A commentary(short) By Dr. Football(Dr. Bill Chachkes)
Late today Judge Susan Richard Nelson effectively ended almost 6 week long Lockout between the NFL players and the NFL owners. Almost as soon as the result was public, the NFL released the following statement:
(From NFLMedia.com)
NFL STATEMENT
"We will promptly seek a stay from Judge Nelson pending an expedited appeal to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. We believe that federal law bars injunctions in labor disputes. We are confident that the Eighth Circuit will agree. But we also believe that this dispute will inevitably end with a collective bargaining agreement, which would be in the best interests of players, clubs and fans. We can reach a fair agreement only if we continue negotiations toward that goal."
So who has really won, If both sides claim a victory? Well, the fans for one have at least a temporary stay of execution with regard to the 2011 season. The Judge is saying that once again, the owners are wrong to expect "indentured servitude" to continue, that Athletes DO have rights as humans. Rights to a safe(at least as safe as possible) work place, and maybe it's finally time for the Pre-1993 Players to get some help with medical costs and a better pension........
Maybe.....
So what happens now? Most likely if the NFL loses on appeal(maybe) and they are forced to begin "offseason activities" as usual, within a few days after the next ruling the 2010 rules will be in place for player movement and free agency will begin in at least some form.... Giants Defensive Lineman Osi UMenyiora said in his released statement “A win for the players and for the fans." Several Teams' Players Association reps are telling players tonight that until another judge grants the NFL a stay, they can go back to their facilities and work out and get treatment....
Maybe.....
Then the owners and players can get back to the table and get a new deal done before training camp......
Maybe.....
Oh how I hate when the legal system invades sports....
Showing posts with label CBA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CBA. Show all posts
Monday, April 25, 2011
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
NFL Fans Remember The Past, Easier Than Thinking About The Future
By David Levy-Fan Experience Reporter-Football Reporters Online.com
With no talk about free agency, contract negotiations, or off season workouts, there is not much football talk going on. All people can do right now is discuss the draft in a few weeks and make their predictions. It reminds me of the book/movie "All Quiet On The Western Front".
Every football fan looks forward to going to the games. Not just to see their favorite team, but to be with friends and family. It is a time to relax, have fun, and have experiences that will turn into memories. I am sure a lot of people are reflecting on some now, hoping there will be a season this year. If not, they will reflect on seasons past and the fun they had. For many Jet s fans, the memories are all we have the past 40 years.
Many of us reflect on previous seasons. Games we attended with our father, brother, mother, sister, grandfather, uncle, or other family members who may not be with us anymore. It did not matter how bad the game was, one would always find something good to remember about the day. Even if it was a bad game, there was something about it that made it a positive experience. Many talk about how much they hated Shea Stadium and Giants Stadium. But they will always mention how much fun those times were in those bad situations.
If you are like me, you recall games you attended with someone who passed away. I always think about my dad when I think about the Jets. Every time I went to a game without him and sat in Section 226 Row 8, Seats 7 and 8 in Giants Stadium, I would think about him. Walking around the new stadium while filming, I would thin about him and wonder what he would think about the new structure built for the financially elite. Sometimes I would talk aloud to him, as if he was walking next to me.
A funny story my dad would always tell me was about the time he was headed to the AFL Championship game between the Jets and Oakland Raiders. He was speeding and was pulled over. He was sitting in a line of a dozen cars that were pulled over, dead last behind them all. He was running late and wanted to be there by kick off. He calls an officer over and explains he knows he was speeding and deserves the ticket. He then explains to the officer why he was speeding and shows him the tickets to the game. The officer tells him to hold on and be patient. Less than five minutes later, the officer returns with the ticket and tells my father to leave. He left before the other cars pulled over did.
He was the type that would have looked at the new stadium in amazement. Amazed at all the technology that was put into it and laugh when I would have to explain the reasons why. He was the type that just liked to watch the game, not much else. He would follow the changes in the game, but laugh and smile at the tech advances that are interwoven into it. He would have been 76 today. Still feels like yesterday. Every time the football season begins I think of all those games we went to. I know some others who feel the same as I do.
While filming in the parking lot at Giants Stadium in 2008, I came across Tommy Wilson. Such a dedicated Jets fan he owned the license plates "JETS" & "12 JETS". I later find out Jets owner Woody Johnson offered to buy the "JETS" plate from him. Always wearing his #12 Joe Namath jersey and always at the games, his personality and presence felt like my father's. I guess that is why his story touches me even more than others I met while filming.
