Tag archive for "NFLPA"
There is a renewed sense of optimism among most analysts watching the NFL labor dispute. Many feel we are close to a deal. The two sides are meeting in the Washington, D.C., area today – Maryland’s eastern shore, to be exact – and ESPN’s Chris Mortensen says sources say both sides are in “deal-making mode.” This marks the third straight week of talks.
Let’s hope.
Read more here.
We’re officially down the rabbit hole.
Ninety days into the lockout and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is now trying to convince fans that the lockout is in their best interests.
Thanks, but no thanks.
On Wednesday, Goodell talked with Tampa Bay Buccaneers season ticket holders on a conference call and explained why NFL owners are locking the players out.
“We can’t continue to shift the cost, whether it’s the rising player cost or the rising cost of operating an NFL franchise, on to our fans,” he said. “That’s why we’re trying to get a better economic model.”
Goodell added: “And I think everyone understands that. You are not being left out of the equation. The fans are a big part of that equation and a big part of the success of NFL football.”
Needless to say, Goodell’s comments have been mocked from fans and the media. A sampling:
@MikeSilver: “@ProFootballTalk: Roger Goodell tells fans lockout is for them, too http://bit.ly/itxY2z” the nobility of the owners’ cause overwhelms me
@StephStradley: REALLY?! OK, write in new CBA cost savings go to fans RT @ProFootballTalk Goodell tells fans lockout is for them too http://wp.me/p14QSB-z4l
@EaglesCouch I’m glad someone is fighting for the fans! RT @ProFootballTalk Goodell tells fans lockout is for them too http://wp.me/p14QSB-z4l
@Grantland_Rice Think of the thousands we will save not attending games! Mr. Goodell’s generous concern for fans outshines Saint Nicholas himself.
Of course, everyone realizes that owners aren’t really concerned about shifting costs – they’re concerned about protecting profits. They will pass on the costs to the consumer (and taxpayers) just as much as is necessary to ensure they continue to make the profits they feel they deserve.
You want a better economic model, Mr. Goodell? Start with public ownership. No, I’m not saying the owners have to give up their teams. I’m saying that if there are rising costs (primarily driven by the owners insistence on lavish new stadiums with luxury boxes they can sell), then allow fans to help pay these costs by giving them small ownership stakes. What fan wouldn’t jump at the chance to buy a share of his or her favorite team? Problem solved.
You want the players to take $1 billion less? Give them ownership stakes. Players would jump at this. But the owners you represent don’t want to do that. “My clients don’t want to be partners with your guys,” your lawyers told the NFLPA.
Okay, maybe those things are too radical. How about simply opening up the books? Worried about the economic future of the game? Make a solid case using numbers that everyone can see.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, fans are being “left out of the equation.” Why are fans and the public not allowed to have representation in these negotiations if they are such a concern? Certainly, one could make the case that fans and taxpayers are entitled to have representation given the massive public investment we’ve made in the game (at least $6.5 billion on stadiums alone).
Mr. Goodell, I don’t envy you having to defend the fact that owners are willing to cancel games because they want to protect their profits (because they don’t want to address their own broken revenue sharing model). But please spare us the platitudes. No one wants to hear them.
Not the workers in and around the stadiums – many of whom who will really suffer without games being played. Not the small businesses who may go out of business without Sunday football.
Not the taxpayers who have paid billions to build this game up so the owners and players could profit.
And certainly not the fans, who are being forced to see football owners and players fight over how to divide up the massive profits we give them.
How about you work on convincing NFL owners that they’re looking a gift horse in the mouth?
Brian Frederick is the Executive Director of Sports Fans Coalition. He holds a Ph.D. in Communication and lives in Washington, D.C. Email him at brian@sportsfans.org and follow him on Twitter here.
