Players VS Owners. Interesting Read.

[pbatrucker]

DeMaurice Smith and the NFLPA filed a legal action against the NFL on Wednesday that impacts the likelihood of a lockout next year. - ESPN (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/commentary/news/story?page=munson/100609)

[Chiefster]

Can you say: "1982".

[Canada]

Maybe they should all make a hundred blillion dollars so the can stop complaining and play football. Buncha fu**in' whiners!!

[Chiefster]

Maybe they should all make a hundred blillion dollars so the can stop complaining and play football. Buncha fu**in' whiners!!

I agree that it's difficult to feel sorry for someone who makes more in one football season then most will in one lifetime.

[bwilliams]

I agree that it's difficult to feel sorry for someone who makes more in one football season then most will in one lifetime.

The average football player works harder in a year than the average owner does in a lifetime. And you feel sorry for the owners for what reason, exactly? They make a hell of a lot more than the players do.

And the reason football players make what they do is because 99.999% of people can't do what they do. Most people aren't big enough, athletic enough, or aren't willing to put in the same amount of work.

[pbatrucker]

The Players and Owners will sit down and reach an agreement. It will be a little give and take on both sides.
The only losers will be the fans. Ticket prices will go up, the cost of food and beverages as well as merchandise will also rise.
IMO we will never see the Sea of Red in Arrowhead again. A family of four just can't afford to attend on a regular basis any more. There will always be seats for the opponents fans.
The Owners and Players don't seem to remember, the fans are the ones who made the NFL Americas favorite sport and they will price us right out of the stadium.

[Canada]

The average football player works harder in a year than the average owner does in a lifetime. And you feel sorry for the owners for what reason, exactly? They make a hell of a lot more than the players do.

And the reason football players make what they do is because 99.999% of people can't do what they do. Most people aren't big enough, athletic enough, or aren't willing to put in the same amount of work.

They all make too much money. From top to bottom. But for arguments sake, the players are not forking over any of their own cash to run the team. Where I work, every employee makes the same amount of money (depending on seniority) but we all work on the same pay scale. At the end of the day, how much my employer makes is none of my business. But in the end, they hose the fans. All cause a bunch of millionaires wanna fight over my $100 per game ticket.

[Drunker Hillbilly]

The average football player works harder in a year than the average owner does in a lifetime. And you feel sorry for the owners for what reason, exactly? They make a hell of a lot more than the players do.

And the reason football players make what they do is because 99.999% of people can't do what they do. Most people aren't big enough, athletic enough, or aren't willing to put in the same amount of work.
I'm certain he was not implying that he was in favor of the owners making billions.

[bwilliams]

The Players and Owners will sit down and reach an agreement. It will be a little give and take on both sides.
The only losers will be the fans. Ticket prices will go up, the cost of food and beverages as well as merchandise will also rise.
IMO we will never see the Sea of Red in Arrowhead again. A family of four just can't afford to attend on a regular basis any more. There will always be seats for the opponents fans.
The Owners and Players don't seem to remember, the fans are the ones who made the NFL Americas favorite sport and they will price us right out of the stadium.

Except for this uncapped year, players (as a whole) got paid a percentage of the overall revenues (that's how the salary cap was set). Which means that any price raises were completely unconnected to them. Players don't set the ticket, concession, or parking prices. They aren't causing prices to rise.

And owners don't care about people who go to 1-2 games a year because that isn't how they make most of their money. They don't care if you're priced out of the stadium. They make most of their money from revenue sharing (television contracts mainly) and season tickets. That isn't going to change, new CBA or not.

[bwilliams]

I'm certain he was not implying that he was in favor of the owners making billions.

Football revenues are what they are. The major question of this CBA is how those dollars will be divided. Guess what? No how much of the pie is allocated to the players, it won't affect the prices paid by fans.

[bwilliams]

They all make too much money. From top to bottom. But for arguments sake, the players are not forking over any of their own cash to run the team. Where I work, every employee makes the same amount of money (depending on seniority) but we all work on the same pay scale. At the end of the day, how much my employer makes is none of my business. But in the end, they hose the fans. All cause a bunch of millionaires wanna fight over my $100 per game ticket.

