Bad feeling about labor unrest

[Ring 6]

I have a very bad feeling about the CBA expiring. I am far, far from an expert, but to me it does not look good.
If it does go to an uncapped year, I expect that, much the opposite of what is being considered, that owners will become frugal and there will be many free agents who either can't find a team or have to accept a miniscule contract compared to what we have seen.
The owners sound like they are looking forward to an uncapped year. These owners have always worked as a group, knowing spending wars or selfish motives would upset what they have, which is the best ownership situation in pro sports. I cannot imagine them looking forward to outbidding each other without limit and giving all of their profits to the players. It is almost suicidal.
I do not think a brand new union head is a good thing for labor peace. He needs to establish himself and these guys usually think obstinate is better than soft in that regard.

I see a strong possibility that if something isn't done before too long that a lockout in 2011 is realistic and maybe probable.

Please post your opinions on this, whether you are aware of other factors I might be missing. I'd also like to know what everyone thinks: If this did happen, which would essential be the players rejecting a cap and the owners rejecting any uncapped system, who would you hold most to blame, players/union, or owners?

 

[BradyFTW!]

Well, it has been underreported that along with the salary cap, the salary floor will go away as well. I wonder who will become the Kansas City Royals of the NFL...

It'll definitely be interesting to see whether players, on the whole, are paid more or less without a cap.

 

[maverick4]

I think there are more than a few owners who would freely spend in order to dramatically increase the chance of a championship. Not just Snyder and Jerry Jones either. I also see it as a way for several quality veteran players to sign with the Patriots in the hopes of getting a ring.

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

a uncapped years is a bad thing. .. sorry to say, they need to work things out.. And if we say go to the super bowl next year, its a bad thing when it comes to fa... Get it done dummies...

 

[eom]

I wouldn't hold anybody to blame -- I think that's pointless.
it's just 2 parties dividing up a ton of money.

but as more of an answer, I think the onus to get something done probably falls on the players.
if they decide to dig in they'd just better be sure it's worth it to them in the long run because the owners aren't going to just get pushed over on this.

also, one thing I'd just like to mention is that while the image of the typical nfl player is some guy pullin' down 10m/year, the reality is the majority of their voting membership are probably 1m and down type guys, so they may have somewhat different issues than the terrel owens of the world.

 

[Fencer]

Cincy is an obvious candidate to go cheap.

Motown Tigers? Perhaps.

Weirdo Raiders? Ditto.

Ditto any team whose owner wants to move it.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

I don't do the au currant AIG blame thing, but it's hard for paying fans in this economy to sympathise with near billionaire owners or with multi-millionaire players.

 

[BradyFTW!]

I also can't help but wonder how veterans and fringe-level players are going to treat the possibility of a work stoppage. Remember, one of the things that we learned from the NBA lockout is that a lot of these players, even the really rich ones, just don't save money. They need that constant paycheck. take the NFL, where careers are shorter, the contracts are smaller, and nothing's guaranteed, and I dunno what the effect will be. If it goes to a work stoppage, though, it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that the owners will win out. The losers will be the players and the fans.

 

[spacecrime]

Remember, one of the things that we learned from the NBA lockout is that a lot of these players, even the really rich ones, just don't save money. They need that constant paycheck.

Unfathomable to me. Not disputing you, I believe it, but how can someone who has ... what's the NFL average career? 3 years? ... three years to earn a bunch of money before getting dumped back into the real world not bank a good part of that earnings?

What a shock it much be to go from spending thousands a week to looking under the sofa for quarters for gas money.

 

[Joker]

listened to this topic being bandied about today on EEI...seems the prevailing perception is that the players stand to lose quite a bit...it is incumbent upon the two parties to come to an agreement before 2011...why risk the unknowable when you have the golden goose right on the table in front of you.

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

The owners are digging thier heels in, and its not a good sign.. A lockout no one wins... They need to get things done bottome line

 

[MrBigglesWorth]

I like football, but really who gives a freak. they're all spoiled brats from owners to players to agents. the fan is the one getting the shaft

 

[eom]

The owners are digging thier heels in, and its not a good sign.. A lockout no one wins...

I think the owners win a lockout.

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

I think the owners win a lockout.

not if the fans dont come back..

 

[BradyFTW!]

not if the fans dont come back..

Yeah, the fans will always come back though. They know this by now.

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

I like football, but really who gives a freak. they're all spoiled brats from owners to players to agents. the fan is the one getting the shaft

Agreed, and if they do lockout and games are missed, I may not follow football again the way I do now.. 82 and 87 I was young but still a fan and it still sucked, but this would be the death blow for me..

 

[JoeSixPat]

I believe that Labor doesn't have too much of a say over whether the Owners lock them out - which is what is likely to happen in my opinion.

Not that it's a one way street - the players can avoid a lock out by agreeing to negotiate on certain items. But since I don't expect them to be making early or initial concessions, I assume a lockout is a given before a deal is reached.

If we had Tagliabue and Upshaw leading both sides I'd say they'd work things out. With the new leaders I doubt it.

 

[Jackson 2]

I share your ominous feelings. I'd be surprised if a lock-out does not occur. This is the worst possible time for either side to be looking for public opinion for support. The public will, correctly to some degree, paint both the owners and players with the same brush - namely, wealthy and greedy with no empathy for the average working (or hoping to work) American. I also agree with the notion that this is not a good time for a new NFLPA head whose comments, at least to date, show evidence of absolutely no sense of what the rest of the country is experiencing right now. I'm not sure what an uncapped year will bring. I can envision wild spending in hopes of a SB victory by some and I can also see some teams/owners just packing it in until the storm passes. Hard to tell. As far as the lock-out year is concerned, I think that there is a fair chance that things will be somewhat better economically, but I'd doubt seriously that a full recovery will be in place that soon. The NFL owners are, I believe, relatively more united than those in other sports and they may look at this as an opportunity to break the union, which has already been historically weak. And as for the players, losing one year in football is much more significant than a year in other sports due to the short length of the average career in the NFL. Any way one looks at it, it's not a pretty picture.

 

[Rob0729]

I still hold hope that a deal will be done. Remember a few years back, it was believed that there was no hope for a deal. It got done eventhough it was a temporary fix.

I think individual players and teams will benefit from a lack of salary cap, I think overall both sides lose. Football is the king of team sports entertainment. They risk becoming regionalized like baseball and hockey if they let the CBA go away even without a work stoppage.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Agreed, and if they do lockout and games are missed, I may not follow football again the way I do now.. 82 and 87 I was young but still a fan and it still sucked, but this would be the death blow for me..

I was too young for 82 and 87, but with basketball's lockout, when the league came back I had become accustomed to life without it, to the point that basketball wasn't really a part of my schedule anymore. I still followed the Celtics and the league, but I was more of a passive follower: didn't buy jerseys or anything, didn't go to games, etc. I just watched 20-30 games per season on TV, and that was that. While I don't think I'd ever stop watching the Pats, I also wonder if, after a year without NFL, it would start seeming foolish to me to devote an entire day every week to football.