NFLPA And Owners Reach Agreement That Would Only Hurt Fans
by Scott Weiss
Based on the NBAPA’s reaction to the owner’s latest proposal, it sure looks like the NBA is headed toward a lockout. “NBA players are not happy with the latest formal collective bargaining proposal from the league’s owners, saying the new offer of a 10-year deal is only marginally different from the original one the owners made.” It appears that the powers that be in the NBA are not learning a lesson from their counterparts in the NFL, and are determined to replicate the destruction to their league.
It is amazing that another professional sports league cares so little about their loyal fans that they would shut down their league. Let’s hope that sports fans will finally wake up and deliver consequences to the owners and players for their greedy decisions.
For the complete story click here.
by Scott Weiss
With Judge Susan Nelson ruling to lift the lockout and deny a stay of her order as requested by the owners, the NFL will open for business on Friday. “All aspects of club-player relations will resume at 8 a.m. Friday – except for player transactions. The league is waiting until Friday before telling the clubs how to proceed on signings and trades.” Unfortunately, the resumption of business could be temporary if the owners are successful in their appeal to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Talk about taking NFL fans on a rollercoaster ride. For a group of billionaires (the owners) to sabotage the vehicle that is increasing their billions just does not make any sense. One is left to wonder how these guys amassed billions in the first place.
Read the complete story here.
by John Morse
NFL Lockout Affecting Player Spending
Scoring a lucrative contract is one of the most exciting aspects of entering the NFL for a collegiate prospect, but this year has really opened the eyes of first and second year players. With no training camps or off-season workout sessions, there’s no money flowing into NFL player’s bank accounts. True Capital Management in New York City is a financial advisor agency that has over 100 NFL clients and this year it is especially active. San Diego Chargers running back Ryan Matthews and Oakland Raiders defensive end Matt Shaughnessy are two clients coming off their 1st and 2nd seasons, respectively.
Senior Vice President of True Capital Management Mark Doman sets the record straight for those who believe all NFL players are financially set.
“Three out of every four players go broke,” he says. “Actually, it’s worse than that. The real number is closer to 78 percent,” said Doman.
As the uncertainty of the lockout continues, Doman has stressed to his clients that their spending must be conservative until football resumes. Doman maintained that his clients have been extremely appreciative and understanding of the spending changes.
Not all NFL players are as financially stable as others and besides the rookie contracts that could be reduced as part of labor negotiations; NFL contracts do not consist of much guaranteed money.
Read more on this overlooked aspect of the NFL labor negotiations here.
Twins Stadium the Target of Bad Weather
The Minnesota Twins played for years at the Metrodome and as the name insinuates, the stadium’s ‘dome’ relieved the possibility of rainouts from threatening play. Already in the 2011 season the Twins have experienced two rainouts at their year old Target Field. What’s ironic is that playing in the metrodome these days wouldn’t do much good in preventing precipitation from falling on the playing surface. The Vikings Metrodome roof collapsed days before a matchup last season with the Giants and has now become the focal point of conversation in the off-season along with the NFL lockout.
As a result of the rainouts at Target Field, the Twins have offered fans a twin-bill doubleheader on the make-up day to account for the missed action from the cancellation.
Read about the Minnesota stadium situation and weather here.
Potential Lockout Extends Past NBA
As NBA lockout talks continue to swirl, we’ve seen the effects already as the Lakers failed to offer contracts to team officials for next season. We’ve seen the league pass out handbooks to prepare its players and we’ve seen the NFL lockout lifted, at least temporarily.
Despite all of that, one aspect of an NBA lockout that has not been discussed is the international game. Beginning with qualifying tournaments this summer, national teams would be affected from a lockout.
If there is no new collective bargaining agreement reached by the July 1st deadline, national teams fear that they won’t be able to afford insurance for the NBA stars on their roster. An NBA player who participates in international competition is guaranteed pay upon injury, a reason why insurance is a key component. With no guarantee of the upcoming NBA season, there are no guaranteed contracts for players; and with no guaranteed contracts there is no insurance for national team play.