What are they supposed to do? Take less money from the networks? Ticket prices are what they are because they're trying to sell expensive season ticket packages. If they drop single game prices too low, people won't pay for expensive season tickets (which is where the money is).

And no offense, but neither you, nor I, nor anyone here works 1/10th as much as the average football player. How we make money is immaterial.

[Canada]

What are they supposed to do? Take less money from the networks? Ticket prices are what they are because they're trying to sell expensive season ticket packages. If they drop single game prices too low, people won't pay for expensive season tickets (which is where the money is).

And no offense, but neither you, nor I, nor anyone here works 1/10th as much as the average football player. How we make money is immaterial.

MY career will be most likely be close to 40 years. Roughly 4 times longer than that of an NFL player. And while I may put in 1/10th of the work that an NFL player does (Which I also doubt) Why dont I get 1/10th the compensation that they get. I work 60+ HOUrs a week at two jobs and I dont make even a 1/4 of the league minimum. So I have absolutely no sympathy for any of them at the end of the day. You get paid millions to play a game and they want to strike because someone isnt getting enough? CRY me a river. Keep selling expensive seasons tickets and making it more and more expensive to go to games and you will eventually price yourself right out of a job.

[matthewschiefs]

MY career will be most likely be close to 40 years. Roughly 4 times longer than that of an NFL player. And while I may put in 1/10th of the work that an NFL player does (Which I also doubt) Why dont I get 1/10th the compensation that they get. I work 60+ HOUrs a week at two jobs and I dont make even a 1/4 of the league minimum. So I have absolutely no sympathy for any of them at the end of the day. You get paid millions to play a game and they want to strike because someone isnt getting enough? CRY me a river. Keep selling expensive seasons tickets and making it more and more expensive to go to games and you will eventually price yourself right out of a job.

I have to agree with this. When you get into the millions do it REALLY matter oh darn i am only geting 5 million a year instead of 10 my life is ruined. They work hard but they dont work 10times as hard as the normal person.

I cant side to much with the owners either. Alot of them are rich due to who there parents were. Both sides make far more then the average joe and they still whine and cry. I think if you forced them to work a week at a real job and get a real paycheck they might just learn how good they got it.

[bwilliams]

MY career will be most likely be close to 40 years. Roughly 4 times longer than that of an NFL player. And while I may put in 1/10th of the work that an NFL player does (Which I also doubt) Why dont I get 1/10th the compensation that they get. I work 60+ HOUrs a week at two jobs and I dont make even a 1/4 of the league minimum. So I have absolutely no sympathy for any of them at the end of the day. You get paid millions to play a game and they want to strike because someone isnt getting enough? CRY me a river. Keep selling expensive seasons tickets and making it more and more expensive to go to games and you will eventually price yourself right out of a job.

OK, first they're not striking. They're going to be locked out by the owners. Big difference.

Second, you're confusing the owners and the players. The players don't raise your ticket prices. They don't sell season tickets. Players have gotten a percentage of the league's revenue for so long as there was a hard salary cap, as the salary cap is a portion of the league's revenue.

And third, the reason players get paid so much is because other people can't do what they do. Most people here work full-time jobs. You, I, and many others work two. It doesn't make us special or give us any right to say that players should make less money.

[bwilliams]

I have to agree with this. When you get into the millions do it REALLY matter oh darn i am only geting 5 million a year instead of 10 my life is ruined. They work hard but they dont work 10times as hard as the normal person.

I cant side to much with the owners either. Alot of them are rich due to who there parents were. Both sides make far more then the average joe and they still whine and cry. I think if you forced them to work a week at a real job and get a real paycheck they might just learn how good they got it.

It isn't a matter of $5M v. $10M. Most players in the NFL don't make nearly that much anyway.

The average NFL career is three years. NFL players have next to no pension, non-guarenteed contracts, and will likely have repetition injuries (especially head injuires) that will cause early dementia, not to mention the stress that constant conditioning has on the heart. In other words, the average NFL player will make less than $1M in his career, and he'll suffer health problems that will plague him for the rest of his life.

And they very much work 10x as hard as the average person. They work harder than the human body can physically handle for the most part.

And people don't get why ticket prices are high. The answers simple: because they can be. It makes more sense for owners to make millions every year from luxury suites, season tickets, and other rich-people streams, than it is for them to reasonably price the tickets. Would you rather get $10 from 10,000 people, or get $1,000 from 1,000 people? And they can't lower general ticket prices without lowering season tickets as well.

