We noted this morning that the Arena Football League players could go on strike as soon as today, and now labor unrest in the indoor league has resulted in tonight’s game being pulled from the NFL Network schedule.
The AFL sent out a press release this afternoon saying that “NFL Network will not broadcast the game due to labor uncertainty.” The Philadelphia Soul and Milwaukee Mustangs were scheduled to meet, but instead NFL Network will show repeats of Top 100 Players.
“This is unfortunate, but we understand the decision being made by NFL Network,” AFL Commissioner Jerry B. Kurz said in a statement. “The public negotiation tactics of some, have put a large number of people in a difficult situation. We will continue to work at reaching an agreement with our players and hope that those involved in the talks will proceed in a more constructive way.”
The money being argued over in Arena Football is slightly less than the several billion dollars a year that the NFL owners and players divvy up. The AFL players are demanding $600 a game, while the owners are offering $500 a game.