Will NFL players go on strike in 2011?
As Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports writes, there’s a very good chance that the NFL could see a work stoppage by 2011.
What’s the issue? Money. (Surprise, surprise).
Players now receive 59.5 percent of all money generated by the league. The salary cap for each team is now at $127 million, up from $85.5 million in 2006. Owners say they’re getting soaked. They want a rookie wage scale so they don’t have to hand $40 million in guaranteed money to unproven players. They want players to understand that stadium costs in the current economy are killing them.
The players want to see every detail to find out just how badly owners are getting hurt. Their rallying cry is “Open your books…” which they say more often than a seventh-grade English teacher.
And while Smith’s recent election will be used as an excuse for that, it’s clear the sides are currently more interested in digging in than rolling up their sleeves and finding resolution.
Meanwhile, checkpoints are being passed without pause. When the next league year begins in a little more than 10 months, there will be no salary cap in place. In 2006, prompted in part by a fear of a no-cap 2007, the two sides worked furiously to get the new deal done.
But the urgency isn’t there this time. It’s a staring contest. And while both sides will try to curry the favor of fans — Smith has already shown a penchant for talking about the stadium workers who’ll be impacted by a lockout — neither side is going to get much sympathy.
It never ceases to amaze me how greedy everyone is in professional sports. The owners are making millions of dollars off the players, yet they don’t want to give them a cent more than they have to. And the players are making millions of dollars, yet want more regardless of if they perform well or not. It’s a vicious cycle and one that doesn’t make sense outside of the sports realm.
Something that has always been ironic to me about the NFL is that players always seem to perform their best when money is on the line (i.e. during their contract years). Then once they get paid, their play often drops off immensely, so in essence, owners get the best out of players on the cheap and often a lackluster effort from them when they’re most expensive. (I should also note that not all players are like this.)
But getting back on topic, could you image the backlash the NFL will receive from fans if the players go on strike? How about the millions of dollars oddsmakers and sports books would lose without any NFL played for a year? I shudder to think about the absolute hell that would ensue.
THIS IS WHY MORE AND MORE PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF ARE TUNING INTO COLLEGE FOOTBALL AND STRAYING FROM THE GREEDY NFL. THE PLAYERS AND ALL OF THESE MILLIONAIRES FIGHTING SURE TURNS AN AVERAGE JOE LIKE ME OFF, IT MAKES ME SICK. I WOULD GLADLY SETTLE FOR 1% OF WHAT THEY ARE FIGHTING OVER!! THE GAME ITSELF AND SPORTSMANSHIP GETS LOST IN ALL THIS GREED, TRAGIC!
I can’t agree more with Big D, except I’d like to add….the owners are getting soaked! give me a break, thurs nite games (now sat games too) that u have to subscribe to the NFL network for more money, tickets to one NFL game for one person costs more that health care for a family for an entire month, and if u don’t spend ur family’s health care money….they black u out! I’ll tell ya who’s getting soaked are the fans!
Yeah, because there’s no greed in college football. I mean, reading the list of bowls with all their sponsorships sounds more like a nascar schedule than college football. And why do you think we now have 3 weeks of bowl games? Greed. If anything, colleges and the NCAA are 100x more greedy and corrupt than the NFL ever thought of being. Don’t fool yourselves.
Make that MEANINGLESS bowl games…and why? because of greed…
Please do awat with the NFL especially after seeing what I saw on the early morning news. NFL players to go on strike. Well, I hope the over paid jokes do and with it their multi million dollar jobs go out the door too. Most of these players are thugs from the streets anyhow. Look at their hair, their attitude, the way the talk; if they know how. IMHO the NFL is a ban of overpaid worthless jokers whom I put in the same class as pimps, rappers and gang-banger. I really hope they do strike and the super bowl is canceled. Then we can hire all new players for about $250K a year with no retirement or benefits like the rest of us.
It’s time to save your money and put the NFL and AFL out of business and out to pasture for good. These dudes are overpaid by a long shot. Most are morons who would have never made it through college if it wasn’t for throwing a little ball around and being backed by money making corporated America. These people serve no purpose in society what so ever. They aren’t needed now and they’ll never be needed.