The only solution is to not pay for tickets, but then you have blackouts and the threat of relocation.

[Chiefster]

The average football player works harder in a year than the average owner does in a lifetime. And you feel sorry for the owners for what reason, exactly? They make a hell of a lot more than the players do.

And the reason football players make what they do is because 99.999% of people can't do what they do. Most people aren't big enough, athletic enough, or aren't willing to put in the same amount of work.

I don't feel sorry for the owners, they make more in one football season then most do in a lifetime also.

[Chiefster]

The Players and Owners will sit down and reach an agreement. It will be a little give and take on both sides.
The only losers will be the fans. Ticket prices will go up, the cost of food and beverages as well as merchandise will also rise.
IMO we will never see the Sea of Red in Arrowhead again. A family of four just can't afford to attend on a regular basis any more. There will always be seats for the opponents fans.
The Owners and Players don't seem to remember, the fans are the ones who made the NFL Americas favorite sport and they will price us right out of the stadium.

...This!


I'm certain he was not implying that he was in favor of the owners making billions.

Exactly, they are both entirely too greedy IMO.

[AkChief49]

These guys make what the market will bear. Big money in the TV contracts etc. so the players negotiate what they can get. But, once they are in a contract, stop whining about it! I understand that if a guy plays above and beyond he's due a bonus. A lot players get that clause in the contract. If you're selling more jersey's and putting more butts in the seats, I get it. Please, once you sign, no more whine! I keep hoping they change the rookie deals! The vets have earned it, the rookies not so much. Just because you ran faster and jumped higher(wearing your PF Flyers!) at the combine does not prove jack. It's killing the teams that (picking first) it is supposed to help. I just do not agree with a guy that has never played a down gets payed more than a guy that put in his dues! Of course that might be the star factor, I don't know, but it does not seem right to me. Anyone know the % of busts at the #1 pick over say the last 20 years? I'll stop rambling now.

[Chiefster]

These guys make what the market will bear. Big money in the TV contracts etc. so the players negotiate what they can get. But, once they are in a contract, stop whining about it! I understand that if a guy plays above and beyond he's due a bonus. A lot players get that clause in the contract. If you're selling more jersey's and putting more butts in the seats, I get it. Please, once you sign, no more whine! I keep hoping they change the rookie deals! The vets have earned it, the rookies not so much. Just because you ran faster and jumped higher(wearing your PF Flyers!) at the combine does not prove jack. It's killing the teams that (picking first) it is supposed to help. I just do not agree with a guy that has never played a down gets payed more than a guy that put in his dues! Of course that might be the star factor, I don't know, but it does not seem right to me. Anyone know the % of busts at the #1 pick over say the last 20 years? I'll stop rambling now.

Ramble on; I agree with every word. I, too, believe that being picked at number one should not necessarily guarantee them big money, and by the same token it isn't like the owners are going to be starving in the streets; they'll simply pass the cost onto the fans.

[bwilliams]

These guys make what the market will bear. Big money in the TV contracts etc. so the players negotiate what they can get. But, once they are in a contract, stop whining about it! I understand that if a guy plays above and beyond he's due a bonus. A lot players get that clause in the contract. If you're selling more jersey's and putting more butts in the seats, I get it. Please, once you sign, no more whine! I keep hoping they change the rookie deals! The vets have earned it, the rookies not so much. Just because you ran faster and jumped higher(wearing your PF Flyers!) at the combine does not prove jack. It's killing the teams that (picking first) it is supposed to help. I just do not agree with a guy that has never played a down gets payed more than a guy that put in his dues! Of course that might be the star factor, I don't know, but it does not seem right to me. Anyone know the % of busts at the #1 pick over say the last 20 years? I'll stop rambling now.

I agree that the rookie contracts are ludicrous. Who, besides the top 15 guys picked, isn't in favor of a rookie scale?

That said, it's a bit nearsighted to say that because players signed a contract that should be it. Simply because owners can terminate contracts at any time. Unlike every other sport, contracts in the NFL aren't a two-way street.

