So the league makes more and they make less…why, exactly? You contradict yourself as the league is making more money than ever.

Who forced Al Davis to give Jemarcus Russel that money?

Who made the owners fight with one another for years to overpay for marginal talent?

Can’t afford good players? Sell the team?

Can’t sell out the stadium? Move it to LA.

Can’t buck up for a high draft pick? Deal it.

Is that not the capitalist way? Why should my team be supporting a broke-ass Jacksonville or Carolina franchise?

Owners can spend what they want. They CHOOSE to spend the way they do.

You want to protect owners from themselves. We know such efforts fail – as they did in the NBA and MLB.

End of story. If the current system stinks, it’s because they created it. And they’ll screw up again if you make conditions more favorable for them – remember, the Knicks were let off the hook with the “Allen Houston Rule”. AND THEY DIDN”T USE IT ON ALLEN HOUSTON!

Talk to me about the NBA, I agree with the need for reform. But the NFL…it ain’t broke.

As for the players, just like today’s military, they have a choice. They can choose either of those professions with the inherent risk and the rewards or chose safer professions with less risk. No one has to go into the military and no one has to play pro football. It’s a choice. That being said, I’m glad that people chose to do it. But don’t ask me to shed a tear for college graduates who eschew safer professions for the NFL and it’s big money potential and then cry about the risks of the game. Shut up and play. Or don’t play. But shut up.

As for who actually plays the game, Montana retired and got replaced. Bradshaw, Fouts, Sanders, Staubach, Starr, etc. all left the game and someone else stepped in. How long have the Rooneys owned the Steelers. Eight Super Bowl appearances with three different coaches and three different QBs. The Rooneys have proven they can get there without any particular person. Ultimately, its the ownership that really matters. If you have a lousy owner you will have a lousy team. If you have a great owner, you will have a great team. Period.

And by employer-employee relationship, I mean one where the employees are compensated for their contribution to the effort and have access to a benefits package commensurate with their risk and contribution. But not one, where an employee can dictate what an owner does or doesn’t do with the business. Employees can always leave if the employment is not to their liking.

Owners charge me for meaningless pre-season games…it’s the players’ fault, make them work 12.5% more.

Owners charge $25 for parking, make me pay for a PSL…wouldn’t happen if the players made less.

Owners hold gun to head of city, make us fund their stadium with taxpayer dollars or else they’ll leave…too bad they can’t cut costs by decreasing payroll and build it themselves.

Guys…the owners have directed all of those things. It isn’t the players. But A LOT of money has been spent convincing you that the ridiculous statements above are true.

Why not blame the teacher’s union for high NFL ticket prices? It would make about as much sense.

Americans love capitalism, except when they get priced out of good seats at the game, or when gas gets expensive. Then they want a right of entry regardless of their economic situation. Unreal.

Apparently you must not be aware of the Jets (amoung others) already laying off workers and instituting pay cuts. They could care less about the stadium workers. The Union is not at fault here. They did not threaten to strike or stop playing. This is all on the owners. To blame the union is being disingenuous.

We aren’t talking about firing the overnight shift at WalMart, or even the air traffic controllers.

The NFL is not losing money. This model is sustainable. Everyone is getting rich. What’s broken?

The rookie wage scale? Well, no one makes the owners pay that out. Don’t have the cash to pay the 1st overall pick? Then trade it to a team that does! That’s capitalism!

Small market teams? Well, no one says they have a right to a team. If it doesn’t make money, move it to LA or contract it. Survival of the fittest. That’s capitalism!

Really, and producers don’t? Owners don’t? And, not sure you noticed, but some of them are great and some suck.

Harrison Ford, who hasn’t been able to act for about 15 years, gets as much money as he does because HE guarantees a HUGE box office. His very presence.

Replace him with Javier Bardem and that same movie makes less. Replace him with Casey Affleck and that same film is considered a disappointment.

Regardless of the strength of the actual film. “Gone Baby Gone” was far better than a lot of “big” films of its time of release (and I believe won Best Supporting Actress), but movie goers aren’t interested in Casey Affleck as a lead.

It’s ALL about the talent. Do you really care what studio produced the Beatles records? Can you even name the producers involved in their hits?

And what, exactly, would you consider a “employer-employee relationship we should” [have]?

Owners know what’s going to happen if they lock us out. Yes, I said US. Locking the players out results in the fans being locked out as well, and unlike the players who will be paid millions to return, we the fans have far less of an incentive. If the owners lockout for a whole season, they better be prepared for massive future losses across the board. Advertising, network contracts, sponsorships, ticket sales, merchandise sales will all take a big enough hit that I would guess it would take close to 10 years to reach current heights again.

And these lovely little tax-payer funded stadiums? How many years do you think it would be before ANY citizen would want one in their home town or before a politician would even consider pushing a bill like that onto his constituents?

Go ahead NFL, lock US out. Just remember, the average person tells 2-3 people about a product or service they like. They tell closer to 12 people about a product or service they dislike, so for every American you piss off, 12 of their friends will hear all about it…. How do like those odds?

Unions had a worthwhile purpose 100 years ago. Today they are good for nothing except wiping out once profitable businesses.

The TV money was the only big hammer the owners had over the player’s union and that is gone. It’s now a more level playing field where both side lose big money over small potatoes.

Now it’s time for the owners (and players too) to think about things being penny wise or pound foolish.

So which side? Well for my money, the owners pay the bills, hire the coaches, get the stadiums, etc. They are the producers of the show. The players? They are the actors. Actors come and go. So do players.

Yeah it’s billionaires versus millionaire, but it’s the billionairs that endure the risk and provide the all of the amenities and arenas.

I’m hoping for a lockout. I’m hoping the players cave, decertify, whatever. And we get the employer-employee relationship we should have so we don’t have to hear about this for a long, long time.

Let this thing go for a full year. Close down 2011 and let’s see who’s still standing. It’ll be a long time before we have the tail trying to wag the dog.