NFL Players May Be At Fault In Labor Dispute

by Bruce Raffel on Mar 14, 2011 6:00 AM EDT

One of the main arguments in favor of the players in their labor dispute with the NFL team owners is that this is unlike any other business that one might try comparing it to. However, even with that assumption, the owners "own" the business and the players are employees, albeit very highly paid ones. Without the quality of play by the employees, the owners will not have the opportunity to make their business successful and thus, they need to work with the players to ensure both sides are happy and feel they are getting what they are worth.

Unfortunately, that cannot always be the case, be it in the NFL or out in what we all are calling the "real world." Every NFL player is well paid, not just the multi-millionaires, every last one of them. The minimum salary is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and that does not include benefits and perks of being in the NFL. Doors open for NFL players figuratively and literally. Freebies, be it in restaurants, sporting events and other opportunities abound for just about every player from the star QB to the player on the bench.

These guys are treated like prized thoroughbreds. They receive the best medical treatment, the finest food and have all of their off the field needs catered to them in one way or another They know when they strap on the pads that their career could be over in just one play and no one has ever put a gun to their heads telling them this is the course of the lives that they must take. This is the job they have chosen and they love what they do and for most of them the pursuit of the ring is their ultimate goal. Along the way, the riches and benefits of being the big man on campus in their town and for some in the entire country, is a drug that they cannot ignore.

The owners have every right to make a profit and a good one at that. They put up the tens and hundreds of millions of dollars to run their teams and for most of them, they have earned their riches through hard work and shrewd business investments. The players embarrass themselves when they have sometimes referred to themselves as slaves, as most of us working class stiffs would love to be enslaved in their place.

Not to disparage the rights of the players to try to get the best deal they can to continue to earn a very good living for as long as they can remain in the league. However, this is where the road divides and the players stick to one path while they should be following the other.

Over the past two years as this current CBA ran down, both sides continued to negotiate behind the public scenes. When it came down to the wire, the negotiations intensified and when they agreed to a seven day extension, they had their final shot at getting the best possible deal.

This is the only point I am trying to make in this lengthy diatribe. The players had every chance to make the best possible deal they could and in the end they needed to close ranks and accept the deal that was on the table by the owners. The players wanted more but this was the best they could expect in this time of financial instability everywhere else in the world other than the National Football League.

What I'm trying to say is that they had the owners' final offer on the table as the clock ran down and while it may not have been exactly or even close to what they wanted, it was there for the taking and they should have taken it. None of the players, once again from the biggest star to the lowest grunt, would have gone hungry while employed by their teams. The owners have the right to be greedy, as bad as that sounds and when the players say "no deal," their greediness looks a lot worse.

Now, they stand to lose a lot more than what they would have had they taken the money and ran, and on top of it, are beginning to look like the bad people to a majority of the public and the tide will only continue to turn against them the longer this thing goes on.

Tweet Comment 43 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

If life for the players is so awesome:

1) Why are 75% of them bankrupt within 3 years of leaving the league?
2) Why is the average life expectancy of an NFL player 55 years old, nearly 20 years below the general population?

Look, I get that being a player is a pretty sweet deal, but its not that sweet for most of them. If you asked your median NFL player if they could do this or be a doctor/lawyer/insert good paying stable career here, they would take it. And really, I think that’s the right comparison. The kind of work you put into being an NFL player, the hours and effort, is pretty comparable to what one puts in to being a doctor/lawyer/etc. I’d say maybe even more over the period of time that they are playing. Just cause they punish their bodies and not their brains doesn’t change that.

So let’s think what would happen if every hospital in the country got together and put a salary cap on doctor salaries. Worse, they held a draft for every doctor coming out of medical school and whoever drafted you had exclusive rights to your labor. Oh, and if you were the best doctor they could hit you with the hospital tag. It would be appalling and illegal and nobody would stand for it.

“The owners have every right to make a profit and a good one at that.”

I think the issue at hand is that the players believe they are making a good profit and that their claims of financial distress are lies designed to squeeze even more out of a players. Yes, I’m sure a few franchises in struggling market like the Jags aren’t doing hot, but all indications are that the league as a whole is doing great. The Jags should be trying to get better profit sharing from the Jerry Jones and Snyders of the world, not ganging up on the players so the weak franchises can turn a small profit and the strong franchises can turn massive profits.

“they have earned their riches through hard work and shrewd business investments”

Many of the current owners inherited their teams or money. Of those that made the money themselves a lot made it on wall street or in the oil industry, doing plenty of shady things. Most came from at least an upper middle class privileged background, unlike the players who often come from poor backgrounds and get into football because they don’t have the advantages to succeed at a normal job. Yeah yeah, a couple are bonified underdog stories, but that’s the exception not the rule.

Simply put, I know which side of the tracks most of the owners come from as opposed to where most of the players come from.

“The players embarrass themselves when they have sometimes referred to themselves as slaves, as most of us working class stiffs would love to be enslaved in their place.”

And this gets to the heart of it. I here it everywhere. A mixture of jealousy and selfishness. Regular dudes just want their football. They don’t care how. They don’t care why. They just want it. They think the players are weaker then the owners, so if they push down on the players they can get their football. That’s sad.