This is the problem with America…I am an average Joe also..I am also a huge NFL and NCAA football fan..Everyone of you who call the players overpaid and greedy and gangbangers you are being a cynical jealous cry baby…Look, the football at any level is what gets me from Monday to the weekend..So I thank the NFL for that..Just because you can’t throw a ball or run around a defense or tackle you have to get all bitter just because your mad about your 9-5.. If you have any kind of sanity left in your head then i challenge you to put on some pads and get chased around where 11 men that are bigger then anyone you see every day are trying to kill you..And dont say they dont…look at Pat White..Hes prolly more close in size to us Joes…If you where taking hits like that wouldnt you want a bigger salary..I think you would…If on Monday morning you woke up in pain and knew that in less then a week you where gonna have to take a beating again, wouldnt you walk around and try to have a little more swag or how ever you think their attitudes are…So really they can ask for as much money as WE the fans are willing to give…and shame on us for being so bitter….Thank you NFL
Are they forgetting that the fans pay their salaries in the overall scheme of things?
If these whining overpaid egotistical babies go out on strike they will be losing fans same way.
My family will never again watch a pro football game
and many people I know feel the way.
I have not watched a pro baseball game since they went on strike the last time.
I have found other things to entertain me. I can and will easily do the same to the NFL.
I think there will be a lot of empty seats in the stadiums and TV ratings will also drop.
I personally hope they go Belly Up if they do go on strike.
They can send there jobs overseas too.
I’d like to suggest that the fans are the real crybabies… The NFL is a BUSINESS where owners, players and management are all trying to make money by selling their product to fans while trying to maximize profit. Why all the jealousy? Nobody is forcing you to follow a team, to buy tickets, merchandise, NFL network subscriptions and whatnot. If you dont like it then find another hobby.
I quit watching basketball/baseball and hockey since they each went on strike, now NFL football? Guess its the CFL for me now. I spend less than some of you a year in merch but I guess the Major leagues dont need my money (about $1,000 a year).
I should know better than to respond to such old posts, but Robin bumped the thread. I figure I’m entitled to pile on.
Jeff –
We have man and women in the field risking their lives on our behalf for money the least of these athletes would scoff at.
Military service. Police. Corrections. Fire. Rescue people. Hell in my neck of the woods, a high school principal was murdered in the lobby of his school preventing an armed student from entering.
You should feel free to spend your money where you wish – that is your liberty. The fans set the marketplace. Your scorn, on the other hand, is laughable.
Calvin –
I’m from Wisconsin. The Packers are a business, and I own a piece. To that extent, I agree with you, but they are much more than that. They are part of the cultural history here. They are woven into the family fabric in a way folks might find hard to understand.
While nobody expects them to work for free, it’s a shame to see loyal fans, many of whom are facing significant hardships, get edged out of the game because the costs are getting so prohibitive.
To suggest that people just go find another hobby is just freaking cold.
The NFL is a source of ENTERTAINMENT, i do not see all of you people complaining about how Adam Sandler is geting paid millions of dollars, or Brad Pitt. These players are simply entertaininers, and the good ones, wish to get paid more money than the not so good palyers, and the players who wish to get paid more, and are not as skilled do not get what they want, they get put into free agency and are paid none.
you all do not complain when a movie producer picks will smith to do a part, and where will smith gets paid, MUCH more than the side, stand in actors. the small ones?
and, about the strike. i do not see any of you people complaining about how, the coal miners, and, the flight atendants went on strike?
these players believe that it is wrong, otherwise they would NOT intentionally loose there source of payments. If they bleieve they are better than they are getting paid they ask to be paid more, exactly the same way you, or i, would ask for a raise. you believe your better than is showed, so you wish to have more respect, and or money.
sameee thing these players are doing
And how can you say that these palyers are just gang bangers and idiots?
are you Aware that these players are (mostly) person with extremely high I.Q’s.
they have to be incredibly intelligent in order to do what they do at such a high level.
in order to play football you cant just be, good at it athleticly.
they, in all seriousness, have to know how to read a defense, and or offense, have to memorize, literly about 130 differnt players.
each play different from the last.
how can you say that every athlete in the NFL is a gangbanger, because a few are?
albert haynesworth…gangbanger, and guess what? noone wants him anymore.
but peyton manning?
brett favre? brian westbrook? kyle vanden bosch? Kieth bolluck? Ladanion Tomlinson? in what world are these palyers gangster?
you need to check what you are saying? and, attempt to think of it from an unbiased pointof view before you go and make bold statements like these people.
just because you do not like football, does not mean that it is a wasted sport.
