Will There Be an NFL Player's Strike or Lockout in 2011?

[Mr. T]

Will There Be an NFL Player's Strike or Lockout in 2011?

In May 2008, NFL owners unanimously opted out of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the NFL players' union. Bargaining talks since have

 

 

 

been fruitless, so in all likelihood 2010 season team salaries will be uncapped. That means that owners no longer will be constrained by a salary cap ceiling ($128 million per team in 2009) or, more importantly, by a minimum team salary floor ($112.1 million, or 87.6% of the 2009 maximum).

 

In 2011, the owners could lock out the players to pressure the players' union to accede to a new CBA.

 

The collective bargaining agreement extension agreed to in 2006 had a provision that, starting in 2008, allowed either the owners or the players' union to opt out of it. The owners did just that, claiming that the current CBA forces them to operate in a fiscally irresponsible and unsustainable manner. According to Yahoo Sports, because recent talks have gone "poorly," the players and the union doubt that the owners will extend the CBA by the deadline of March 5, 2010, which is, according to the Green Bay Press Gazette , the start of the new NFL year.

 

The owners say the CBA is unsustainable for several reasons. First, they argue that the NFL needs a rookie wage scale. The owners are upset about shelling out huge guaranteed contracts to unproven rookies that often don't live up to expectations. Second, as reported by ESPN shortly after the CBA opt out, owners want some mechanism for recovering bonus money from players that "breach their contracts." Third, owners, according Scores Report, say that disbursing 59.5% of total league revenues to the players places undue stress on many teams, some of which face the double whammy of rapidly rising stadium costs and declining revenues because of the current weak economy. Finally, the owners want to investigate the elimination of one of the four preseason games and instead add a 17^th regular season game to bring in additional regular season television contract money, according to the New York Times.

 

Source

 

You can see the owners positioning themselves to look good in the media allready. I dont think that in todays economy it would be wise for the Players to walk out. There are to many people without work and it wont play good in the media.

 

It is also possible that we could see the NFL moving to a 18 game schedule. I would like to see that.

 

 

 

 

[ClevelandFanForLife]

i know it's a real threat that they might not play but to me, it comes down to making money. do the nfl players really want to miss out on a year of salary? i don't think so. there is just too much money to be made.

 

i do agree with the players on one point though: people should be paid for pre-season games. i'm not talking about the millionaires, but the late round/undrafted guys who are actually trying to make a living. they don't get paid for those games and are trying to make a livelihood. it's unfair.

[WRREBEL]

The main hang up is health insurance for players with less than 3 years vested. Just give it to them.

[next2nothing]

I hope to God there isn't.

[TheClevelandSound]

The main thing players want is better health care packages after retirement for concussions and other post football syndromes.

[ballpeen]

I hope to God there isn't.

 

 

Me too, but you can bet your sweet bippy if there is, it won't be announced until after season ticket money is due in full.

 

[BendMeOver]

The players intend to decertify their union, so they can sue owners who don't pay them their contracted salaries whether there are games or no. The owners will lose a significant amount of revenue in a lock-out. Right now everything is fictional...each side is trying to portray the other as the evil empire to maximize their negotiating position.

 

As a fan, it's kinda silly to even worry about. If there's a lock-out really there's nothing you can do about it. The end result of these negotiations won't result in lower ticket prices. Hopefully there will still be a financial balance amongst the teams at the end. A bonus would be to keep rookie salaries in line, so therefore teams can spend the most money on veterans, thereby keeping competative balance in check.

[Unsympathetic]

The players will lose money also.. they lose their entire salary because they're not showing up at work.

 

The entire thing is stupid posturing, and I have no sympathy for anyone.