I've always thought that NFL contracts should be much lower, but 100% guarenteed. It would prevent these sorts of holdouts and reworkings, players who are catestrophically injured wouldn't have their contracts voided, and in general you'd avoid the sort of mega-contracts that get tossed around today, screwing up the market. Albert Haynesworth isn't getting a $100M contract if $100M equals $100M.

Imagine instead of dead cap space, signing bonuses, and everything else that makes screwing players over so necessary, players were paid a straight contract. You'd have a lot more players willing to sign reasonable deals because they know that, even if they're catestrophically injured, they won't be on the street a week later.

[AkChief49]

As far as % of busts I found this-http://bleacherreport.com/articles/348369-boom-or-bust-30-years-of-number-one-picks-in-the-nfl-draft#page/1
Depending on how you feel about Vick and Palmer, and maybe Testaverde( later was decent with Jets) it looks like 50% over the past 30 years for the #1 pick booming or busting. Labeling the three previously mentioned a bust it's 50%, otherwise it's 40%. I just think it's part of the problem:beat_DeadHorse:

[matthewschiefs]

It isn't a matter of $5M v. $10M. Most players in the NFL don't make nearly that much anyway.

The average NFL career is three years. NFL players have next to no pension, non-guarenteed contracts, and will likely have repetition injuries (especially head injuires) that will cause early dementia, not to mention the stress that constant conditioning has on the heart. In other words, the average NFL player will make less than $1M in his career, and he'll suffer health problems that will plague him for the rest of his life.

And they very much work 10x as hard as the average person. They work harder than the human body can physically handle for the most part.

And people don't get why ticket prices are high. The answers simple: because they can be. It makes more sense for owners to make millions every year from luxury suites, season tickets, and other rich-people streams, than it is for them to reasonably price the tickets. Would you rather get $10 from 10,000 people, or get $1,000 from 1,000 people? And they can't lower general ticket prices without lowering season tickets as well.

The only solution is to not pay for tickets, but then you have blackouts and the threat of relocation.



Your takeing the worst case and makeing it the norm. Yes guys can and do get hurt thats fact. And yes there are some guys that end up in really bad shape. There is a group that is trying to get pensions for NFL Players and I support that.

What I dont feel sorry for is the pay rate. Sorry I just dont believe that the players work 10xs harder then anyone. They get A lot more downtime throughout the year in witch they all have diffrent hobbies. Here in a couple weeks they get about 3 weeks off before training camp. Sorry working 10x harder is a major excaderation

I looked it up and the lowest salary in the NFL is 285,000 a year thats for rookies as you play longer that goes up. I would have to work a number of years makeing 30,000 a year before taxes to get close to that. Sorry I dont fell sorry for them. Or the millionaire owners who just want more and more money. I just can't cry to much for them.

[SIC J]

The average football player works harder in a year than the average owner does in a lifetime. And you feel sorry for the owners for what reason, exactly? They make a hell of a lot more than the players do.

And the reason football players make what they do is because 99.999% of people can't do what they do. Most people aren't big enough, athletic enough, or aren't willing to put in the same amount of work.

Not sure if I agree with that.

99% of the players will never be able to do what the owners do. The marketing and behind the scene stuff is just as hard if not harder to do as actually playing the game of football.

I make a living off motorcycle stuntriding. And the actual riding is the easy part!

[SIC J]

And I also think almost every sport is over-paying their players. The more money they demand, the higher prices the "fans" are going to be paying.

[bwilliams]

And I also think almost every sport is over-paying their players. The more money they demand, the higher prices the "fans" are going to be paying.

That's nonsense. Players make a percentage of the total revenue of the league. If revenues (including ticket prices) were low, players would make very little. Their pay is an effect, not a cause.

[bwilliams]

Not sure if I agree with that.

99% of the players will never be able to do what the owners do. The marketing and behind the scene stuff is just as hard if not harder to do as actually playing the game of football.

Not physically, which is what I was talking about.

And you're right. 99% of players can't do what owners do. But 100% of owners can't do what players do. And fans can't do what either owners or players do.


I make a living off motorcycle stuntriding. And the actual riding is the easy part!

Motorcycle stuntriding isn't the same as football. Not in popularity, scope, difficulty or any other measurable. Not by a long shot.