This is all about supply and demand. The owners are putting a product on the market that will generate a certian amount of revenue a year. This revenue is determined by the fans and what they are willing to pay. (or in these times, what they can afford to pay).
The owners then need to decide what is there excepted return on investment. This is the fun part. They get together yearly and discuss this and thus a salary cap is determined.
Here’s the kicher. Once the budget is set, then the owners go out and try to sign the best available team and to maximize this profit. There is no question that the better the product on the field, the more revenue from attendance and merchandise.
In the past two years, the economy has struck the middle and lower middle classes the hardest. Manufacturing jobs have quickly dried up as industry has move to developing counries for low cost labor.
OK what’s my point. The average NFL fan is a middle class slob. Times are tough for us. We look to our sports teams to offer us some distractions from the day-to-day crap that we must face. But don’t forget owners and players alike. We built this not you. It was our support that helped to make the game what it is today. So now we need a break, and the last thing we need or want is a strike. And if you do, we will remember that when things were tough, you let us down. So go ahead and show thursday, fri, sat sun and mon games. If that gets you the additional revenue from the networks, we’ll watch. We’ll watch from our living rooms and our now smoke free bars (ya, can’t catch a break anywhere). We’ll buy the beer you push. You can even have the official bug spray of the NFL for all we care. Just get this thing done.
None of these Players should be making over 100K per year, If they did not have football, they would be working at the local carwash or grocery store. These overpaid thugs should be thrilled that they can make anything over min wage. I say let them strike and fire them all and hire all new players for 1/10 the current rate.
jeff your an idiot what are you sucking nfl d!(k these are guys who make millions with a three month break a year likes their still in school and work wat twice a week for a cuple hours plus practice they could beat the f out of me for 20 mill a year id be just fine with that the fact that they feel like they have to make a statement for more money lol i dont think theyre having financial problems
first off to say that these guys wouldnt make it in the real world, they did make good collegiate grades. secondly i agree they are over paid; they are not risking life and limb. but also no one is crying over how much actors/actresses make. its entertainment. get over it.
these players are right. in this game 1 hit an you could die. if you think they are over payed why dont you try to practice and be away from your family. have you seen these NFL players there big. would you put your life om the line every night?
I say we the people go on strike from watching and going to NFL games it pisses me off that greedy player cant get enough money when som many americans are out of work and poor and barely makin ends meets so i say the heck with the nfl let them come down to my level of life they would be grateful for any amout of money to play
If the players go on stike next year because they are not happy with the multimillions they get paid for either playing in a game or sitting out one, I will personal be done watching the NFL till I am convinced the players have grown up and learned to play the game for the love of playing.
You know what? maybe they suspend the whole sport including basket ball… take the 1 years wage they would have made from all the sports players… and apply it to creating new jobs in america, feeding the homeless… and maybe they would stop bitching about only have 3 summer homes.. and only being on cribs once in their life… over payed bullshit
We as fans need to not stand for a 2011 NFL strike. We should ban together and form a union of our own, and let the NFL know that there will be financial consequences for a strike!
Give me 80,000 to 100,000 a year and I will play!
Shoot I will do it for $30,902/year… easy lol.
It is true that the players do risk injury in the NFL, much more than almost every other profession. And it’s certainly true, that taking hits even without a direct injury leads to long term consequences. There is no doubt that if the owners say they need more money, that they should be willing to show the players why they need to take less money. In essence, if the economy turns around in 3 yrs, and every stadium is filled on Sunday’s, can the players say, you know what, I don’t like that previous deal, I want a new one?
