The NFL Is Trying To Kill Itself

[Deleted member 365]

Nothing like watching billionaires fight with millionaires while people who live in the "real" world struggle to make ends meet.

You know that you're both the disease and the cure?

Stop buying their crap and stop watching their games.

I love it when Americans bitch about how "terrible" it is to make ends meet and bitch about pro athletes while spending $100 on a single jersey, paying extra to watch them on tv, paying hundreds of dollars for tickets, etc.

Here's the truth, MOST Americans who are "struggling" to make ends meet are still at least 10x better off than most of the world. Americans are struggling to make ends meet while still owning multiple cars, cell phones, video games, plasmas, new brand name clothes, running the AC/Heater nonstop, and multiple computers.
Americans bitch and complain while owning 4,000 square feet of house. They moan when they only have 4 bathrooms.

Americans truly need to get out of their own country and see how the rest of the world is.

 

[dantheman]

You know that you're both the disease and the cure?

Stop buying their crap and stop watching their games.

I love it when Americans bitch about how "terrible" it is to make ends meet and bitch about pro athletes while spending $100 on a single jersey, paying extra to watch them on tv, paying hundreds of dollars for tickets, etc.

Here's the truth, MOST Americans who are "struggling" to make ends meet are still at least 10x better off than most of the world. Americans are struggling to make ends meet while still owning multiple cars, cell phones, video games, plasmas, new brand name clothes, running the AC/Heater nonstop, and multiple computers.
Americans bitch and complain while owning 4,000 square feet of house. They moan when they only have 4 bathrooms.

Americans truly need to get out of their own country and see how the rest of the world is.

This might sound weird, but I was watching House Hunters on TV a few weeks ago and it was just crazy, they showed a few American families and these crazy old bitches were complaining because the kitchen ( 6,000 sq ft 2.5 million dollar house) didn't have the counter space they wanted, they just complained and complained and bitched about everything, and all three houses they looked at were unreal nice.

Anyway, they also have an international edition of that show (my wife makes me watch it, haha) and the families from the UK and Europe, who were spending a lot more money, were just thrilled with everything and the homes they were looking at were more expensive, but complete **** compared to the US homes.

Anyway, just kind of made me embarrassed, most Americans just have effin clue.

 

[candrew]

Americans truly need to get out of their own country and see how the rest of the world is.

Um thanks but no thanks.

And I only have 2 bathrooms for 3 people - it's a damn hardship.

 

[Pantz]

Nothing like watching middle-class Americans argue about upper-class Americans while people who live in the "real" world struggle to make ends meet.

 

[Nate505]

I'm with the players on this one. They are willing to sign the deal that's been in place for the past 5 years or so. The owners have done nothing to convince me that the deal is such a gain for the players that it has to be worked out. The NBA is different, the players have too much control. But NFL players already had the short end of the proverbial stick, and the owners want more?

 

[gregbroncs]

I'm with the players on this one. They are willing to sign the deal that's been in place for the past 5 years or so. The owners have done nothing to convince me that the deal is such a gain for the players that it has to be worked out. The NBA is different, the players have too much control. But NFL players already had the short end of the proverbial stick, and the owners want more?

Of course the players want to sign it. It was a steal of a deal for them when they signed it. They have no financial risk and they take 60% of the profit. Who wouldn't want a job like that? If the fans stop coming what do the player's care? They still get paid. If the stadium is falling apart and needs fixed, replaced or upgraded what do the player's care? They still get paid. If the price of flying the teams around more than doubles, what do the player's care? They still get paid.

The player's are every bit if not more at fault for this than the owner's. The owner's made this happen a year earlier but it would have happened next year when the deal really ran out anyway. And it's right now that the economy is killing the bottom line of all businesses including sports franchises.

I'm was not really on either side. But the owner's showed a legitimate effort to get a deal done and the player's rejected it. The leader of the player's union has been telling his player's that there was a 95% chance of a lockout since before the season (according to some of the players). That says to me that he had no intention of considering any offer that required the players to make concessions.

 

[Nate505]

Of course the players want to sign it. It was a steal of a deal for them when they signed it. They have no financial risk and they take 60% of the profit. Who wouldn't want a job like that? If the fans stop coming what do the player's care? They still get paid. If the stadium is falling apart and needs fixed, replaced or upgraded what do the player's care? They still get paid. If the price of flying the teams around more than doubles, what do the player's care? They still get paid.

The player's are every bit if not more at fault for this than the owner's. The owner's made this happen a year earlier but it would have happened next year when the deal really ran out anyway. And it's right now that the economy is killing the bottom line of all businesses including sports franchises.

I'm was not really on either side. But the owner's showed a legitimate effort to get a deal done and the player's rejected it. The leader of the player's union has been telling his player's that there was a 95% chance of a lockout since before the season (according to some of the players). That says to me that he had no intention of considering any offer that required the players to make concessions.

They may not take any direct financial risk, but they risk their bodies in ways I would never consider. They are more than employees, they are the product and thus deserve a lot of the revenue. And this is one of the most riskless investments you can ask for. Networks are tripping over themselves to offer billions to sign NFL contracts, and the NFL shares revenues. And on top of that, the owners pretty much guilt trip the taxpayer into financing stadiums, the one legit risk they could undertake. The NFL has not declined in popularity or profitability with the old contract, and frankly, the owners had no intention of offering concessions either. Other than make outlandish demands like an 18 game season then take it off the table and act like i was a concession. They were ready to just go right to a lockout until it was ruled they can't receive the TV payments after locking the players out.