Tommy was honored in 2002 by the NFL and Visa Pro Football Hall for Fans. He wrote the winning essay as to why he should be the fan to represent the Jets in the Hall of Fans. He held 10 season tickets for close to 40 years. His restaurants was named after the lot he tailgated in, Lot 12A. A true "Super" Fan in my book.
There is more I can say about Tommy but do not want to give away his entire story. I went back to get a follow up in September of 2009 and he pushed it to another game. When I emailed him about it in early November of 2009, his wife Mary Lou informed me he passed away in early October. I was deeply saddened to hear the news. He had purchased several PSL's too. Tommy lived and breathed the Jets, helped to pay for the new stadium, is in the Hall of Fans for the Jets, but yet was just another fan to the Jets organization.
I met up with his widow Mary Lou and her son Tommy Jr this past October. Mary Lou thought about giving up the seats after he passed but knew Tommy would not have wanted that. Last year was a hard season but this year was different. Once again, many people who used to tailgate with them at 13A were not there. Some did not get PSL’s, others did not have the right parking permits, while others feel it is not the same without Tommy. For the remainder of tailgating last year, it was very somber without Tommy. He was the nucleus that held that tailgate together. Tommy Jr. got a tattoo to remember his father, even though his father did not like tattoos.
Mary Lou and Tommy Jr. always reflect on their memories about Tommy. It makes them smile and feel good about being a Jet fan. Even with next season uncertain, they still reflect and always will. Tommy was one of those fans that made you feel good when he talked. I guess he holds a place in my heart because he reminded me of my own father. There is a strange connection to fans from a certain era in football. An era where it was about the game, not the politics.
Everyone knows the kind of fans I refer to. The ones where they smile when they talk about past seasons. When memories were about actions on the field, not battles in courts off the field. Older generations of fans seem to have this glow in their eyes. Where you do not mind listening to their stories. The kind where you can sit with a beer and listen for hours if you need a reason to smile.
Right now fans need a reason to smile. They need a reason to believe a season will happen this year. Many look forward to those home games, not just to tailgate, but to create memories with friends and family. 50% of ticket money was already due, PSL payment in several months. Do the Jets think the season will happen? But when a season looks like it may not happen, there is nothing to look forward to.
As it stands, all we can do is think ahead to a season that may or may not happen. We can reflect about the games we have all been to before. Many will talk about the past two seasons as they ended in trips to the AFC Championship game. Looking forward to a season where a Super Bowl could be in the Jets grasp for the first time n over 40 years. But all we can do is sit back and wait.
There may be no season. Then all we can do is reflect on the 2011 season that never was. How we all waited for players and owners to come to an agreement to end a lockout. Where the courts made the decision instead of the NFL. In 1987 at least there were some games played. Who knows what will happen this year. Ahh, the memories
(Eds. Note: I know exactly how David feels. I had the same relationship with my Dad regarding Football. I often wonder if he were still with us what he would think of the internet and what we were doing these days..B.C.)
With no talk about free agency, contract negotiations, or off season workouts, there is not much football talk going on. All people can do right now is discuss the draft in a few weeks and make their predictions. It reminds me of the book/movie "All Quiet On The Western Front".
Every football fan looks forward to going to the games. Not just to see their favorite team, but to be with friends and family. It is a time to relax, have fun, and have experiences that will turn into memories. I am sure a lot of people are reflecting on some now, hoping there will be a season this year. If not, they will reflect on seasons past and the fun they had. For many Jet s fans, the memories are all we have the past 40 years.
Many of us reflect on previous seasons. Games we attended with our father, brother, mother, sister, grandfather, uncle, or other family members who may not be with us anymore. It did not matter how bad the game was, one would always find something good to remember about the day. Even if it was a bad game, there was something about it that made it a positive experience. Many talk about how much they hated Shea Stadium and Giants Stadium. But they will always mention how much fun those times were in those bad situations.
If you are like me, you recall games you attended with someone who passed away. I always think about my dad when I think about the Jets. Every time I went to a game without him and sat in Section 226 Row 8, Seats 7 and 8 in Giants Stadium, I would think about him. Walking around the new stadium while filming, I would thin about him and wonder what he would think about the new structure built for the financially elite. Sometimes I would talk aloud to him, as if he was walking next to me.
