NFL Union Leader Paints Bleak Picture of Future

[BF4MVP]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=Ak7Q2UBZmfW7uesS7vU7gY85nYcB?slug=ap-superbowl-nflpa&prov=ap&type=lgns

Way to screw up the best thing we had going, idiots.

Now football is going to have all the problems baseball has. Not good news for Packer fans at all...Without a cap, the Packers will eventually become the Brewers...Yuck.

Lockout in 2011? That's freaking awesome too...

[channtheman]

If we experience a lock out then the NFL can count on having at least one less fan. I've got plenty of other things I could find to waste money on.

[Joemailman]

As long as TV revenues are shared, the Packers will be okay.

Don't get too carried away by the rhetoric right now. Posturing always goes on in situations like this.

[The Leaper]

The Packers won't be the Brewers. The Packers can charge $250 a ticket if they need to. Their fan base provides large TV ratings that belies the small market status of their home city. There are plenty of ways for Green Bay to survive...it just would be a little harder.

[Joemailman]

One thing that hurts the union in terms of solidarity is that 10% of the players make 90% of the money. Aaron Rodgers makes 25X as much money as Matt Flynn. There are situations like that all across the league. The stars can afford to take a year off to get what they want, but it's a lot tougher for most of the other guys.

[ND72]

One thing that hurts the union in terms of solidarity is that 10% of the players make 90% of the money. Aaron Rodgers makes 25X as much money as Matt Flynn. There are situations like that all across the league. The stars can afford to take a year off to get what they want, but it's a lot tougher for most of the other guys.

Yeah..those $450,000 minimum contracts just SUCK!

[channtheman]

One thing that hurts the union in terms of solidarity is that 10% of the players make 90% of the money. Aaron Rodgers makes 25X as much money as Matt Flynn. There are situations like that all across the league. The stars can afford to take a year off to get what they want, but it's a lot tougher for most of the other guys.

Yeah..those $450,000 minimum contracts just SUCK!

Yeah man I don't know what I would do with myself if I had to take a year off with that kind of salary. I suppose I WOULDN'T buy a new car... damn.

[ICU81MI]

One thing that hurts the union in terms of solidarity is that 10% of the players make 90% of the money. Aaron Rodgers makes 25X as much money as Matt Flynn. There are situations like that all across the league. The stars can afford to take a year off to get what they want, but it's a lot tougher for most of the other guys.

Yeah..those $450,000 minimum contracts just SUCK!

A few things:

1. Taxes - Half of this money is likely to go to the tax man, insurance, etc.

2. Players don't get to choose what team they play for (when drafted, anyhow). 450k goes way farther in GB than it does in NY or Cali. This isn't a huge sum of money by any means in SF.

3. Considering the lifespan of NFL careers and the danger that they put themselves in I don't consider it very much. I don't think I'd want to be a special teamer and get beat up and risk it all for 450k a year if I was in SF or NY.

[packrulz]

The Packers won't be the Brewers. The Packers can charge $250 a ticket if they need to. Their fan base provides large TV ratings that belies the small market status of their home city. There are plenty of ways for Green Bay to survive...it just would be a little harder.

No way GB could charge $250 a ticket and still sell out every game, I know I couldn't afford that. I remember games being blacked out from TV in the 80's because they weren't sold out. Jerry Jones would love to do away with the salary cap and throw small market teams like GB under the bus. I hope that Goodell is smart enough to know that doing away with the salary cap would be harmful to the league. They need to base the cap more on incentives and cap the amounts the teams pay first round rookies who haven't proven they can play in the NFL and may or may not pan out, like Tony Mandarich or T-buck.

[Scott Campbell]

One thing that hurts the union in terms of solidarity is that 10% of the players make 90% of the money. Aaron Rodgers makes 25X as much money as Matt Flynn. There are situations like that all across the league. The stars can afford to take a year off to get what they want, but it's a lot tougher for most of the other guys.

With each player getting only one vote, the more mainline guys have the real voting power in the union.

[sheepshead]

This is very disturbing. The union is headed by an Obama (not to go all FYI on ya) supporter and the union is empowered by the administrations pro union stance on everything. I dont think sports leagues are going to see the days like they did in the 80s and 90s any time soon or maybe ever. There was a nostalgia from baby boomers that fueled the attendance and memorabilia craze for a long time, but that's over. The economy will not recover for years and the union could not have picked a worse time for this, but when has that ever stopped them? Just look at folding leagues. Less suitors for Super Bowl commercials this year lower ad revenue across the board. That trend will continue in my opinion. I heard the union wants the teams to open their books? Screw them. The league needs a rookie cap and more performance based contracts to SURVIVE.

[channtheman]

One thing that hurts the union in terms of solidarity is that 10% of the players make 90% of the money. Aaron Rodgers makes 25X as much money as Matt Flynn. There are situations like that all across the league. The stars can afford to take a year off to get what they want, but it's a lot tougher for most of the other guys.

Yeah..those $450,000 minimum contracts just SUCK!

A few things:

1. Taxes - Half of this money is likely to go to the tax man, insurance, etc.

2. Players don't get to choose what team they play for (when drafted, anyhow). 450k goes way farther in GB than it does in NY or Cali. This isn't a huge sum of money by any means in SF.

3. Considering the lifespan of NFL careers and the danger that they put themselves in I don't consider it very much. I don't think I'd want to be a special teamer and get beat up and risk it all for 450k a year if I was in SF or NY.

'

Dude, someone who makes 225,000 dollars playing football is still making more than almost every working man in the country, save for those that went to school for 8 years to become doctors.

[swede]

One thing that hurts the union in terms of solidarity is that 10% of the players make 90% of the money. Aaron Rodgers makes 25X as much money as Matt Flynn. There are situations like that all across the league. The stars can afford to take a year off to get what they want, but it's a lot tougher for most of the other guys.

With each player getting only one vote, the more mainline guys have the real voting power in the union.

I wonder if the new union boss will be as successful as Gene Upshaw was with holding the union together during difficult negotiations. Is the union looking for something other than a bigger slice of the pie?

I think the owners need to play a little divide and conquer here. They should publically commit to a package that increases compensation considerably for the veterans, the regular guys, the players that give the league stability. I always appreciated the rule that gave teams cap consideration for hiring veterans. That kind of creative consideration for the average NFL player would help undercut the union leadership. Given the way that the money in the compensation pot has sloshed over to first round rooks and select free agents I would think that 60-70% of the players would respond favorably to a package that benefits them even as it allows owners to keep 50% of the gross.

[Fritz]

It's funny how we bitch about how much football players make, as if we have no control over it. They make the money they do because so many of us watch them and support them. We're complicit in this to some extent, people.

We live in a culture that nearly worships hyper-masculinity. We are encouraged to consume, to relax - we work so hard! We've earned it! - to praise the violence of the sport.

The money they make reflects the values of our culture. We love to talk about how policemen are underpaid - but in fact if our culture thought they were more important, then they'd make more. We pay lip service to all the right things but our actions speak the truth.

We're okay with guys maiming themselves long term for our entertainment. Just don't make us confront the reality of it.

[swede]

Well, it certainly is crazy money, Fritz.

That said, how could anyone argue that the players--who are little short of gladiators that risk their health to entertain us--do not deserve a big chunk of the cash they generate? Count me as someone who doesn't complain how much the players make. I complain how unfair the disparity is between some players and most players. That cannot be good for the long term helath of the league.