 

[7StraightIsGreat]

I side with the owners. They are the ones taking all the financial risks, building/upkeeping stadiums and trying to further the brand of their franchise. Players get paid whether tickets are being sold or not.

Right now the rallying cry for players is that they put their long-term health on the line to play the game. If it's not worth the physical risk for some players, they should think of another line of work. I do think the NFL owes it to them to upgrade the type of healthcare and benefits they recieve during/after their careers but these guys know the risks well before they ever make it into the NFL.

 

[Nate505]

Yeah, Pat Bowlen is really took a risk building the new Mile High Stadium. Oh wait, he didn't. He whined and cried that the city needed a new stadium and then hinted that he was going to move the team to LA if it didn't get built, and the city paid for 75% of the stadium thru taxes while Bowlen payed 25% of the costs. The players don't need to take the risk. They are the product on the field. Products don't take risks. This is different from some yutz working at Walmart. Nobody goes to Walmart for an employee. They go there for the products that the store sells. But people want NFL for the players almost exclusively. When the Colts play the Saints next year the talk will be about Manning and Brees, not Irsay and whoever owns the Saints.

Has any NFL owner completely paid for their own stadium? That's the biggest risk they take, and even then they seem to foot most of the bill to the taxpayer. I have not seen one compelling reason from them why the CBA they've been working with for the past five years is not good for them.

 

[candrew]

I side with the owners. They are the ones taking all the financial risks, building/upkeeping stadiums and trying to further the brand of their franchise. Players get paid whether tickets are being sold or not.

With the exception of the New Meadowlands where The Jets and Giants play every new stadium has been built with at least some public money. Jerry Jones moved The Cowboys out of Arlington because the city would not agree to a sales tax hike to build that gaudy piece of crap he calls a stadium.

Becoming an NFL owner is like winning the billionaires lotterty - the league is run like a socialistic utopia with a **** ton of money split equally.

 

[gregbroncs]

Yeah, Pat Bowlen is really took a risk building the new Mile High Stadium. Oh wait, he didn't. He whined and cried that the city needed a new stadium and then hinted that he was going to move the team to LA if it didn't get built, and the city paid for 75% of the stadium thru taxes while Bowlen payed 25% of the costs. The players don't need to take the risk. They are the product on the field. Products don't take risks. This is different from some yutz working at Walmart. Nobody goes to Walmart for an employee. They go there for the products that the store sells. But people want NFL for the players almost exclusively. When the Colts play the Saints next year the talk will be about Manning and Brees, not Irsay and whoever owns the Saints.

Has any NFL owner completely paid for their own stadium? That's the biggest risk they take, and even then they seem to foot most of the bill to the taxpayer. I have not seen one compelling reason from them why the CBA they've been working with for the past five years is not good for them.

The biggest risk they take is paying for all the expenses to run a football franchise and have the expenses on all of these items go up while taking less than half the profit. All the risk, 40% of the reward. The owners ditched 18 games, they offered to help with retired players and they offered to open the league audit books (something fellow owners are not even allowed to see). All they were unwilling to offer was a 60% cut of their profit. The players got everything they were asking for except were asked to make less money. They rejected it. The owners are making less money but the players were unwilling to accept even partial burden for increased expenses.

 

[7StraightIsGreat]

Yeah, Pat Bowlen is really took a risk building the new Mile High Stadium. Oh wait, he didn't. He whined and cried that the city needed a new stadium and then hinted that he was going to move the team to LA if it didn't get built, and the city paid for 75% of the stadium thru taxes while Bowlen payed 25% of the costs. The players don't need to take the risk. They are the product on the field. Products don't take risks. This is different from some yutz working at Walmart. Nobody goes to Walmart for an employee. They go there for the products that the store sells. But people want NFL for the players almost exclusively. When the Colts play the Saints next year the talk will be about Manning and Brees, not Irsay and whoever owns the Saints.

Has any NFL owner completely paid for their own stadium? That's the biggest risk they take, and even then they seem to foot most of the bill to the taxpayer. I have not seen one compelling reason from them why the CBA they've been working with for the past five years is not good for them.

I never said public money was not used, and I never said NFL owners aren't douche-bags (Bowlen especially). And while I will admit that it is a player driven league, the league will still be here as the players come and go. Right now it's Manning, Brees and Brady. 20 years ago it was Montana, Marino and Elway. Players come and go but the daily costs of running a franchise and keeping it relevent do not. Who is left to pick up the pieces in Indy, attempt to find a new face for the franchise and keep season ticket sales afloat after Peyton retires? Obviously it's not Peyton's problem, those issues belong to the franchise itself.

I won't go over them again because Gregbroncs has pointed it out in a few posts, but the owners were willing to bend on several key issues including the amount of money being given back to the players. The players will try to win the fans heart's and make them all believe it's about their health and being taken care of long term but at the end of the day it's an attempt for them to keep their hands on as much salary as possible.