A funny story my dad would always tell me was about the time he was headed to the AFL Championship game between the Jets and Oakland Raiders. He was speeding and was pulled over. He was sitting in a line of a dozen cars that were pulled over, dead last behind them all. He was running late and wanted to be there by kick off. He calls an officer over and explains he knows he was speeding and deserves the ticket. He then explains to the officer why he was speeding and shows him the tickets to the game. The officer tells him to hold on and be patient. Less than five minutes later, the officer returns with the ticket and tells my father to leave. He left before the other cars pulled over did.
He was the type that would have looked at the new stadium in amazement. Amazed at all the technology that was put into it and laugh when I would have to explain the reasons why. He was the type that just liked to watch the game, not much else. He would follow the changes in the game, but laugh and smile at the tech advances that are interwoven into it. He would have been 76 today. Still feels like yesterday. Every time the football season begins I think of all those games we went to. I know some others who feel the same as I do.
While filming in the parking lot at Giants Stadium in 2008, I came across Tommy Wilson. Such a dedicated Jets fan he owned the license plates "JETS" & "12 JETS". I later find out Jets owner Woody Johnson offered to buy the "JETS" plate from him. Always wearing his #12 Joe Namath jersey and always at the games, his personality and presence felt like my father's. I guess that is why his story touches me even more than others I met while filming.
Tommy was honored in 2002 by the NFL and Visa Pro Football Hall for Fans. He wrote the winning essay as to why he should be the fan to represent the Jets in the Hall of Fans. He held 10 season tickets for close to 40 years. His restaurants was named after the lot he tailgated in, Lot 12A. A true "Super" Fan in my book.
There is more I can say about Tommy but do not want to give away his entire story. I went back to get a follow up in September of 2009 and he pushed it to another game. When I emailed him about it in early November of 2009, his wife Mary Lou informed me he passed away in early October. I was deeply saddened to hear the news. He had purchased several PSL's too. Tommy lived and breathed the Jets, helped to pay for the new stadium, is in the Hall of Fans for the Jets, but yet was just another fan to the Jets organization.
I met up with his widow Mary Lou and her son Tommy Jr this past October. Mary Lou thought about giving up the seats after he passed but knew Tommy would not have wanted that. Last year was a hard season but this year was different. Once again, many people who used to tailgate with them at 13A were not there. Some did not get PSL’s, others did not have the right parking permits, while others feel it is not the same without Tommy. For the remainder of tailgating last year, it was very somber without Tommy. He was the nucleus that held that tailgate together. Tommy Jr. got a tattoo to remember his father, even though his father did not like tattoos.
Mary Lou and Tommy Jr. always reflect on their memories about Tommy. It makes them smile and feel good about being a Jet fan. Even with next season uncertain, they still reflect and always will. Tommy was one of those fans that made you feel good when he talked. I guess he holds a place in my heart because he reminded me of my own father. There is a strange connection to fans from a certain era in football. An era where it was about the game, not the politics.
Everyone knows the kind of fans I refer to. The ones where they smile when they talk about past seasons. When memories were about actions on the field, not battles in courts off the field. Older generations of fans seem to have this glow in their eyes. Where you do not mind listening to their stories. The kind where you can sit with a beer and listen for hours if you need a reason to smile.
Right now fans need a reason to smile. They need a reason to believe a season will happen this year. Many look forward to those home games, not just to tailgate, but to create memories with friends and family. 50% of ticket money was already due, PSL payment in several months. Do the Jets think the season will happen? But when a season looks like it may not happen, there is nothing to look forward to.
As it stands, all we can do is think ahead to a season that may or may not happen. We can reflect about the games we have all been to before. Many will talk about the past two seasons as they ended in trips to the AFC Championship game. Looking forward to a season where a Super Bowl could be in the Jets grasp for the first time n over 40 years. But all we can do is sit back and wait.
There may be no season. Then all we can do is reflect on the 2011 season that never was. How we all waited for players and owners to come to an agreement to end a lockout. Where the courts made the decision instead of the NFL. In 1987 at least there were some games played. Who knows what will happen this year. Ahh, the memories
(Eds. Note: I know exactly how David feels. I had the same relationship with my Dad regarding Football. I often wonder if he were still with us what he would think of the internet and what we were doing these days..B.C.)
