Ongoing CBA discussions

^ The owners want Judge Doty off the case and that happens on March 4. That means until March 4 the owners will inflexibly avoid real negotiations even if it means acting irrationally. Let's see what happens after March 4. Maybe talks will suddenly become more productive.

Deal isn't happening. I am ready for no football. Or at least I tell myself that to mentally prepare.

Sally Jenkins - NFL owners want guarantees no other business provides (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/16/AR2011021603846.html)

Sally Jenkins - NFL owners want guarantees no other business provides (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/16/AR2011021603846.html)


This is a good article and I suggest fans shelling out money to read it. It's probably one of the sole reasons why I'll never be a season ticket holder.

With all that money that is spent on season tickets, I would much rather take that money and invest in a top of the line HDTV. As good as technology is nowadays, it's almost like being there anyways.

Sally Jenkins - NFL owners want guarantees no other business provides (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/16/AR2011021603846.html)

As long as you just want to read vitriol against the owners, that's a pretty good read. She kind of lost me with this:

But in what other industry do business owners act so entitled to make money every year into the limitless future?

Umm, maybe she is focusing on the word entitled, but as far as I know, EVERY business owner, and industry attempts to maximize their profits every year, and for the projected future. (and that's before we even start talking about the government's ability to feel entitled to our money)

Umm, maybe she is focusing on the word entitled, but as far as I know, EVERY business owner, and industry attempts to maximize their profits every year, and for the projected future. (and that's before we even start talking about the government's ability to feel entitled to our money)

Most big businesses answer to stock holders so they have the obligation to maximize profits. These aren't small business owners scraping pennies to make good, they are raking in money hand over fist and *gasp*...wanting more.

At the end of the day, the product on the field are why people shell out that money. That product happens to be people that put their health on the line every week to entertain the masses. (much like old gladiators) I want the money going to those guys, not the assholes that sit in the owners box.


If they really want to "maximize profits" like you claim, then they wouldn't be handing out record breaking contracts like they did to Seymour, Haynesworth, and Asomugha.

Some of you guys may have never heard this quote before, but in the south, they have this quote "being too big for your britches". I think the NFL has gotten "too big for their britches". Honestly, building these mega huge stadiums sounds all well and good, but let's face it, the bigger the stadium, the less enjoyable it's going to be watching the game live. That's my opinion. I think it takes away from the intimate atmosphere of the older stadiums, that were smaller, but the fans were more a part of the game. Honestly, while I did enjoy my time at my first Redskins game this year (Christmas present) I would have traded that time and those seats to have watched a game at RFK. May not have been nearly as comfortable, but heck, just seems like I would have been more a part of the game. Does that make sense?

So, with that said, I wished they would forget about building these mega stadiums and focus more on the product itself. Make sure those players are taken care of in regards to their health during the career and after their careers are over. There needs to be a better retirement plan for these players. Yes, they make millions upon millions, but I betcha that a lot of them don't know the first thing about investing that money for the future. Look, if your team is winning on a regular base, your fans are going to enjoy the experience even if the stadium only holds 12,000 people. Fans want a quality product on the field, not just a quality experience of the stadium itself.

Most big businesses answer to stock holders so they have the obligation to maximize profits. These aren't small business owners scraping pennies to make good, they are raking in money hand over fist and *gasp*...wanting more.

At the end of the day, the product on the field are why people shell out that money. That product happens to be people that put their health on the line every week to entertain the masses. (much like old gladiators) I want the money going to those guys, not the assholes that sit in the owners box.


If they really want to "maximize profits" like you claim, then they wouldn't be handing out record breaking contracts like they did to Seymour, Haynesworth, and Asomugha.

I don't think gladiators were driving golden chariots (but maybe they were)

The product on the field is a result of a unique cooperation between the owners and players for the last 20 years.

As for where the money goes, I would rather both sides take a cut and give it back to the fans, but since that ain't happening, whether the players get that billion, or the owners get that billion, seems to me they ought to find a way to work it out. To paint it as all on the owners or the players is ridiculously simplistic, and in the end it falls on both sides.

As Andrew Brandt's article said very well, this is all about a lack of trust between the two sides. I believe all the other topics are just symptoms springing from that basic fact.

I agree with the stadiums being too big and impersonal but I would call that a flaw in the design. I have to imagine its possible to build a large stadium that has the same feel as the old time ones like RFK or Arrowhead. The problem I would think is that too much of the best available room in the stadiums blue prints is used up by luxury suites.

Hope this is a good thing:

SBJLizMullen Liz Mullen
by FO_DougFarrar
Federal Mediator George Cohen statement: NFL & NFLPA have agreed "the ongoing negotiations will now be conducted under my auspices"