I am sure that we are all aware of the NFL lockout that has been talked about for the past 5 years that will take place during the 2011 season. Now that the 2010 season is coming to an end, it is being talked about more than ever. The NFL's collective bargaining agreement is about to expire in March and the team owners are making moves to lock out the players. Owners are complaining about how much money they make and they believe they should receive a bigger cut. They claim that the new stadiums and renovated stadiums have taken a big piece of their money and they believe they deserve more because of it. Commissioner Roger Goodell says that if there is a work stoppage after March, he will reduce his salary to one dollar. Goodell makes about 10 million per year right now. So if you are wondering how this affects society, here is why. The NFL made about 9 billion dollars last year. This is attributed to merchandise sold, food and beverages sold at games, tickets, etc. In fact Forbes lists the NFL as one of the top 300 business in the world. Not bad for playing a sport. But that 9 billion dollars is projected to increase from this number if there is football played next year. Also, it affects society because of the millions of people plan their lives around NFL games every year. This will also affect bar owners and sponsors. If there is a lockout would we end up watching replacements? Yes. This would be like watching the movie "The Replacements."
Let's look at it from a NFL player's perspective. Most NFL players plan on having children in the off season and if an agreement is not made then the players will have no health insurance which is why it is crucial that an agreement be made. Most players have already began saving their money incase a lockout occurs. This is what these players do for a living. It's what puts food on the table for their families. Here's what defensive ray Edwards said about it:
"You've got to prepare for the lockout," Edwards said. "It's more than likely there's going to be a lockout, so we have to start preparing as if we're not going to be playing football."
Edwards has started training for boxing as a backup plan for next year. Brandon Marshall has stated that he will try to play in the NBA if there is a lockout. He will take a huge financial hit if there is a lockout. He has a four year deal and makes about 10 million dollars a year. Obviously guys like him and Tom Brady and Peyton Manning will be fine financially until the leagues comes to an agreement, but what about the guys who make the league minimum? Do they find other work like in a construction business or do they use their degrees (if they have one) to get a regular job. This not only affects them but their families as well. A lot of players are going to be hurt if this lockout occurs.
Goodell is trying to push the season to a 16 game schedule to an 18 game schedule and make the playoffs shorter to eliminate the exhibition games that do not mean anything. Also, the owners want to make an 18 percent cut in salaries. Obviously the players are not in favor of this stating that the two more games will take a major toll on their bodies and they are not going to budge on the health and safety part of this which is why an agreement has not been made. They claim that adding two more games will not only hurt them now but will have an affect on their bodies in the long term future. There is only a plan for 5 years for these players after they retire? So what happens when they are 50 and they are having serious issues with their health from playing an 18 game schedule?
Outside of the players and owners, many other companies are going to be affected by this lockout if it occurs which in turn affects them and their families. ESPN and the NFL are in talks to keep Monday Night Football on ESPN for a deal worth 2 billion dollars and the NFL just signed a deal with Anheuser-Busch for the 2011 season worth 1.2 billion dollars. So what happens if there is a lockout? Does Anheuser-Busch get their money back and does ESPN get theirs back as well? I do not think that the team owners and Roger Goodell understand how fortunate they are right now to be making the money they do with the economy being the way it is today. But the owners do not care. They feel like once the players realize that there are no more paychecks coming in the mail, they will have to agree to the terms and come back and play.
The NFL lockout should also take a look at what it can possibly do to the 2011 Draft. If a lockout occurs there will be no training camp, conditioning, no working out with their positioning coaches, etc. Teams will not be able to go near the rookies they just drafted and will not know what they really have until the lockout is over. Also, the owners want a rookie salary cap because rookie salaries have been increasing every year. These rookies are getting paid more than some veterans and they have not even played a down of football yet. Also, not many juniors have declared early for the NFL draft. The number one overall prospect Andrew Luck decided to stay for another year. Some juniors did not want to take the chance of coming out if there will be a lockout because they will not be paid. But this may help these students in the future. If there was another lockout out they can use their degrees to get jobs that they received for staying for their senior year.
Finally, you have to take a look at how the lockout is going to affect the families and children of the players. That is the most important thing. There are many decisions these players are going to have to make that they never had to make before. Also, sponsors are going to lose money. We have to think about all the bars and local restaurants who throw parties for games and the super bowl and depend on that money to help pay for their own children's education. With a lockout they won't be able to do any of this. So the lockout not only affects players, but fans and their children as well. The NFL is a major business and I believe that all of us sports fans really need it for the 2011 season and in the future.
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