A report by the San Francisco Chronicle states that the NFL is already preparing for the possibility of a 2011 lockout, which includes buying a 25 percent stake in the United Football League.
These are anxious times for those looking to latch on to the NFL. It’s also an interesting time for the teams, as they look ahead to the possibility of a lock out in 2011. Fringe players might become starters if there’s a long labor dispute. The NFL went with replacement players in 1987 during the last protracted labor stalemate.
The league might already be making preparations and rumors are they are going to buy a 25 percent stake in the United Football League. The UFL, which now has five teams and plays six games in the fall, could become a feeder league along the line of NFL Europe. However, if there’s a long lockout, UFL players could possibly become NFL players overnight.
I wonder what the backlash would be from fans if the league did enter a lockout next season. Ticket prices are already ridiculous and if there were no fantasy football, NFL Sunday Ticket, or gambling (well, there will always be gambling on football but it wouldn’t be what it is now if the league used replacement players), there would be outrage across the nation. The NFL is the most popular league in America, but considering how much owners and players already make, fans aren’t going to show them any sympathy in a down economy.
It took steroids years before MLB recovered from its strike in 1994. Seeing as how football is a more popular game, I doubt it would take people very long to get over a lockout, but let’s hope we never have to find out either.
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