No free link. I have summarized the major points of the article:
Football Finance
Fumble?
by Monte Burke
The NFL is unquestionably America's healthiest and most popular pro sports league. But a fight over money could change that.
These are the glory days for the National Football League.
NFL recently signed deals with Fox, CBS, NBC, ESPN, and DirecTV worth $3.7 Billion annually.
Now, the owners are trying to hammer details of next collective bargaining agreement.
However, the owners are fighting among themselves.
On one side are smaller market, lower-revenue teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Buffalo Bills; on the other are the big-market, big-revenue teams like the New England Patriots and the Dallas Cowboys.
The battle is over “local revenues†like concessions, suites, parking, and stadium-naming rights. This revenue accounts for almost 20% of total revenues.
Local revenues have grown 20% annually in the last five years, thanks to the entrepreneurial efforts of owners like the Cowboy’s Jerry Jones, the Washington Redskins’ Daniel Snyder, and the Patriots’ Robert Kraft.
The three teams account for 20% of the league’s local revenue.
Now, owners of smaller teams like Wayne Weaver of the Jacksonville Jaguars want the local revenue to be shared. They say it’s not for the money, but to keep the league competitive.
It is therefore no surprise that owners like Kraft, who transformed the moneylosing Patriots into a $1 billion asset are balking.
Kraft responds, “those of us who have taken financial risk did so with an understanding of certain rules that were in place and did our financing on those basisâ€.
Kraft further said the revenue sharing allows all 32 teams to be competitive but does no guarantee that all 32 owners will be profitable. “Every team should have an incentive to be entrepreneurial.â€
Players, too, want a share of the local revenues. They now want 65% of shared and local revenues.
.
Football Finance
Fumble?
by Monte Burke
The NFL is unquestionably America's healthiest and most popular pro sports league. But a fight over money could change that.
These are the glory days for the National Football League.
NFL recently signed deals with Fox, CBS, NBC, ESPN, and DirecTV worth $3.7 Billion annually.
Now, the owners are trying to hammer details of next collective bargaining agreement.
However, the owners are fighting among themselves.
On one side are smaller market, lower-revenue teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Buffalo Bills; on the other are the big-market, big-revenue teams like the New England Patriots and the Dallas Cowboys.
The battle is over “local revenues†like concessions, suites, parking, and stadium-naming rights. This revenue accounts for almost 20% of total revenues.
Local revenues have grown 20% annually in the last five years, thanks to the entrepreneurial efforts of owners like the Cowboy’s Jerry Jones, the Washington Redskins’ Daniel Snyder, and the Patriots’ Robert Kraft.
The three teams account for 20% of the league’s local revenue.
Now, owners of smaller teams like Wayne Weaver of the Jacksonville Jaguars want the local revenue to be shared. They say it’s not for the money, but to keep the league competitive.
It is therefore no surprise that owners like Kraft, who transformed the moneylosing Patriots into a $1 billion asset are balking.
Kraft responds, “those of us who have taken financial risk did so with an understanding of certain rules that were in place and did our financing on those basisâ€.
Kraft further said the revenue sharing allows all 32 teams to be competitive but does no guarantee that all 32 owners will be profitable. “Every team should have an incentive to be entrepreneurial.â€
Players, too, want a share of the local revenues. They now want 65% of shared and local revenues.
.