DOLPHINS: Labor Relations

[ldouglas]

Don't know if anyone's been following the ratcheting up job that the
new NFLPA dude has been doing wrt the CBA / Uncapped year / lockout
but it's getting good. he and Kevin Mawae were on the NFL Network
yesterday basically saying that the league wants players to cut their
keep from 59 to 41% (minus a $1B off the top of all revenue) and he
wants to see numbers that says that the NFL isn't profitable. And it
seems that the NFL is saying they need to spend more money to grow the
game internationally and to pay for a stadium in LA (which I assume
the Jags would move to because they're they're pulling UFL attendance
numbers).

I can kinda see their point since in this economy there's no way
cities are paying for anymore stadium deals. But the PA is citing
profit numbers from Forbes magazine and the audited financial
statements from the Packers (since they're publicly traded) and saying
"if the Packers can make $20M in a small market ..." They also noted
that the NFL hired the same legal counsel the NHL used before they got
locked out and that the new TV deals will pay the NFL even if there's
a lockout. Compare that against a bunch of 20 year olds and their
financial foresights and you'll see who can weather the storm better!

I don't know how this is going to end, but it looks ugly right now and
I think the uncapped year is going to have a big effect on the quality
of the game in terms of teams with no salary floors and teams with
limited free agent choices and a bunch of underclassmen declaring ...
I'm dreading the 2010 season for real.