NFL Special Report: Lockout lookout- NFL owners meeting to discuss the labour dispute
This Wednesday, NFL owners are convening in Dallas for a day of discussions about the coming deadline to come to an agreement with the Players Association before the current collective bargaining agreement expires. Owners have threatened that they would
lockout the players unless the NFLPA can sign a new collective bargaining agreement before the current one expires in March.
The two sides have been locked in bitter negotiations, mudslinging and politics to come to an agreement but so far, a workable compromise has eluded them. The owners maintain that they cannot make profits under the current business model which pays players
roughly 60% of designated revenue. The NFLPA insists that the owners are financially thriving and if they are indeed facing a monetary crisis, they should allow their books to be examined by the Players Association. The owners have outright rejected the notion
of allowing the NFLPA to examine their financial records. Neither side is backing down from their position.
Then of course, there is the question of expanding the regular season to 18 games from the current 16 games season. The League has said that it is willing to address all concerns, negotiate in good faith with the Players Association and financially compensate
players for the additional games. The NFLPA is opposed to an 18 games season because it believes the two additional games on top of an entire NFL season would be too great of a physical burden on the players. However, in the interest of fulfilling its obligations,
the Players Association has been bargaining with the league. During those talks, the NFLPA asked that offseason workouts and practices be reduced and contact during them be minimized. It also asked for more monetary compensation.
Those negotiations however maybe fruitless because the NFLPA has, on numerous occasions said that it will not agree with an 18 game season unless it made sense for the players. Negotiations continue but they don’t seem to be going anywhere. The NFLPA has
called on the law makers and government officials to intervene and prevent a lockout. The Players Associations has insinuated that the owners are trying to force a lockout because even in the case of a lockout, the owners would thrive financially while the
players would be forced to accept the league’s demands because of the financial strain.
There is a lot of money involved. According to estimates an NFL lockout would cost the economy anywhere between $5 and $9 billion. The owners have signed multi-billion dollar guaranteed deals with TV networks which mean that they could withstand a lockout
than the players.
Players would have a much tougher time. The Players Association has called on the players themselves to secure their finances in anticipation of a lockout. They NFLPA sent a memo to players advising them to consult with their financial advisers and put aside
their final few game checks to fall back on in case of a lockout.
The Players Association also has collected a fund of $200 million for the lockout. However that is pale in comparison to what the roughly 1700 players would lose in salaries and benefits. Their financial vulnerability would force the players to either accept
the owners’ terms or decertify the players union. Decertification would mean the end of the union as an agent for the players. In that case, the owners would be open to litigation. They could potentially face antitrust lawsuits from players.
There are also public relations concerns. The NFLPA has been leading a campaign against the owners to paint them as the villains in the lockout saga. There is enormous pressure on both sides from the fans to make sure the 2011 season does not get cancelled.
Bottom line is that everyone wants to avoid a lockout. It’s just a matter of coming to an agreement and finding enough common ground.
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