On the owners side, why should they be forced to hand out huge chunks of upfront money to unproven players, many of whom don’t even make it? There certainly is player risk involved, and there should be upfront money, but what is a player’s value, if they were to walk out onto the practice field and get a permanent injury? Owners are not insurance companies, and forcing them to be insurance companies, sooner or later will destroy the game we all love. One thing is for certain, this would not be the last work stoppage if this isn’t addressed. Pay what an average yearly salary for a college graduate would likely get x 10 yrs upfront, and leave it alone. There is risk involved sports, that’s the reality of it. No job out on the street is going to pay you 10 yrs upfront, let alone what these guys are getting in upfront money in the NFL.
I have a strong suspicion that this may very well be the longest work stoppage in the history of the game. At the end of the day, I just hope they resolve these issues permanently, so this will be the last one.
feel sorry for multi-millionaires, especially ones who are playing a kids game. But I do believe to A players strike might be the best thing for the NFL in the long run. Could probably keep a lot of players from acting like entitled thugs who are above the law. The current system needs to be torn down a bit then rebuilt into a more practical one. If there’s no NFL next year, we’ll find something else to do. Maybe even go out of the house or bar and actually DO something that involves a little brain power or energy.
I wouldn’t do it if I was them. I remember the MBL strike in the 80′s. These owners think they have problems now wait till the new stadiums they just built are 1/4 full and they have to drop the general ad tickets down to $7.00 a game to try to make ends meet. MBL has just in the last two years started coming back from the 80′s strike. I live in KC where the Royals pay people to watch them. The people in towns where stronger teams are in might not be aware of the teams who are still struggling to make it. The NFL teams who suck will struggle to make it for at least 20 yrs
Yeah it’s not just the NFL but that’s what we are talking about now but NBA, NFL, MLB they are all greedy sports. I agree I have also turned to watch more college football than the NFL because these players, coaches and owners want millions and millions of dollars to play. Then on top of that you have some of these young players sit out at the beginning of the season crying because they are all ready making an obscene amount of money to play a sport but they are crying and want more more more. I mean common on like some players are nearing $100,000,000. Are they crazy!!!! Then you have teachers that after college, get masters, Doctorate degrees but they struggle to even make ends meet because the stupid government doesn’t see it that teachers and more important jobs should be that well paid. But oh wait pro sports then where players can major in the most stupid/easy majors like P.E. or general ed classes and get paid millions for playing a sport. Hell no!!! Pay these plays much much less.
NFL players have pads and helmets I have a hard time believing there putting their lives on the line. Try being married to a police officer who really does put their life on the line every minute they are at work. It takes them a year to make what an nil player makes in a month and they don’t get three months off. My brother in law plays for the NFL and believe me they are well taken care of. They are even paid to show up for humanitarian work. Give me a brake, if you think any hard working American feels sorry for you your full of it. If they want to make more, I would like to see mandatory drug tests, like a lot of us have to.
F the NFL. I’m done watching it until they pay me millions to do so which will be never so F it. I’m a Vikings fan and after watching the dudes on my team this year not give effort, not play, and fake injuries because they don’t like their coach is a joke and has ruined my desire to ever like this football team and league ever again. I don’t feel bad for the players, owners, or anyone else involved with this league. I only feel bad for the fans wasting their lives away by caring for such a stupid organization in the NFL. Good go on strike!
Look I love football high school college pro but this money hungry scam there trying to pull is retarded. I love the colts that’s my team but if they decide to strike for more $$$ then screw them. It makes me so mad to see how adults cry if there not making millions of dollars and this whole life or death thing is worth paying them please. How about I get paid more then 40,000 a year to get shot at and blown up while I was over in afghanistan??? I “not looking for a pity party really or sorrows” spent 12 months away from my wife and family for 40k last year yes tax free but really soliders army marines navy deserve more pay granted I’m a speacilist E4 but even my full bird col made like 150K or a lil more but still were sacrificing our lives for what 40-150k a year we don’t complain ever and yet these nfl players complain because they make 20-90 mill grow up I’m sry I’m going on but it hurts me so much to see my friends give up time with family kids wives no complaints but a nfl player has all that plus 5 mansions 20 excotic cars and there greed “human flesh” wants more I do understand there human we are all greedy to a point admit it or not but this is retarded. Anyways I’m done with my rant I hate to see them go on strike there superbowl last year where the colts lost kept me going lol I woke up at 3am in afghan to watch them lose for 3hrs then did a 16hr mission in 70lbs of gear in 130 degree weather making basically 3.00 an hour since were on call 24/7 and didn’t complain once come on players and owners grow a par and get over it and for that fact you actors and writers guild to money isn’t everything ok I’m done now lol
I am a diehard Packerfan and very much enjoy the game. The bottom line is that the whole game is over prioritized, obscene and full of greed(the american way). The players put their lives at risk for our entertainment and should be paid accordingly within reason. There should be a cap so the average joe can be able to see a game. The structure is Fkd up(50 million for a handful of years). I personally think the players with the extreme saleries should be shot. The cap needs to be dropped and the owners need to drop the cost to see a game. The sad reality is that we made our bed. Shut up and watch the game or do something else.