Thursday, January 20, 2011
As the NFL lockout approaches, the average fan is clearly unaware of all of the issues
As the NFL lockout approaches, the average fan is clearly unaware of all of the issues
By Dr. Bill Chachkes-Executive Editor-Football Reporters Online
(Eds. Note: this was first published last week @ Football Reporters Online's main website and Tumblr page, and on the NFL Business Blog)
As I sit here writing this at 4:30 am on the 12th day of January 2011, we are 49 days away from the first job action in professional football in 23 years. The “labor peace” that so many worked so hard for over the last 30 years to keep in place is about to go up in a puff of smoke like the $12 cigars that Madison av. money men favor. But this time, the formula for this impending action comes out of 280 Park Avenue, the headquarters of the NFL itself. I’m not saying this is directly the result of anything that Roger Goodell has done. If anything, he is trying to affect the quickest possible resolution to the problem. Except that mr. Goodell’s authority is limited by the owners who run the NFL. A small fraction of these owners want to see a ”correction,” like the stock market take place in pro football.
Yes folks, this is the doing of a small group of owners who could care less about the players health and general well being. All the more saddening is the fact that the owners in question have more to loose then they realize, and the league has gotten big business and the TV networks to play along.
Although I have been paying attention the last few years to the goings on, I took part in the NFLPA media conference call yesterday with Assistant Executive director (for external affairs) George Atallah and player executive board members Dominuqe Foxoworth (Baltimore Ravens) and Scott Fujita (Cleveland Browns). Most of the questions revolved around the current health and safety issues and the Leagues’ launch of a new website to address these issues. Underneath it all is the countdown to when players will be “Locked Out” of their teams’ facilities (March 3rd).
While most would paint this as a “Millionaires vs. Billionaires” fight, the players in this case are getting the short end of the stick. Players’ rights have never been more at risk now then in all the time since Bernie Parrish helped lead the drive to organize in the 1950’s.
It’s true I subscribe to the “more football is good” theory, but when it’s cast about as a way to get around very real concerns about player health issues, then we have to look deeper. The owners want to add 2 regular season games to the schedule: great, right? Get rid of two pre season games, shorten up the time frame with regard to OTA and mini camps.
Players feel this is the major sticking point in getting a deal done. Not who makes more money, the owners or the players. "To me, right now, as things stand, 18 games, the way it's being proposed, is completely unacceptable. ... I see more and more players get injured every season," said Fujita on yesterday’s call.
Atallah informed us that 352 players were on injured reserve for all or part of the 2010 season, a record high, and just about 1/5th or 20% of the total number of active players this year.
Foxworth added "We put our bodies on the line and produce a lot of revenue, and we get five years (of post-retirement health insurance), And then they want to tack on two more games ... which is just going to multiply the injuries and the ailments that we're going to see after we go into our 40s, 50s, 60s -- 70s, if we're lucky”. ... Foxworth, like so many players, has a growing family, and considers a two thousand dollar a month COBRA payment a steep cost to keep health insurance active while locked out. While some players could probably afford to pay it, most of the younger players with less then 3 years of service in the league would probably have to seek temporary employment at something else to help pay that cost.
"We're not willing to budge on health and safety, and we'd like to gain some more ground in ways we can protect former players and current players." Foxoworth added.
I had a conversation at the 2010 draft With Kevin Mawae, who until this September was the players’ association president. “It all comes down to money, plain and simple. The owners had more then the players until the last agreement. The owners want it back now because the economy took a bad turn, so they want to make up for the outrageously high contracts they give to rookies, which add up to more money then most current vets will ever see, Not that I’m saying that a Bradford shouldn’t get every cent he can. You can die or be paralyzed at any time on the field of play” He was very open and candid about what many players see as a travesty in the making.
This is not to say that the financial issues aren’t important, and that the NFL and it’s workforce don’t need to agree to mutually beneficial terms to insure the survival of the great game of football. They do, and soon. But when you want to force a bad deal down one side’s craw as management is trying to do, I have to question what the owners (at least some) are doing here. If you were truly concerned enough to install and reinforce rule “tweaks” to the game this year to prevent more head to head contact injuries, why would you cut off players’ access to health care during a job dispute? Why have the TV networks agree to pay you money even if no games take place in 2011? Why threaten to lay off or furlough up to 50 percent of League and team staff?
Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones recently said on a 60 Minutes interview segment that “it wouldn’t be so bad if the lockout went to the 11th hour before something got done” That doesn’t sound like a man who cares about his players or their families does it? Fujita doesn’t think so either, calling those comments irresponsible.
