At a time when teams like the Jets are requiring employees to take unpaid time off and teams like the Dolphins are slashing pay but not cutting hours, the Raiders have come up with a unique way of addressing the problems presented by the lockout.
According to Jarrett Bell of USA Today, the Raiders aren’t reducing pay or putting employees on furlough. Instead, they want the employees to sell season tickets.
“I understand that some clubs are taking different approaches,” team president Amy Trask told Bell. “[But] a very strong argument can be made that this is something that staff members of every team should be doing all the time.”
And before folks roll their eyes and assume it’s another typical kooky Raiders approach, keep this in mind: When the plan was announced on March 11, the employees greeted it with relief.
“It was like Christmas,” Raiders defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan told Bell. “And with a big sigh of relief.”
The sales obligation depends on the length of the lockout and the size of the employee’s salary. And there’s no “or else” mandate.
“We’ll work with them,” Trask said as to employees who can’t manage to make sales. “The goal is for everyone to succeed.”
Of course, if enough employees succeed, there won’t be any more season tickets to sell. But with average attendance in 2010 of only 46,431, that won’t happen for a while.