These guys are so greedy it’s not funny. Here we are in the midst of the holiday season, with 9.8% unemployment and these morons want to fight about money??? I will NEVER watch pro sports again, and with the corruption in NCAA, I’m getting away from them too. Here’s an idea, how about we turn off the TV and open up a book.
k your such a fag for wanting ppl to open up a book rather than watching sports… FAGGOT
that has nothing to do with is being talked about u are self center no need to say that grow up
Who cares. You can split the College games out onto Sat and Sun. Maybe with all the extra TV revenue the Colleges can lower tuition. Yeah right.
Look, it sucks. Yeah, they make millions, but so do highly skilled or talented folks in almost every profession. Top skilled drs, lawyers, even teachers can a do make millions if they play their cards right. These are highly skilled athletes that are intelligent and lucky enough to make it through, peewee, jr high, high school, and then college ball. Do you know the odds of making it to the nfl? Try a little lottery, not a powerball, but def. an exacta lol… Yeah, it’s greedy, but hey, isn’t that what seems to move our country these days? Capatalism? If they strike, I’ll be bummmed, but they won’t lose my fan support. NFL football is one of the only sports I watch regularly. And, yes, nfl players get seriously injured and, rarely, killed, it happens; so it is a dangerous game. IF you are lucky and skilled enough to become an nfl player you deserve as much as you can get. At least these guys have a true atheltic and intellect talent. Look what our devoted “public servants” make in office? Go in with a little money come out 20x wealthier.. Yeah a country of capatilism is what we are… Don’t strike the nfl fans. Strike the source of capatalism, the politicians.
Hope they go on strike. Its the owners money. Players can go pound sand. You play a GAME assholes…. You don’t save lives, put out fires, build anything… YOU PLAY A GAME….. Owners created the jobs with teir money – GET IT.. Where are you going to be without them…. hmmm maybe you can build something or save lives or go get a REAL JOB……
If the players go on strike then so be it.Everyone of us who love the NFL and look forward to these games and keep the demand up for the sport by watching and buying tickets and merchandise will be the ones who suffer next year.However,if we can go a year without the NFL because of their greed and selfishness then we can survive without watching NFL football for the rest of our lives and where will that demand be then?I have no desire to spend my time and money on watching a sport whose players and owners are so greedy that they would rob the fans(the MAIN reason they are even being payed to play) of the sport that they have spent so many days and hours watching and following and getting fussed at by their spouses for watching so much and who sport all of the logos and apparel that they bought with their HARD-EARNED MONEY! I will not be watching the NFL any longer if they strike and if you really have a problem with the strike then you will too or they will have no reason not to do it to you again in the future as you will have become part of the problem.I will stick with my number one love,NASCAR
To the fans like me: I love football. It is my favorite sport. However, if the Players Union does go on strike, I encourage you to find another love. Turn to College Football, Hunting or anything else to look forward to. The best medicine for the Players Union is for the FANS TO STRIKE as well! We speak loudest with our Wallet!!! If they strike, we strike. If they are out 3 months we don’t watch a game on TV, attend an event, or buy any NFL merchandise for 5 times as long once they come back.
To the players: I think it’s time, WE THE FANS, show you who really pays your salary. How much would you make a year if there was no attendance, no viewership for advertisers, no merchandise sold? I think you should go out in the real world and apply that college degree! Come compete with your fans on their playing field. You say the average career in the NFL is 3 to 5 years? That’s why you need all that money? Let’s put things in perspective. Take the average NFL pyaler’s salary for 4 years. That’s more than the vast majority of the fans will see in three lifetimes of working for a living.