What the NFL owners don’t see here is beyond costing both sides a great deal of money and anguish. They are going to kill off the popularity of the game, that the NFL won when professional baseball struck in 1994. I’d want to know why I’m getting charged how ever many thousands of dollars for my tickets next year if there won’t be football played, if I still had season tickets. As my fellow writer David Levy points out many times over in his article series about the fan experience these days, Most average people have been priced out of going to see the game they love. If the owners love this game so much, why do they want to kill off it’s popularity, esp. when this past weekend’s “Wild Card Playoffs” broadcasts averaged over 32 million viewers per game.
This is what people should be asking of the NFL.
By Dr. Bill Chachkes-Executive Editor-Football Reporters Online
(Eds. Note: this was first published last week @ Football Reporters Online's main website and Tumblr page, and on the NFL Business Blog)
As I sit here writing this at 4:30 am on the 12th day of January 2011, we are 49 days away from the first job action in professional football in 23 years. The “labor peace” that so many worked so hard for over the last 30 years to keep in place is about to go up in a puff of smoke like the $12 cigars that Madison av. money men favor. But this time, the formula for this impending action comes out of 280 Park Avenue, the headquarters of the NFL itself. I’m not saying this is directly the result of anything that Roger Goodell has done. If anything, he is trying to affect the quickest possible resolution to the problem. Except that mr. Goodell’s authority is limited by the owners who run the NFL. A small fraction of these owners want to see a ”correction,” like the stock market take place in pro football.
Yes folks, this is the doing of a small group of owners who could care less about the players health and general well being. All the more saddening is the fact that the owners in question have more to loose then they realize, and the league has gotten big business and the TV networks to play along.
Although I have been paying attention the last few years to the goings on, I took part in the NFLPA media conference call yesterday with Assistant Executive director (for external affairs) George Atallah and player executive board members Dominuqe Foxoworth (Baltimore Ravens) and Scott Fujita (Cleveland Browns). Most of the questions revolved around the current health and safety issues and the Leagues’ launch of a new website to address these issues. Underneath it all is the countdown to when players will be “Locked Out” of their teams’ facilities (March 3rd).
While most would paint this as a “Millionaires vs. Billionaires” fight, the players in this case are getting the short end of the stick. Players’ rights have never been more at risk now then in all the time since Bernie Parrish helped lead the drive to organize in the 1950’s.
It’s true I subscribe to the “more football is good” theory, but when it’s cast about as a way to get around very real concerns about player health issues, then we have to look deeper. The owners want to add 2 regular season games to the schedule: great, right? Get rid of two pre season games, shorten up the time frame with regard to OTA and mini camps.
Players feel this is the major sticking point in getting a deal done. Not who makes more money, the owners or the players. "To me, right now, as things stand, 18 games, the way it's being proposed, is completely unacceptable. ... I see more and more players get injured every season," said Fujita on yesterday’s call.
Atallah informed us that 352 players were on injured reserve for all or part of the 2010 season, a record high, and just about 1/5th or 20% of the total number of active players this year.
Foxworth added "We put our bodies on the line and produce a lot of revenue, and we get five years (of post-retirement health insurance), And then they want to tack on two more games ... which is just going to multiply the injuries and the ailments that we're going to see after we go into our 40s, 50s, 60s -- 70s, if we're lucky”. ... Foxworth, like so many players, has a growing family, and considers a two thousand dollar a month COBRA payment a steep cost to keep health insurance active while locked out. While some players could probably afford to pay it, most of the younger players with less then 3 years of service in the league would probably have to seek temporary employment at something else to help pay that cost.
"We're not willing to budge on health and safety, and we'd like to gain some more ground in ways we can protect former players and current players." Foxoworth added.
I had a conversation at the 2010 draft With Kevin Mawae, who until this September was the players’ association president. “It all comes down to money, plain and simple. The owners had more then the players until the last agreement. The owners want it back now because the economy took a bad turn, so they want to make up for the outrageously high contracts they give to rookies, which add up to more money then most current vets will ever see, Not that I’m saying that a Bradford shouldn’t get every cent he can. You can die or be paralyzed at any time on the field of play” He was very open and candid about what many players see as a travesty in the making.
