Who Makes the NFL? Getting a Deal Done!

[Jrudi]

As we set here this off-season, going through the motions we normally do such as checking up on the Chiefs, researching draft prospect to figure out who we might land in the red and gold next season, and looking up which FA's may travel to the Midwest to help out our Chiefs Nation; I can't help but notice a few things.

One is that the forum posts have slowed down…Another is that NFL news has slowed down… and lastly…There are no free agent signings (Usually begins around March 4th-5th).

This is a sad NFL off season. As we all know and have heard news of the CBA negations… At this current moment in time there will be NO NFL SEASON when September rolls around. No OTA's, No Free Agent Signings, No Training Camp in St. Joe, No Fantasy Football….No NFL Football at all.

It didn't hit me until now how CRAZY this sounds! And how crazy it is that the only thing preventing us from enjoying another season of football is greed! Millionaires vs Billionaires trying to decide how to divide up a sum of around 9 billion dollars!

In a time where the average Americans have been loosing their jobs and struggling to pay bills I find this to be very selfish and just down right wrong!

And with that said it brings me to the point of this post. I began to think about who and what makes the NFL? There are 3 main parts, You have the Players, and the Owners/Management who are both involved in the CBA negotiations and have an impact on the outcome; Then comes the 3rd part… The Fans! Now I am not suggesting that Fans should be involved in the CBA Discussions, but I do feel that we should take a stand and help to influence this getting done in a timely manner.

If you think in a business sense; We are the customers of the NFL, at the end of the day WE are the ones who pay the salaries of every single person in the negotiating room, we decide weather to buy into their product or not. WITHOUT US there is no NFL! As a HUGE fan of the NFL I can't fathom the idea of no Football next season. I've also recently learned from a source close to me, that has recently spoken with a highly regarded person involved with the NFL network that there WILL be games missed next season! And this worries me.

So this may sound like a crazy idea that will never work, but my thoughts are that with the help of the amount of free social networking mediums there are in this world today (Forums, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc.) that we could really cause a stir, and sooner or later get some attention from a sports analyst somewhere that could turn this into a story that may get heard by the people in that negotiating room. (there's not much news and analysts' like to make something big out of the tinniest bit of info ex: "crygate" with the heat.)

I say that we should band together and threaten to boycott the NFL if the CBA Is not done by the Draft. We will not watch the draft, we will not attend games, we will not buy merchandise, We will not watch the remainder of the season if any games are missed. I know this will be tough, I am as big of an NFL fan as there is, but I honestly think that if we can cause enough ruckus that we may actually have the power to influence a deal getting done soon! I know we can't get everyone to do this, but We might be able to get a large amount of people to start speaking out. This forum has fans from all over the world, so it should be easy to spread the word. If we don't speak up now, what will it be like the next time this rolls around? And if anyone needs to get their Football Fix; The NCAA and UFL will still be going strong!

If this sounds crazy feel free to make fun of me all you want I won't be offended (it takes a crazy idea to impact the masses), but if anyone happens to believe that we can try and make a difference feel free to post your response on here, and any other idea's that you have that may help get this deal done! It's time for the Fan's to voice how they feel on this issue and get heard! Start Spreading the word!

[Jrudi]

To get this started. I ask that anyone that thinks this is a good idea. please post a link to the thread on any of your social networking pages, and/or any other forums (nfl.com, espn, arrowhead addict, arrowhead pride, etc.)

This will allow the word to spread quickly and visitors can directly read the main message in the thread and get an idea of what we are going to try and do.

Thanks for the help!

[wildcat]

If you want to see this thing spread quickly, start a group in Facebook and explain what you are trying to do. Then if you want to post the link on other social networks and forums, post the link to the group.

If you just post a link back to this thread, people are going to click on the link and see that there isn't a group or anything to join yet and they will lose interest. Once that happens, you've lost a potential supporter.

