The possibility of a lockout

Filed under: , by: Stankoniforous 0ne

 The AFL-CIO has offered to help
 
Stank-0 is loving the season right now (Chiefs are the lone undefeated team left!!! You mad huh?!) but lost in all this euphoria about this season is the very real fact that there may be no football in the near future.

The two major players are Roger Goodell, NFL Commish and DeMaurice Smith, executive director of the NFLPA.  There's a faction of owners that want more protection for the investments, such as new stadiums.  Those are represented by Jerry Jones (Cowboys), Robert Kraft (Patriots), Pat Bowlen(Broncos), and  Jerry Richardson (Panthers).

At the basis is money obviously.  The owners want the the players to take a small percentage.  Stank-0 won't even get into asking the players association to take a smaller piece of a pie that continues to grow at a steady clip.  The Federal Reserve should have the NFL print their money for them. Let's not even talk about the Super Bowl commercials.  Networks are standing in line to get the NFL on their station and willing to pay the preacher.

Stank-0 is in total agreement regarding the rookie wage scale.  It's reached the point where no team wants the first 3 to 5 picks in the draft because the signing bonuses are so astronomical.  If the player's association wants some public relations leverage, they should budge on this point. 

No this time there's a major sticking point: the owners want an 18 game season. Talks have stalled on this point and they should.  Even with this 2010 season, there's a highly probability that the majority of divisions will be clinched way before week 17, like last season.  What's the utility in adding two additional games? Looks like a pure money grab.

There's plenty of stars being knocked out week after week, why add to the toll?  This labor dispute is more than billionaires fighting millionaires, it's players trying to protect their bodies from useless games.  If there is a lockout, Stank-0 won't even be upset at the players.

There are other issues such as revenue sharing, which doesn't get much press. The leagues does share revenue but teams have created alternate streams of income such as luxury suites, which are outside the agreement.  The upper 15 are subsidizing the lower 17 and some owners believe that some in the lower 17 are keeping revenue artificially low to continue to receive the subsidies.

In the end, if they don't calm down then everyone will lose.

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