This is not to say that the financial issues aren’t important, and that the NFL and it’s workforce don’t need to agree to mutually beneficial terms to insure the survival of the great game of football. They do, and soon. But when you want to force a bad deal down one side’s craw as management is trying to do, I have to question what the owners (at least some) are doing here. If you were truly concerned enough to install and reinforce rule “tweaks” to the game this year to prevent more head to head contact injuries, why would you cut off players’ access to health care during a job dispute? Why have the TV networks agree to pay you money even if no games take place in 2011? Why threaten to lay off or furlough up to 50 percent of League and team staff?
Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones recently said on a 60 Minutes interview segment that “it wouldn’t be so bad if the lockout went to the 11th hour before something got done” That doesn’t sound like a man who cares about his players or their families does it? Fujita doesn’t think so either, calling those comments irresponsible.
What the NFL owners don’t see here is beyond costing both sides a great deal of money and anguish. They are going to kill off the popularity of the game, that the NFL won when professional baseball struck in 1994. I’d want to know why I’m getting charged how ever many thousands of dollars for my tickets next year if there won’t be football played, if I still had season tickets. As my fellow writer David Levy points out many times over in his article series about the fan experience these days, Most average people have been priced out of going to see the game they love. If the owners love this game so much, why do they want to kill off it’s popularity, esp. when this past weekend’s “Wild Card Playoffs” broadcasts averaged over 32 million viewers per game.
This is what people should be asking of the NFL.
Monday, August 04, 2008
The Scheme in Team Salary
The Scheme in Team Salary
July 31, 2008
By Slavica Milosevska for Football Reporters Online
Since Walter Camp in 1867 established a simple game of football to just play for fun, nothing about it has been the same. Point rules, regulations, salaries and politics have grown into what is now the NFL. William Pudge Heffelfinger was the first man to be paid to play the game for $500 in 1892, then in 1893, the Pittsburgh Athletic Club signed Grant Dibert to the first known contract. Nearly thirty years later in 1920, the first APFA trade was Arkon's Bob Nash to Buffalo for $300 and 5% of all gate receipts. These first timers helped set a precedent for the intricate scheme of revenues and team salaries.
The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) was founded in 1956 when players demanded a minimum league-wide salary and fair benefits. Owners ignored these requests, leading to an antitrust lawsuit in the United States Supreme Court forcing owners to oblige but they still managed to deviate from a CBA, leaving players unsatisfied. The 1982 strike finally led to the ratification of the CBA that lasted until 1987. The NFL and the NFLPA officially signed another seven year CBA in 1993 that has been extended and amended for over two decades. The 2010 season will be uncapped and free agency restrictions are applied because it will be the Final League Year (FLY) of the CBA. Would we see a similar antitrust suit and strike in 2011?
The upcoming FLY was supposed to be in 2012. Owners shortened the 2006 six-year CBA extension to after the 2010 season. To cut costs, owners could attempt locking out players in 2011 to eliminate free agency with its payouts. Clubs would not be required to monetarily support different benefit programs. NFLPA's Executive Director Gene Upshaw predicts that when there is an uncapped season, the salary cap would never come back. A football hierarchy could approach when wealthier teams obtain better athletes and make higher revenues than the less fortunate teams. However, the threat of a lawsuit or strike could rectify something amenable to players.
For the last two years, the salary cap has risen $7 million annually making the 2008 season's hard cap $116,729,000 million. The 2009 cap is already set at $123 million. The cap is just under 60% of all 32 team's total revenue during a League Year including earnings from ticket and merchandise sales, TV contracts, naming rights and local advertising. Coaches, assistants, trainers or associates do not fall under team salary. We all know that players are paid more than handsomely for the love of playing football. In a recent interview, Chicago Bears DT Tommie Harris spoke about players being undeserving because as he put it, “we play a kids game and we get paid a king's ransom.”
An NFL game alone has the most turn out rate of 67,000 attendees in comparison to other American professional sports leagues. Since football has fewer games per season compared to other sports, the total revenue for NFL games in only 20% of baseball, which has a much longer season but less of an average per game crowd. If there were a lockout or strike, teams would lose much more money for missed games because the NFL is so profitable.
Teams still exceed the cap due to rising salaries, but clubs have means of outwitting the system. For instance, signing bonuses do not count toward the cap, so giving a new player a grand signing bonus really enables more cap room for the rest of the team. A signing bonus is given the first year, however it is prorated in the salary cap over the contract length. Team owners can spend more in the cap this way for other players.