Translation: NBA players are running the risk of receiving no pay if injured in national play.
Read about the possible miscue with the NBA here.
Sports Fan Pic of the Day:
Sports Blog of the Day: NHL Hot Stove
The twists and turns are over for the 1st round of the NHL playoffs. For the Bruins and Lightning, it’s on to the next one.
This Day in Sports History: On April 28th, 1960 the Lakers left Minneapolis for Los Angeles.
John Morse is serving as an SFC Sportswriter Fellow based in New Hampshire. He is finshing up a degree in Print Journalism at Hofstra University. John is a very passionate sports fan and the Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics and Bruins are his favorite teams.
by Brad Sullivan
When it was announced that the NFL lockout had been lifted, needless to say, I did not buy it. Sure the doors are open but players aren’t reporting and the ones that did were still locked out.
There was a classic clip on ESPN of Pittsburg Steelers veteran backup Quarterback Charlie Batch trying to get into the Steelers facility, and finding that the doors were locked. Then Batch got on his cell phone like he was the first kid at 7th grade basketball practice to call the coach to see where he is to open up the gym.
It took the owners about 5 seconds to file an appeal to U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson’s decision to end the NFL lockout.
It’s ridiculous that the owners say that they want football to be played next year, and then they file an appeal to a ruling that ended the lockout.
We all know that the entire lockout is confusing for the average fan; wouldn’t it be nice if the Commissioner of the league could clear things up for all the fans?
Well NFL Commissioner Rodger Goodell attempted to do that with a letter to the Wall Street Journal. Unfortunately all the letter did was make what transpired over the past couple of days even more confusing.
Read the letter here.
Gregg Doyel of CBS Sports wrote this in regards to Goodell’s letter: “Confused? Blame Goodell, who just had nearly 1,100 words published in a major daily newspaper yet didn’t clear anything up. All he did was muddy the waters. Instead of lifting the level of discourse in this conversation, Goodell sent it toppling from the gutter, where it already was, to whatever level lies beneath the gutter. Hades, I suppose. That’s where Goodell sent these negotiations with his letter to the Wall Street Journal. He sent them to hell.”
One thing that is not confusing is savenextseason.com. Fans still need to make their voice heard to help prevent the appeal from locking out our season again and for good.
Read more of Doyel’s article here.
Michael Bradley Sullivan serves as an SFC Sportswriter Fellow. He is a senior broadcast journalism major at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. He was born and Raised in Corpus Christi, Texas. He is a fan of the Texas Tech Red Raiders, the Dallas Cowboys, and the San Antonio Spurs. Follow him on twitter here.
by Scott Weiss
The NFL Draft, which starts this Thursday, is the marquee event for the NFL offseason. It is the NFL’s attempt at portraying a business as usual facade to its loyal fans. Here’s a news flash to owner’s rep Goodell and his billionaire buddies: we fans are not that stupid.
There is nothing that is business as usual going on in the NFL. Judge Nelson’s ruling to lift the lockout is being appealed by the NFL owners, who want to slam the door shut in the players and fans faces once again.
Despite this despicable attempt, Roger Goodell expects to receive thunderous applause when he opens the evening on Thursday by announcing the start of the 2011 NFL Draft. Is this guy delusional? Mr. Goodell should be met by a chorus of boos from the draftniks in attendance. But, it shouldn’t stop there.
Roger Goodell should not be granted one second of uninterrupted speech. I am suggesting the following chants every time Mr. Goodell opens his mouth: “Save next season,” “We want football,” “Let them play,” and “Fire Roger.” I’m sure there are other appropriate for TV chants that would also do.
If the draftniks just go along with the program and play the NFL’s game, it would send a terrible message of acceptance and compliance with the owner’s abuses toward the fans. Drowning out Roger would represent the fans’ voice of displeasure of the lockout and ongoing strong arm tactics of Goodell and the owners.