[bwilliams]

Your takeing the worst case and makeing it the norm. Yes guys can and do get hurt thats fact. And yes there are some guys that end up in really bad shape. There is a group that is trying to get pensions for NFL Players and I support that.

What I dont feel sorry for is the pay rate. Sorry I just dont believe that the players work 10xs harder then anyone. They get A lot more downtime throughout the year in witch they all have diffrent hobbies. Here in a couple weeks they get about 3 weeks off before training camp. Sorry working 10x harder is a major excaderation

I looked it up and the lowest salary in the NFL is 285,000 a year thats for rookies as you play longer that goes up. I would have to work a number of years makeing 30,000 a year before taxes to get close to that. Sorry I dont fell sorry for them. Or the millionaire owners who just want more and more money. I just can't cry to much for them.

Minus taxes (much higher rate than at $30,000), agent fees, and rookie obligation (buying dinner for team, etc.), those guys are making nothing during their first contract. And those guys are the majority of players in the NFL.

Look at the Chiefs. In 2009, you had 8 players making $2M or more, 8 making between $1M-$2M, and the remaining 37 making below $1M. 24 players made less than $500K. And every time they hit the field, they risk getting injured to the extent they'll never be able to work again.

Your mistake is that you think the majority of players are the Mannings of the world. When they're in fact a tiny percentage. The majority of guys, after taxes, agents, and others are facing the possibility of disability for less than $150K/year on the blind hope they turn into the Mannings, the Bradys, and the Cassels of the world.

[matthewschiefs]

Minus taxes (much higher rate than at $30,000), agent fees, and rookie obligation (buying dinner for team, etc.), those guys are making nothing during their first contract. And those guys are the majority of players in the NFL.

Look at the Chiefs. In 2009, you had 8 players making $2M or more, 8 making between $1M-$2M, and the remaining 37 making below $1M. 24 players made less than $500K. And every time they hit the field, they risk getting injured to the extent they'll never be able to work again.

Your mistake is that you think the majority of players are the Mannings of the world. When they're in fact a tiny percentage. The majority of guys, after taxes, agents, and others are facing the possibility of disability for less than $150K/year on the blind hope they turn into the Mannings, the Bradys, and the Cassels of the world.

150k a year is not a bad liveing. You also got to add to the fact that most of these guys got a free education offered to them. Weather or not they took advantage of that is up to them. I am sorry I just can't feel sorry for them. When they make 5xs what i make for a liveing and want more. I feel sorry for neither side. Tell someone in other countries that are not as advanced as we are they could make 150k a year just once. They would jump at that chance. Sorry just don't fell sorry for them.

[Canada]

Call it what you want man, they all make too much money from top to bottom and if u think they arent making money off the fans, you are sorely mistaken. You think every big contract signed does not eventually come out of the fans pocket? Merchandise is more expensive, Games are more expensive, sunday ticket is more expensive. Where do you think all the money comes from if it isnt from the fans?

And no one claimed they werent entitled to their share, but dont expect sympathy if there is a lock out. They are all overpaid, from top to bottom.

[bwilliams]

150k a year is not a bad liveing. You also got to add to the fact that most of these guys got a free education offered to them. Weather or not they took advantage of that is up to them. I am sorry I just can't feel sorry for them. When they make 5xs what i make for a liveing and want more. I feel sorry for neither side. Tell someone in other countries that are not as advanced as we are they could make 150k a year just once. They would jump at that chance. Sorry just don't fell sorry for them.

Who's asking you to feel sorry for them? My point isn't that you should feel sorry for them. Or, for that matter, that they should feel sorry for you.

It's that this isn't a bunch of guys making $5M/year and hoping to make $10M/year. It's a bunch of guys trying to secure a pension, medical benefits, and two-way contracts knowing that it's financially feasible for them to do so. They're under no obligation to take a smaller cut so that the owners get a larger cut.

And not to put too fine a point on it, but your story doesn't really matter as compared to this. You aren't employed in a multi-billion dollar industry that is dependent on your unique skill set and at which you face the risk of both immediate and long-term injury every day. These guys are.

[bwilliams]

Call it what you want man, they all make too much money from top to bottom and if u think they arent making money off the fans, you are sorely mistaken. You think every big contract signed does not eventually come out of the fans pocket? Merchandise is more expensive, Games are more expensive, sunday ticket is more expensive. Where do you think all the money comes from if it isnt from the fans?

