perfect season) I also don’t think the NFL should create a rule to try to avoid resting. Sure maybe it makes for less exciting games, and it has ramifications on other teams, but honestly the Colts were good enough to put themselves in a position to decide. I may disagree with their decision, but not the fact they they were able to play their way into a situation where they got to decide in the first place.

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