To the Owners: I understand. You love football and can afford to be in control, not just be a fan, so you bought a team. However, you also understand it needs to be profitable, so it has to be run like a company. Why don’t we use some logic here? A strike would be the perfect opportunity to reset the pay scale. Each player is paid the exact same base salary (Say 0,000.00 a year), That salary is bumped by X amount of dollars for each additional year the player is in the leauge. All additional pay will be based on individual and team performance, with a profit sharing plan at the end of the season. You have a better opportunity for a profit and the player basically works for a small salary and large commission, therefore the sky is the limit for him. He performs at a high level, he gets paid at a high level and vise versa. And as a bonus, us fans will respect all of you and what you make and how you are paid much more. And as an even bigger bonus, you and the fans will see outstanding performances from the players!
A strike may be what we all need to put things in perspective! The fans will realize we can find something else to live for. The players can realize it’s not ALL about you. The owners can realize it’s the fans that make this thing possible.
My 5 cents worth. Have a nice season.
if the players go on strike it will leave a big hole in the NFL but if they dont the i think that the NFL will go back to normal
maybe americans will start watching a real sport like hockey!!!
but if the NFL players go on strike that will influence other players to go on strike in other sports like hockey, basketball, soccer, and baseball
It’s a stupid statement from the ones who say that “nobody is complaining about how much the movie start/actresses make.” I’m sure if you asked, they would complain. The issue is athletes and their sense of entitlement. I’m sure those of us who think they are grossly overpaid think the same of actors. Policeman, fireman, teachers, social workers–those are the real heroes–the ones who should be paid millions. But we all know that’s not how it works. I think the owners and the players–both–are greedy and selfish.
You guys talking about the greed are right. How much money does any of them uncluding the owners need? You can all thank Joe Namath for this crap. He was the first player to demand to be paid more than any other and it has just gotten worse. Some still play for the game. Where have you been? Hockey had a strike in 2004-05 season. there was no hockey that year. I have not watched baseball since the strike in 1994. Keep it up and there will be no professional sports to watch. QUIT BEING SO GREEDY, PLAYERS AND OWNERS!!!!!!!!!!!
One would think with all the money on the line there would be a settlement before the deadline.
smpicks.com
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Football without the NFL?
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With investors willing to take the risk, a replacement league could be viable
By Jeff Hooke
February 21 2011
The NFL is experiencing a boom time. Super Bowl viewership hit an all time high this year, and fan interest is intense. Financially speaking, the league is doing quite well. Over the last 10 years, the typical franchise has doubled in value — from $500 million to $1 billion — giving the league a total worth of $32 billion. The combination of capital appreciation and cash dividends means the average owner makes perhaps $75 million per year from football. At the same time, player compensation has increased steadily, and the median salary is now $800,000.
The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-football-201102
21,0,5964992.story
Visit baltimoresun.com at http://www.baltimore
F**k em hope they strike and go broke there are plenty of different sports to watch….
NFL sucks a bunch of overpaid gangbangers who buy worthless toys hoes and drugs. Who cares about these guys I stopped watching two years ago because I thought they were over paid men in tights. Hire new football players for 250000 it would be funner to watch and the greedy owners should give to charity. Which they wont. Athletes. Are overpaid take a cut pricks.
I couldn’t care less if these greedy “players” strike or not! Millions of dollars to play a GAME ( and that’s all it is) is rediculous!! Most of them are terrible role models for our kids anyway! College football is much more entertaining anyway! If I was better with doing things on the computer, I would call for a boycott until they cut the ticket prices drastically and call for a strike from the fans who pay their huge salaries! Let’s see how much they make (owners and players alike) if most of their fans disappear and their tv ratings go to zero!