The vast majority of NFL money comes out of television revenue. Not out of tickets, concessions, etc. And you're mixing up causes and effects. Total players salaries are a pre-set percentage of total league revenue. That's the whole point of the CBA.

To simplify this idea: the league anticipates what it's revenues will be for the following year. Of that total, a certain percentage (around 40%) is designated to be player salaries (although this current season is uncapped, it's almost certainly going to be the only one). Teams are required to spend a certain amount of money on player salaries (the minimum cap). If teams spend less than that amount, the balance is distributed among the team.

Teams work within the hard salary cap. They can't pay any more than that amount. How the $90M-$100M is distributed to the players, whether they're all making approximately the same wage or whether you have a few superstars and a bunch of guys making minimum, is immaterial. And fans/owners determine what the revenues will be. The players don't.


And no one claimed they werent entitled to their share, but dont expect sympathy if there is a lock out. They are all overpaid, from top to bottom.

I have no more sympathy for them at their workplace than they do for me at mine. But it's a deep misunderstanding of how NFL money works to say that if players agreed to take less money that ticket price would drop. It's also mistaken to say that NFL players are a bunch of millionaires playing a game for a living.

The more demand there is for the NFL, the more prices will go up. So long as rich people are willing to spend massive amounts of cash for personal seat licences, luxury boxes, etc., there is no reason for them to go down. What the players make has nothing to do with it.

[matthewschiefs]

Who's asking you to feel sorry for them? My point isn't that you should feel sorry for them. Or, for that matter, that they should feel sorry for you.

It's that this isn't a bunch of guys making $5M/year and hoping to make $10M/year. It's a bunch of guys trying to secure a pension, medical benefits, and two-way contracts knowing that it's financially feasible for them to do so. They're under no obligation to take a smaller cut so that the owners get a larger cut.

And not to put too fine a point on it, but your story doesn't really matter as compared to this. You aren't employed in a multi-billion dollar industry that is dependent on your unique skill set and at which you face the risk of both immediate and long-term injury every day. These guys are.


I will agree to disagree on this one.

If the Pension two way contracts and the medical benfits were all they were after great. Thats fine no problem. I agree that a guy who bust his but for 15 years in the NFL should have something for his health affects. Completly understand 2 way contracts.I dont think anyone does not understand the medical. Thats not ALL they are wanting. They are also wanting a higher share in the MONEY. They want there cake and to eat it to. I will just agree to disagree.

As for risk. EVERY job has risk. A highway worker can get hit by a car and die for just doing his job. Working retail like myself someone could rob the place and shot everyone in sight. Its a risk you are made aware of and accept.

[bwilliams]

I will agree to disagree on this one.

If the Pension two way contracts and the medical benfits were all they were after great. Thats fine no problem. I agree that a guy who bust his but for 15 years in the NFL should have something for his health affects. Completly understand 2 way contracts.I dont think anyone does not understand the medical. Thats not ALL they are wanting. They are also wanting a higher share in the MONEY. They want there cake and to eat it to. I will just agree to disagree.

As for risk. EVERY job has risk. A highway worker can get hit by a car and die for just doing his job. Working retail like myself someone could rob the place and shot everyone in sight. Its a risk you are made aware of and accept.

If players were granted better pension and medical care systems, guarenteed contracts, and a proportional rise in pay if/when two extra games are added to the season, then the CBA would be signed. Yesterday.

And while every job has its risk, some jobs are riskier than others. Typically, higher risk, higher reward. The odds of a NFL lineman showing signs of dementia at 40 years old due to the thousands of hits his head takes (or having a heart attack, stroke, etc. due to advanced conditioning) is a whole lot higher than you do at a service job.

[chief31]

150k a year is not a bad liveing.

But, as mentioned before, the average NFL career is around three years long. So you really can't look at it as an anual income for most players.

Most NFL players get a great salary, but it ends quickly.

I agree that I won't feel sorry forry them for the money they get. But I do side with the player that entertains me, over a team owner, getting paid for entertaining me.

As far as working 10 times as hard... Well, you might want to disclude roofers, drywall hangers, and probably a whole lot of other careers from that.

