NFL Lockout

[Pilgrim]

I frankly don't care who is right and who is wrong - because both sides are partly right, partly wrong.

And I don't care. I prefer college football anyway. This may be the reason I finally cancel my NFL Sunday Ticket.

Absent a court ruling that favors the players, the players will lose - because if they don't play, they don't get paid. If the owners keep them locked out, they'll lose a whee-load of money, but the IMO players are more vulnerable than the owners.

The owners can wait until the weekend before the pre-season, open the doors and put a crap product on the field because the players won't be in shape or on the same page, but it will be titled "NFL Football" and all the NFL fans will watch it.

I'll watch when I care to, because most of the teams will probably be equally awkward. The teams I care most about - the Packers and Seahawks - aren't going to be very different from last year. The Pack is ready to repeat because they have a solid team returning. The Seahawks were marginal at best and will be rebuilding this year.

The team closest to me - the one I can see without the NFL Sunday Ticket - is the Broncos. I don't care what they do, but it will be fun to watch the Tebow haters fight with the Tebow disciples.

Bottom line: college football, YAY! Go, COUGS!

 

[jp58]

I wish you would have posted, but understand. I am passionate about this.....

I did, but I thought better of it. I had a breakdown of a few player's salaries. One from the league minimum, one from the practice squad, one from median wage, and the "Peyton" contract.

 

[jp58]

You are right that NFL players are well paid, but trying to relate our income to theirs is never going to make sense. As jp58 pointed out, this is a unique situation. People do not pay $75 or more each to watch me work, and I am not one of 75 or 100 people in the world who do what I do.

As for the injuries, there is a dark side to the NFL that we are only starting to get a glimpse of in recent years related to concussions. I don't know how familiar you are with the inner workings of the NFL, but there is a big drop off on how players are treated once you get past your Troy Polamalu, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, and Chris Johnson types. Your average guy comes in and signs for the league minimum, about $350,000, which is not guaranteed. He gets hurt in training camp or a game, and gets cut. Career over, no more money, and hopefully the injury was not severe enough to manifest itself in joint or muscle problems as he gets older. Or you have a guy who plays a few years in the league, maybe makes up near the million dollar a year salary. His career ends at age 30 or maybe even 32. By the time he hits 45, he can no longer bend over to pick up the newspaper or the headaches and neck pain is so intense, he is reduced to a life of pain meds and people helping care for him. Those latter two happen far more often than people realize or want to admit. It doesn't happen to everyone, I agree, but it is a reality of playing football.

All of us go to work to earn as much as we can and we look for chances to get a promotion, a raise, a bonus, what have you.

-Mike

Mike,

I've got a much more in depth pay breakdown from either SI or ESPN, and one from the Tennessean (the state newspaper), which was written by a good friend of mine, and they all basically say that the "Average" NFL player makes less than 40% of their gross pay after taxes and all associated fees. Someone on the practice squad or making league minimum would be lucky to eclipse $150k a year.

 

[Gard]

Regarding injuries, what about insurance? Pretty sure these guy's will have pretty hefty insurance policies!

No amount of money compensates for injuries that make it so you are effectively crippled, or permanently brain damaged.

It just isn't as easy as it seems on the surface.

Like aborgman pointed out, the numbers are fuzzy, because not all of the facts are out in the open. I'm not saying they SHOULD be either, because there is a right for the owners to run their businesses as they see fit, without someone looking over their shoulder.

That said, I believe that the owners have an over inflated sense of their importance, and are overly de-valuing the players. No players, no NFL.

The sneaky thing that is going on in all of this, the smelly fart in the room that no one wants to claim or acknowledge is this: several of the "big market" team owners are angling to either eliminate (choice 1) or renegotiate to much more favorable terms to themselves (choice 2) the revenue sharing and salary cap agreements that are a part and parcel of how the NFL became the great success it now is.

Guys like Jerry Jones and Daniel Snyder want to keep a bigger piece of the pie, and be allowed to spend it to "buy" championships.

For this reason alone, I am utterly and completely on the side of the PLAYERS, because allowing these ego-driven, obnoxious jerks to have this advantage will ruin the NFL.

 

[Clark Dark]

I'm on the side of the players. They want to keep the status quo. The owners are being pigs. Sports commentators talking about the owners have to build stadiums (in a whiney voice) but in reality they build along with lots of tax money from municipalities (on the backs of fans and taxpayers). The Eagles owner owes Philly over $33 mil since the new stadium was built here and I'm sure it's the same all over.

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

No amount of money compensates for injuries that make it so you are effectively crippled, or permanently brain damaged.

It just isn't as easy as it seems on the surface.

Yet they enter the that sporting world, knowing the risks. Plenty of people play contacts sports at a competitive level, without the monetary bonus these guys get.

There's a great number of jobs which have health risks, that don't pay anywhere near what these guys get.

Still no sympathy for their greed (be it the owners or players). But I can't see it ending in the players favor, look at the number of players who have been just short of the NFL level, and usually for reasons outwith playing ability.

There'll be other players there to take up the tights and there'll still be huge numbers of people there to watch the NFL.

 

[MJ5150]

There's a great number of jobs which have health risks, that don't pay anywhere near what these guys get.

I agree, but you can't relate the income of professional athletes to everyday people like us. Same goes for musicians and actors. Their job market is way too different than ours.

I have no problem with a guy getting as much as he can early on since there is a good chance he will be suffering in his 40's and on. Anyone else in a job that risks their health, I hope the same for them.

-Mike