It would be amazing to turn on the draft Thursday night, and see the fans rule the night; to have the fans rain on the NFL’s marquee event. It would be great to see the news stories on Friday with headlines blaring about the draftnik’s game changing evening.
Scott Weiss is the Local Chapter Chair for SFC-New York/New Jersey and an SFC Sportwriter Fellow. He has been involved in the sports fans advocacy movement since 2000. He is a life long fan of the Mets, Jets, Knicks, and Rangers.
by John Morse
NFL Lockout Ruling Paves Way for NBA
Monday’s ruling by Judge Susan Richards is being received as a victory for all professional sports players unions, but specifically for the NBAPA. The NBA is next up on the negotiating front as the league’s collective bargaining agreement is set to expire on July 1st. Many have anticipated the NBA labor negotiations to be just as difficult if not worse than the NFL’s, but this temporary victory for NFL Players bodes well for future negotiations across sports.
“This is a victory for all professional sports unions,” Gabe Feldman, head of the Sports Law Center at Tulane University, told CBS Sports.
It’s still difficult to project the future of the negotiations, but it’s a step in the right direction for the NFL. Hopefully the lockout in the NFL will be viewed constructively for future situations.
Continue to make your voice heard and stay pro-active by signing the petition at savenextseason.com.
Read the article that intertwines the labor situations in the NFL and NBA here.
MLB Attendance Decreasing
In analyzing the downward spiral of MLB attendance, solely blaming the state of the economy cannot be justified. In the NBA, ratings and attendance were revived this year in many markets. Superstars like Lebron James moving to Miami made for an active, headline-grabbing off-season for the sport. Meanwhile, star-studded markets in Major League Baseball like New York are struggling to fill their new ballparks. The Yankees have begun their 2011 campaign with about 2,600 more empty seats per game than this time last year. There are seven stadiums in baseball averaging higher attendance marks than the Yankees thus far; an eyebrow raising statistic.
MLB is down 506 tickets per game and at this rate it would be the lowest attendance mark in about a decade. The league has struggled to diagnose the dip in attendance as a hiccup or as a steady decline. Others have called the decline a passing of the torch to football as the national pastime.
Baseball remains concerned with the low attendance figures especially because many teams even lowered ticket prices during the off-season. Seven of the ten teams that cut ticket prices have seen even lower traffic at the ballpark this season.
Read the Yahoo Sports article that places the MLB attendance trends under the microscope.
BCS Needs to Assume Responsibility During Annual Meetings
BCS commissioners got together yesterday to attend their yearly meetings in New Orleans. Although the board would like to ignore this past’s years various issues, it would be a better idea to reflect on the repercussions. From Ohio State’s illegal activity to the mess between Alabama and Auburn, the board should quickly realize there’s much room for improvement.
Then of course there’s the issue with the Fiesta bowl and if the bowl game will even be played next season. Fiesta bowl representatives are now answering to a BCS task force that is looking into taking away their rights for the bowl game. The company reportedly provided free meals, rooms and golf excursions to college administrators at last year’s meeting. Pending investigation and a meeting with an NCAA licensing subcommittee, the Fiesta Bowl runs the risk of losing the game and most importantly, its sponsorship. Only the Silicon Valley bowl ever lost its license and that was due to a financial issue.
Read about the BCS fiasco here.
Sports Fan Pic of the Day:
Sports Blog of the Day: Sports Blog Network
Get the full analysis of the drama in the Blazers and Mavericks series and a look into the other playoff series in the NBA and NHL.
This Day in Sports History: On April 27th, 1983 Nolan Ryan struck out his 3,509th batter to surpass Walter Johnson for the all-time lead in strikeouts in MLB history. Johnson’s record stood since the 1927 season.
John Morse is serving as an SFC Sportswriter Fellow based in New Hampshire. He is finshing up a degree in Print Journalism at Hofstra University. John is a very passionate sports fan and the Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics and Bruins are his favorite teams.
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