[kckidd8870]

I love my chiefs and I love football in general.I have played high school football and watched the pros for 35 yrs and i'm only fourty.I watched football ,at a time when kids and women didn't even watch football.Bet your ***,I won't watch the NFL in 2011 or 2012 if there is a lock out.I will watch my football in a few years again.When they start apreciating the people who pay there salaries.that would be us the fans.The people who make just enough money to pay there bills and have alittle fun.I guess I'll just watch college football for now.The players make milloins a year and the owners make billions.They talk about money for retirement and crap like that.Save some of that money you make and not put it all in that multi million dollar homes and the fancy clothes and cars you drive.Put your money into retirement plans.I know it's a physical game and there bodies take a pounding.They get paid well to do it.

[Hayvern]

I don't think it sounds too crazy. They were able to get Betty White to host SNL using similar methods. When large groups of customers get together for a common cause, they sometimes get heard. I don't know if it will work, but what could it hurt?

I honestly think it will hurt the NFL a great deal if they have a lengthy lockout. I remember when baseball used to be considered the nations pastime. I could be wrong, but I still don't think the MLB has regained all of the fans it lost during the lengthy strike they had in 1994-1995. Maybe it's just me but baseball seems like it's just an afterthought these days.

A big part of the problem baseball had was when the new contract was signed, the whole payment concept changed. There was once a day when a player would play for a team their whole life. Now, it all comes down to who has the most money to pay them.

And the union, despite what they say, places pressure on players to go for the most they can get. Pujols is arguably the best player in the game, and he has repeatedly said that it is not the money that keeps him on the Cardinals team, yet LaRussa made it clear that he thought the union was pressuring Pujols to make sure he got the most money he could.

Why? Because the next guy that comes along who is a free agent and puts up numbers close to Pujols will want HIS payday and if Pujols signs for less that next guy will always be compared to the guy that has the best contract, which would be a reduced price Pujols.

In Pujols case, the Cardinals cannot pay Pujols 30 million per year, they just don't have that kind of money to throw around.

This is what turns people off about baseball. Fans come out to see their favorite players play, but at the rate that players change teams, it is nearly impossible to know who is on your team this week.

[wildcat]

I hear you. It's rough for a small market team. I know it's been stated a million times, but the Royals are basically a minor league team. There's always a lot of young talent on the team, but once a player reaches anything close to playing at an all star level, he's looking for a bigger paycheck at the next opportunity.

The NBA is starting to have a similar problem. All of the best players are migrating to the biggest markets. They realize that, even if they have to take a pay cut, you get a lot more endorsements playing for a big market team. Unfortunately, it will be tough to fix that even with any modifications to the salary cap.

[Jrudi]

I have created a petition for this cause at the following URL:
Boycott NFL! Fans want a Deal Done Before Draft! - Petition Spot

Please spread the word! and Go get this Petition filled up!

[Hayvern]

CBA Negotiations Falling Apart « Phin Phanatic | A Miami Dolphins blog

Here is a good article. The players know the majority of fans agree with them on the number of games portion of this. I find it interesting that the players had decided to move this back to the realm of the public. I think they feel that what is happening in Wisconsin will help their case.

The owners have opened their books and let the players in, but I guess they feel that is not enough.

Unfortunately, the deal is not going to get done. I would be interested in seeing what the NFL would look like WITHOUT a union of players. Let them decertify and lets move this all over to a non-union aspect.

This is like an old-fashioned castle siege, except the owners in the castle are better supplied and better defended and can last longer than the players. As soon as some of these two year old mentality players realize they cannot afford their Bentley's anymore, they will come back to the table.

[Connie Jo]

To get this started. I ask that anyone that thinks this is a good idea. please post a link to the thread on any of your social networking pages, and/or any other forums (nfl.com, espn, arrowhead addict, arrowhead pride, etc.)

This will allow the word to spread quickly and visitors can directly read the main message in the thread and get an idea of what we are going to try and do.

Thanks for the help!

I apologize in advance for going off subject, and normally misspells don't bother me, nor do I notice much, however...mention of our mutually beloved Derrick Thomas (RIP) always draws my eye. I hope you don't take offense to my pointing it out, as it's not intended to offend, but you've misspelled Derrick under your favorite past players. :/