Comments on: Clearing the air on the mediated labor talks

By: FoozieGrooler

FoozieGrooler — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 21:40:57 +0000

“Each side is represented by outside counsel who likely charge closer to $1,000 than $100 per hour for their time. There would be no reason for Bob Batterman or Jeffrey Kessler to attend the talks if nothing is happening”

Isn’t that a contradiction?
I see 1,000 reasons. Per hour.

By: thingamajig

thingamajig — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 21:23:16 +0000

“Well,” the mediator said, “we can sit here and look at each other all day or we can go get something productive done.” And with that the mediation ended, after roughly 30 minutes.

Thats when Mikey went back to his mom’s basement.

By: marvin49

marvin49 — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 20:36:28 +0000

@904blasta

You’re missing the point really. Nobody is trying to shortchange the players. The NFL caved just to get the games going and avoid a work stoppage a few years ago.

Thats whats gotten us in this mess. The deal that was struck favored the players (and Kevin Mawae has admitted that). The deal doesn’t work for the owners. At present, there are players in the NFL that make more money then entire franchises.

As much as we hate it, its a business and the owners have a right to want to make money. The players want 50% of the money, but they don’t want 50% of the risk or expenses.

The Packers (th only teams whose books are open) have made less oney in every year since the new CBA took effect. Last year they made 10-15 milion. There are SEVERAL players in the NFL who make more than that.

Maybe I’m crazy, but when ONE PLAYER is making more than the profits of the entire team, something is wrong.

By: 904blasta

904blasta — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 20:19:59 +0000

All these ‘negotiations’ are nonsense.

It’s really this simple, the players are the engine that run the NFL.

People pay good money every year to watch players like Manning and Jones-Drew, not to sit in 90+ degree heat or freezing snow to watch Goodell preach from up high or Richardson and the owner’s push papers.

The reality of this situation is that without the players their will be no league. Sure, we could grab ‘scabs’ like they did in the last strike season. But nobody is going to fork over $100+ a game to watch that kind of product.

That’s what the UFL and AFL are for and that’s why their ticket prices (and fan bases) are 10xs less than the NFLs.

The owners have the money but the players have the ultimate bargaining chip at the negotiating table and that is their skill set.

If I was the commish. of the UFL or any other ‘league’ I’d pray every night for an NFL lockout. Do you really believe owners like Mark Cuban don’t have the money or brains to set up a respectable pay scale and try and influence some of the top players in the league to play for their francshises, ala USFL?

Maybe the UFL would only have a handful of teams in backwater cities, but at least their would still be football.

A capitalist system would dictate that fans of the NFL would begin to watch the UFL, based soley on the fact that they would have a better product (or some product) if their is a lockout/ scab player NFL. The UFL could then capitalize on their momentum by putting more teams in bigger cities and paying former NFL players and incoming rookies a fair piece of the pie.

While the NFL may have the state of the art stadiums and 60 yard jumbo-screens, it’s all about the product on the field.