They do take an elevated risk in their line of work. And they most certainly require a skill set far above the normal. Professional sports, for the athelete, is really the business of full-on, head-to-head, competition.

I don't feel sympathetic. But I prefer that my money go to them over someone who is "behind the scenes".

[matthewschiefs]

If players were granted better pension and medical care systems, guarenteed contracts, and a proportional rise in pay if/when two extra games are added to the season, then the CBA would be signed. Yesterday.

And while every job has its risk, some jobs are riskier than others. Typically, higher risk, higher reward. The odds of a NFL lineman showing signs of dementia at 40 years old due to the thousands of hits his head takes (or having a heart attack, stroke, etc. due to advanced conditioning) is a whole lot higher than you do at a service job.

You right it would be signed. The players would get everything they want and give back nothing. Thats not going to happen. The problem is the players want all this but they dont want to give up any of the revenue. They want all that and a even higher % of the revenue that is brought in.

Dont get me wrong i dont hold the players 100% at fault. To be honest they should have had a medical benfit plan years ago. The problem is no one wants to move. Players want more money and all of whats listed. You cant have both.

[bwilliams]

You right it would be signed. The players would get everything they want and give back nothing. Thats not going to happen. The problem is the players want all this but they dont want to give up any of the revenue. They want all that and a even higher % of the revenue that is brought in.

Dont get me wrong i dont hold the players 100% at fault. To be honest they should have had a medical benfit plan years ago. The problem is no one wants to move. Players want more money and all of whats listed. You cant have both.

This is why it's called negotiating. It isn't a matter of either or both sides being greedy and snubbing the fans. It's because there are legitimate issues here that need to be worked out. Players think its asinine that they have the worst CBA in pro sports while playing the one with the least longevity. Owners worry about rising costs and continued expansion.

With all respect, we fans, superfans, and superduperfans need to get over ourselves. This is about whether players have the benefits they feel they need and about a multi-billion dollar business. Not about whether fans pay $80 or $100 a ticket.

[Canada]

The vast majority of NFL money comes out of television revenue. Not out of tickets, concessions, etc. And you're mixing up causes and effects. Total players salaries are a pre-set percentage of total league revenue. That's the whole point of the CBA.

To simplify this idea: the league anticipates what it's revenues will be for the following year. Of that total, a certain percentage (around 40%) is designated to be player salaries (although this current season is uncapped, it's almost certainly going to be the only one). Teams are required to spend a certain amount of money on player salaries (the minimum cap). If teams spend less than that amount, the balance is distributed among the team.

Teams work within the hard salary cap. They can't pay any more than that amount. How the $90M-$100M is distributed to the players, whether they're all making approximately the same wage or whether you have a few superstars and a bunch of guys making minimum, is immaterial. And fans/owners determine what the revenues will be. The players don't.



I have no more sympathy for them at their workplace than they do for me at mine. But it's a deep misunderstanding of how NFL money works to say that if players agreed to take less money that ticket price would drop. It's also mistaken to say that NFL players are a bunch of millionaires playing a game for a living.

The more demand there is for the NFL, the more prices will go up. So long as rich people are willing to spend massive amounts of cash for personal seat licences, luxury boxes, etc., there is no reason for them to go down. What the players make has nothing to do with it.

I get where it all comes from. WHo pays in the end? The fans. I know prices wont go down if salaries go down, but i if the players continue to make more $$, then then the ownerw will want more $$ and in the end the fans will pay more $$. I have to pay about $200 a year to watch football. Sunday ticket used to cost me $125. Its the fans that create the revenue that they are all arguing over.

[AkChief49]

I get where it all comes from. WHo pays in the end? The fans. I know prices wont go down if salaries go down, but i if the players continue to make more $$, then then the ownerw will want more $$ and in the end the fans will pay more $$. I have to pay about $200 a year to watch football. Sunday ticket used to cost me $125. Its the fans that create the revenue that they are all arguing over.
Direct TV paid the NFL 4 billion $ for exclusive rights until 2014. I for one(since I do not have Direct) do not like the fact that the NFL has handcuffed itself to one provider. It is a reason it is so expensive. Direct TV paid for it- now they have to make a profit on that investment. But, like you said the fans are the ones that set the market.