All of you people make me sick. Yeah the Players may make too much money but its not the end of the world. And babs i am going into the force and there is not a lot of life risking in it. Very rarely does an officer need to use force, so get it straight or shut up. I guarentee that most of the NFL players are much more intelligent than half of you posting your shit about you being jealous of them. Thats all it is. They have a talent and you are useless. I guess people really do just want something to bitch about
We the people need to understand that we do not get paid in this world due to the 9-5 job that we wake up every day to do. It is the talent that is given to certain ones that are rewarded these large amounts of cash flow due to their talent. People might want to say why doesnt certain jobs such as the man and woman in the military get paid these large amounts of money. Well to answer that question it doesnt take a scientist to get in the military. All you have to do is past a simple asvab test. If you want to cry about how much the players and owners are getting paid try to walk in their shoes first. Their are not that many people in the NFL due to the amount of people in North America so i think it is amazing that to be able to perform in this league puts you on a different level than your regular enviroment. Next time you want to judge the NFL on their demands talk to your boss at work and ask him why does he get triple the amount of money that you do when he sits is his office and looks at his facebook all damn day. Football is not an easy game it is mentally and physically. If you hate on this game you hate your self because you wouldnt last a min face to face with Ray Lewis on your ass.
If anyone should strike it should be the fans!! It is rediculous what they make in the first place and this country needs to get our priorities in order. A player makes more than the doctor that fixes his injuries or the teacher who taught him to read.
I pretty much read through all of the posts here and everyone has stated good points on this subject. Bobbi you hit the nail right on the head with what you said. Now here is my take on the situation: F**K THE NFL AND PRO SPORTS!! Like these clowns (owners and players) need to make anymore money. Thank you and have a good day.
Some of you people are being totally ridiculous. You know damn well, if they decide to go through with it or not, you will be watching every game. And don’t even act like, if you were in the NFL or some other high paying job, you wouldn’t ask for more money. In different ways we are all greedy humans. I know that I love watching football, if anything football brings myself and my family closer together. So get a hold of yourself.
Seriously, this is why I hate unions. There is no need for a union in this environment let alone others. The free market works well and is proven. As to whether the owners get more than the players? Absolutely! It’s their money they put in not the players. The players are like an employee in any company. You pay higher for better talent. Those that sit the bench are play infrequently are still getting hundreds of thousands of dollars and are not taking the hits. Those that get paid millions are taking the hits. Since when should anyone who has not put their money into an investment be able ot come along and claim a portion of the upside. Ridiculous!
2010 was the first year for me to get REALLY involved and VERY interested in NFL. I have LOVED every game I’ve watched and have even picked out a favorite team. I’ve always watched Superbowl each year, but this last year, watched as many games as I possibly could….even taping some of them to watch later. Wouldn’t you just know it that this year, they start talking about striking. I’m being selfish, but I sure hope they don’t strike.
Seems like players want the money without having to perform. Ok…lets give them what they want. Do away with salaries completely. Every player gets $350K to start. The balance of their pay will be based upon profit sharing and upon where their team places in the league; superbowl winners make a fortune…last place teams will be on food stamps till next season. One of 2 things….the players wil shut up and figure that $1-10 million a year is a decent wage…or we will have one of the best football seasons we have ever seen if players are payed based upon performance.
I Am A Teenager And I Love Football I Play Myself But My Dreams Are To Be A Nfl Player Not Because Of All The Money They Get But Because I love the Game
I totally agree with this. It is unbelievable that everyone in the nfl wants more money when they all make millions!
Boycott the NFL in 2011!!!
For the record, the players aren’t on strike, they are locked out by the owners. There is a difference. And this doesn’t happen outside the realm of sports? Please. People want to get as much as they can for as little as they can in just about every facet of life.
Don’t get too extreme saying all of these things because noone even knows what will happen yet. The players do have a reason for the complaints.They do work for their money. These players practice every day and play games once a week. They earn their money just like everyone else does. Would you like it if your salary was cut? It may sound greedy, but they work hard for what they do and get what they earn.
Every person that says they’re greedy are idiots. A lot of these proffesional players give tons of money too charity. So don’t go around saying these players are greedy and get paid way too much money to be complaining. I agree that not having an NFL season would suck, but i don’t go around saying that these hard working players are greedy.
well i think that the owners need to open there eyes and realize that money is not everything and let the players back on the field to play. us the fans are pissed off that this is happening and get back to the tables and settle this money crap and lets plays ball ..money is not everything and if it was one of us fans as a owner we woild be talking and not sitting on ours asses not doing anything about it . i think the player deserve to play so quit being so danm greedy and settle .. please
ther is an old saying that the more you get the more you want and that means they both are greedy.which one gets the most???. OBWfev
Football has lost everything it once stood for.
