2011 NFL Lockout: Here is another clue for you all

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.examiner.com/x-3926-Business-of-Sports-Examiner~y2009m3d7-2011-NFL-Lockout-Here-is-another-clue-for-you-all

March 7, 7:25 PM

It is March and generally an NFL owner starts thinking about all the money that will be coming their way in the next few months from the sale of luxury boxes, club seats, in-stadium signage, naming rights, marketing partnerships and in the case of Tom Benson, the owner of the New Orleans Saints, a $23.5 million check from Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and Louisiana lawmakers thanks to a 2001 $186.5 million bailout that former Governor Mike Foster gave him as a thank you for keeping his football team in New Orleans through 2010. But this particular March is very different than those in the recent past as the owners begin preparing for the annual spring meetings which will be held in Southern California later this month. NFL owners have started digging in for what very well could turn out to be a protracted battle with their players over a new collective bargaining agreement with the 2011 season very much in jeopardy.

One clue for you all is the national over-the-air radio deal or the lack of a national over-the-air radio deal. The National Football League's association with Westwood One, an entity that has been firing people in waves since the fall because of financial ruin, was done with the 2009 Pro Bowl. Normally, the NFL has a new radio deal in place by the end of the final year of the old contract which allows the partner to start selling advertising well in advance of the season. This time around, Westwood One did make an offer to extend the contract but the radio syndicator is in brutally bad financial shape and has been delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. The NFL opted to talk to others including ESPN Radio, Sporting News Radio, Sports USA Radio and The Content Factory.

It was thought that the league would have a new deal by the middle of last week. It didn’t happen.

Length of contract and money are two primary factors behind the delay in reaching an agreement. The NFL would prefer a short term agreement, say two years, for the 2009 and 2010 seasons. The NFL's deal with the financially troubled Sirius Satellite Radio and another partnership with Sprint, which provides wireless play-by-play of games, also end in 2010. Coincidentally, the NFL's collective bargaining deal with the players as lo ends in 2010.

Another clue that the owners are ready to take a hard line stance against the players can be found in the league office and with individual teams. NFL Commissioner has taken a 20 percent pay cut and the league has let go 169 employees due to the recession. The NFL put out a statement saying "It will continue to take collective sacrifice to get through this challenging economic environment, but these and other steps by our office and clubs will enable us to be more efficient and better positioned for future growth."

New York Jets owner Woody Johnson is not laying off people who work on the business side of the team but Johnson has implemented cost cutting measures by making his employees take a two week unpaid leave in either June or July just prior to training camp. The workers are giving back two weeks pay but they will continue to have jobs and receive benefits which is better than the league employees without jobs or former workers of NFL franchises in Cleveland, Washington, Indianapolis and Carolina. The players will not be downsized because of the economy in 2009 due to the collective bargaining contract

FULL story at link.

[MadMaddie]

1. So let me get this straight

<snip>
New York Jets owner Woody Johnson making his employees take a two week unpaid leave in either June or July just prior to training camp.
<snip

Instead of scaling back on the salaries of over paid athletes, the owner is going to force middle class employees to take two weeks of unpaid off time. By scaling back even 5% of the athletes pay would allow him to pay for those other workers.

This is exactly what is wrong with this country. I wonder if the stadiums will be filled this year considerning how many people have lost their jobs.

[Angleae]

2. They can't just cut the athletes pay. They're under contract.

[MadMaddie]

3. Maybe it's time to look at those contracts when they come up

for review.