One problem for the owners is that if a player is cut or traded the bonus cash is no longer prorated and must be paid in full that year which will count under the cap. Salary is back-ended meaning a player gradually receives more money each year and the most loot in the last year or two of their contract. In the latter, this is when owners will drop players to save money and spend a ridiculous amount of money to sign a rookie with no pro league experience.
Players deserve more compensation year after year for ongoing injuries and risks they impose on their bodies, not to get kicked to the curb. The NFL teams won't stop milking that cap for whatever its worth and not sharing with vets who were their backbone. NFL owners like to say the cap allots teams to sustain their best veterans, but these days, we see rookies with higher pay. Where else have you seen a new employee acquire more compensation than his established co-worker with a job akin?
The Indianapolis Colts owners are the most generous to its veterans according to their positions. In 2007, DE Dwight Freeney signed a $72 million contract with $30 million guaranteed after his rookie contract expired. Freeney played in the pros for five years to deserve this amount when rookie QB Matt Ryan stumbles onto the Atlanta Falcons with guarantees of $34.75 million and also a $72 million deal.
You may say that QBs are generally paid more than DEs.
Well then, look at fellow Falcon teammate QB Joey Harrington's deal. This will be his seventh year in the NFL. He originally signed a two year $6 million deal in 2007, however they cut his salary to adjust the cap for the draft. Harrington was to receive $2.5 million in his second and final season, but the salary cut left him $1 million, a $700,000 base and $300,000 bonus. Here are some other contracts to look at. LT Jake Long was the first draft pick signing on with the Miami Dolphins for $57.75 million and $30 guaranteed. Fourth pick RB Darren McFadden has $26 million in guarantees and a $60 million deal with the Oakland Raiders.
It seems easier for owners to hand over $30 million in guarantees to rookies. Promising veterans are being dropped to stay under the cap. Upshaw doesn't believe in having a salary cap on rookies. Players negotiate their salaries based on a cap within a cap. Under the Rookie Pool this year, the entire league's available cap money is $140 million or 2% of total revenues. The first round pick is paid the highest amount unlike later round draft picks because they are working under a limited budget. Rookie salary also depends on contract length, so the first 16 picks of first-round draft obtain a six-year contract in contrast to second half of first round picks that get a maximum of 5 years. All others sign for a maximum of 4 years. Rookies can negotiate performance incentives to escalate salary as well. The CBA has guidelines for this not to be deducted from the overall Rookie Pool.
The guidelines do not apply with the CBA out of the picture. When 2011 rolls around, many issues would arise for everyone involved in the NLF. More than 60% of total revenues could go to players. Owners could stock up on players and would be free to spend without restrictions. Rookie contracts would go up even though that has been constant. Revenue sharing would no longer disperse equally throughout all 32 teams, so clubs with the most leverage could have better players and be more profitable. Since football is such a large part of the American culture and the NFL is a jackpot and with the greed in the business associates, a strike is unlikely.
July 31, 2008
By Slavica Milosevska for Football Reporters Online
Since Walter Camp in 1867 established a simple game of football to just play for fun, nothing about it has been the same. Point rules, regulations, salaries and politics have grown into what is now the NFL. William Pudge Heffelfinger was the first man to be paid to play the game for $500 in 1892, then in 1893, the Pittsburgh Athletic Club signed Grant Dibert to the first known contract. Nearly thirty years later in 1920, the first APFA trade was Arkon's Bob Nash to Buffalo for $300 and 5% of all gate receipts. These first timers helped set a precedent for the intricate scheme of revenues and team salaries.
The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) was founded in 1956 when players demanded a minimum league-wide salary and fair benefits. Owners ignored these requests, leading to an antitrust lawsuit in the United States Supreme Court forcing owners to oblige but they still managed to deviate from a CBA, leaving players unsatisfied. The 1982 strike finally led to the ratification of the CBA that lasted until 1987. The NFL and the NFLPA officially signed another seven year CBA in 1993 that has been extended and amended for over two decades. The 2010 season will be uncapped and free agency restrictions are applied because it will be the Final League Year (FLY) of the CBA. Would we see a similar antitrust suit and strike in 2011?
The upcoming FLY was supposed to be in 2012. Owners shortened the 2006 six-year CBA extension to after the 2010 season. To cut costs, owners could attempt locking out players in 2011 to eliminate free agency with its payouts. Clubs would not be required to monetarily support different benefit programs. NFLPA's Executive Director Gene Upshaw predicts that when there is an uncapped season, the salary cap would never come back. A football hierarchy could approach when wealthier teams obtain better athletes and make higher revenues than the less fortunate teams. However, the threat of a lawsuit or strike could rectify something amenable to players.