I will dearly miss it, but glad to see it go. Overpaid players, owners and all of it is carried on the backs of the Fans and networks.
There really is no purity in sports now, it’s all about MORE money. Players want more money, seats cost more money. Food and drinks cost more money. Owners want more money, and ultimately the fans pay more money.
I hope the cycle now ends, and it begins a wave that ripples towards EVERY needy, greedy sport out there.
I am a fan. I was a fan, and I will dearly miss it for the next few years until it is all finally washed away and forgotten.
Here is the solution – plain and simple. The argument is over $1 billion. Fine. Settle for HALF – $500 million. Of that $500 million, $250 million goes to the players (wait, before reacting). The other $250 million goes to the FANS, in the form of ticket price reductions, on a sliding scale.
If you take the $500 million and divide it up by 32 teams, that’s $15.625 million per team. Divide that in half, and each team still has $7.8 million for salaries, etc., and $7.8 million to apply to reduced ticket prices – on a sliding scale. Make everyone happy at once. How are the owners happy? Simple. The average ticket for an NFL game is $76. If you applied that $7.8 million to the 8 home games each team sees (average 65,000 tickets per game), you would reduce the ticket price by 20% if applied in one year. Using the sliding scale, you could reduce ticket prices by 10, 5 & 5 per-cent over 3 years, making the average ticket price $68, $72 & $72 in the 3 respective years. This WILL result in MORE ticket sales – more concession revenue – and MORE money for the owners in the long run. Everyone wins.
Should the lawyers feed on the cities for a Class Action Suit if this happens? Seems to me the taxpayers foot a lot of the bill for the stadiums through the city leaders rules/encouragement/salesmanship as,,,, the stadiums will bring $ into the city and make the cities and its businesses more money and profit. Well, now that the cities and their businesses will certainly take a lose, seems like breach of owner and team player responsibility to me.
I work at a nfl stadium as a bartender. All the people that work there need the income we make during the season. They are taking much needed money out of our pockets. How about they reimburse all of us for our lost wages? How about thinking of the common person for once instead of how am I going to buy my 3rd house?
Hmmm. I think we should give the players a little more slack. Football is unbelievably punishing. These guys have been sacrificing thier bodies for years without any compensation. During high school and college they are getting paid jack. Once they make it to the NFL, the average career is 6 years (assuming that you make the starting roster) and they make a median income of just under $1,000,000 (taking out the huge contracts of the top players). Of that, uncle sam takes 35%. In this country, we should compensate top athletes for entertaining us as they do. I have a lot less sympathy for the owners who are typically multi-millionaires themselves. I live in Atlanta. Arthur Blank, owner of the Falcons, is worth 1.3 billion with a “B”. So sad if he is bitching about how expensive it is to pay Matt Ryan and the rest of the team. I watch the Falcons play because I like watching Matt Ryan and the team kick butt. Let me tell you how much I watched the Falcons when the Smith’s owned the team. The NFL is a free market system. If you can’t make money, go do something else.
The union mentality…Unionism eventually destroys everything it touches. That is why manufacturing got fed up back in the early 1980s, and started moving their production overseas, leaving America nothing but a low-pay “service” industry nation that makes nothing. In the end, what did the unions do for all those workers who faithfully paid dues every paycheck? So the unions focused on other industries to make up for their lost manufacturing earnings: The nation’s school system, public sector jobs (federal, state and county workers, like they worked in hazardous jobs and needed protection), and sports teams. How is that working for everyone? America now ranks at something like #30 in the world in education (it was #1 in my day, 20 years ago); our federal, state and local governments are broke because of union pay and pensions (higher than the private sector); and the sports players whine and strike because they have lost sight of where their loyalty should be directed — to the fans and the owners, those who have provided the money and the means to give them the players their shot at stardom. So sad. Unions have and will destroy all in their grab for power. History repeats itself.