For the last two years, the salary cap has risen $7 million annually making the 2008 season's hard cap $116,729,000 million. The 2009 cap is already set at $123 million. The cap is just under 60% of all 32 team's total revenue during a League Year including earnings from ticket and merchandise sales, TV contracts, naming rights and local advertising. Coaches, assistants, trainers or associates do not fall under team salary. We all know that players are paid more than handsomely for the love of playing football. In a recent interview, Chicago Bears DT Tommie Harris spoke about players being undeserving because as he put it, “we play a kids game and we get paid a king's ransom.”
An NFL game alone has the most turn out rate of 67,000 attendees in comparison to other American professional sports leagues. Since football has fewer games per season compared to other sports, the total revenue for NFL games in only 20% of baseball, which has a much longer season but less of an average per game crowd. If there were a lockout or strike, teams would lose much more money for missed games because the NFL is so profitable.
Teams still exceed the cap due to rising salaries, but clubs have means of outwitting the system. For instance, signing bonuses do not count toward the cap, so giving a new player a grand signing bonus really enables more cap room for the rest of the team. A signing bonus is given the first year, however it is prorated in the salary cap over the contract length. Team owners can spend more in the cap this way for other players.
One problem for the owners is that if a player is cut or traded the bonus cash is no longer prorated and must be paid in full that year which will count under the cap. Salary is back-ended meaning a player gradually receives more money each year and the most loot in the last year or two of their contract. In the latter, this is when owners will drop players to save money and spend a ridiculous amount of money to sign a rookie with no pro league experience.
Players deserve more compensation year after year for ongoing injuries and risks they impose on their bodies, not to get kicked to the curb. The NFL teams won't stop milking that cap for whatever its worth and not sharing with vets who were their backbone. NFL owners like to say the cap allots teams to sustain their best veterans, but these days, we see rookies with higher pay. Where else have you seen a new employee acquire more compensation than his established co-worker with a job akin?
The Indianapolis Colts owners are the most generous to its veterans according to their positions. In 2007, DE Dwight Freeney signed a $72 million contract with $30 million guaranteed after his rookie contract expired. Freeney played in the pros for five years to deserve this amount when rookie QB Matt Ryan stumbles onto the Atlanta Falcons with guarantees of $34.75 million and also a $72 million deal.
You may say that QBs are generally paid more than DEs.
Well then, look at fellow Falcon teammate QB Joey Harrington's deal. This will be his seventh year in the NFL. He originally signed a two year $6 million deal in 2007, however they cut his salary to adjust the cap for the draft. Harrington was to receive $2.5 million in his second and final season, but the salary cut left him $1 million, a $700,000 base and $300,000 bonus. Here are some other contracts to look at. LT Jake Long was the first draft pick signing on with the Miami Dolphins for $57.75 million and $30 guaranteed. Fourth pick RB Darren McFadden has $26 million in guarantees and a $60 million deal with the Oakland Raiders.
It seems easier for owners to hand over $30 million in guarantees to rookies. Promising veterans are being dropped to stay under the cap. Upshaw doesn't believe in having a salary cap on rookies. Players negotiate their salaries based on a cap within a cap. Under the Rookie Pool this year, the entire league's available cap money is $140 million or 2% of total revenues. The first round pick is paid the highest amount unlike later round draft picks because they are working under a limited budget. Rookie salary also depends on contract length, so the first 16 picks of first-round draft obtain a six-year contract in contrast to second half of first round picks that get a maximum of 5 years. All others sign for a maximum of 4 years. Rookies can negotiate performance incentives to escalate salary as well. The CBA has guidelines for this not to be deducted from the overall Rookie Pool.
The guidelines do not apply with the CBA out of the picture. When 2011 rolls around, many issues would arise for everyone involved in the NLF. More than 60% of total revenues could go to players. Owners could stock up on players and would be free to spend without restrictions. Rookie contracts would go up even though that has been constant. Revenue sharing would no longer disperse equally throughout all 32 teams, so clubs with the most leverage could have better players and be more profitable. Since football is such a large part of the American culture and the NFL is a jackpot and with the greed in the business associates, a strike is unlikely.
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