I think there is also a hint of thinking that they deserve it just as much as the players. Your average working stiff knows he isn’t Paul Allen or any of the owners that made big money using their brains. He knows he doesn’t come from the right side of the tracks like the owners. They’re a foreign thing to him. But the players seem accessible. They come from the same background. They do physical labor just like they do. Why should they be rich and not me? There is an instinct to drag those people down because “they don’t deserve it” (as if the majority of owners really deserve it all that much more).

by davver on Mar 14, 2011 8:09 AM EDT reply actions 5 recs

Davver, you are one well stated gentleman.

"If only Flacco could put up numbers similar to Matt Ryan, or maybe just improve his stats year-to-year, he wouldn’t seem like such a wasted draft pick. It’s as if a young quarterback needs to put up better stats in his first three years than nearly every other quarterback to play in the NFL to justify a first round pick." - Amp

by Mr MaLoR on Mar 14, 2011 10:34 AM EDT up reply actions

Agreed

Great commentary and well backed up.

aka 'Rexx'

by Bruce Raffel on Mar 14, 2011 9:34 PM EDT up reply actions

Boomshakalaka!

To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women.

by Keith R on Apr 1, 2011 9:41 PM EDT up reply actions

Also, exactly what have the owners done for football, other then put up money which a bank or any rich guy could do?

Most of the things that have grown the business happened independent of them:
HDTV wasn’t theirs
Most broadcasting improvements actually got lifted from other places, such as certain camera angles the XFL used.
Fantasy football didn’t come from the NFL.

They just happened to be around when the rising tide lifted all boats.

Meanwhile, what are some of the brilliant ideas the owners came up with:
1) The Thursday game everyone hates.
2) Paying full price for pre-season games.
3) Losing a home game to play in London, but also shutting down NFL Europe to save cash so are you really even trying to grow the game?
4) Tearing down the old stadiums to build new ones with fewer affordable seats but tons of executive suites for your corporate buddies, then making people buy PSLs for the privilege.

Even the SB has been fucked up. All reports are that this last SB was the most mismanaged one in history. The only thing that saved it was excellent play on the field by the players. They bailed the NFL out of its own incompetence yet again.

Now that there is a work stoppage many teams are going to stop paying their staff. Really? I can see it for the HC and other millionaires, but your really going to lay off some scout, trainer, IT guy or whoever else making five figures? Can’t one of these billionaires sell one of their 20 beach homes so some poor schmuck doesn’t lose his job and can’t feed his family.

by davver on Mar 14, 2011 8:30 AM EDT reply actions 5 recs

Can’t one of these billionaires sell one of their 20 beach homes so some poor schmuck doesn’t lose his job and can’t feed his family.

YES! YES! YES! Finally someone came out and said what I have been saying the whole time, greedy, dirty, ignorant republicans these owners are (accept Bisciotti, he is the man). They are part of the reason why less than 1% of the U.S. population controls around 60% of the nation’s economy.

If only your statement would hold true in the rest of society, so many of our problems would be resolved. These bastards keep complaining about having to give up some of their money to people who were not as fortunate to grow up at the yacht club with sweaters around their necks, pretending to laugh at things their father’s board members joked about.

I say we just let Sarah Palin handle this mess and see where she can take it. I mean, sooooo many people were comfortable with her taking over for McCain once he croaked from a heart attack.

by Mr MaLoR on Mar 14, 2011 10:32 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

look, i got no problem with success

and I even like some of the owners, including biscotti (who you will note isn’t laying off anyone and is putting our season ticket money in a segregated interest earning account).

but i think success has to be earned. if you produce something of value, by all means get rich, even ridiculously rich. but I don’t see a lot of these guys as adding a whole lot of value. i’m not into class warfare, and i don’t want to tax people into oblivian, but i’m going to call people on bullshit and this stuff with the CBA looks like a lot of bullshit to me.

I feel bad for guys like the panthers owner if he really is losing money. the guy is a standup guy. but i just think he made a huge error by trying to ally with the jerry jones of the world against the players rather then allying with the players against the jerry jones.

by davver on Mar 14, 2011 11:39 AM EDT up reply actions

but i think success has to be earned.

Which is why Bisciotti is one of the top notch owners in the league. The guy started a company from scratch out of his basement with a degree from Salisbury University which had about a 2.7 GPA attached with it. He wasn’t handed anything and look what his turn out has been. It is the Dan Snyders of the NFL who are ruining this league with their greed. They say it is all about the team, but in the end, it is all about them.

by Mr MaLoR on Mar 14, 2011 11:53 AM EDT up reply actions

What right do we have to determine whether a person’s success is earned or the result of fortune? That’s pretty dangerous territory because everyone born in America is pretty fortunate compared to most other people in the world.

by BAL_Hawk on Mar 14, 2011 2:09 PM EDT up reply actions

use your own brain, include a heavy dose of humility

by davver on Mar 14, 2011 2:26 PM EDT up reply actions

I don’t trust myself to rightfully judge others.

by BAL_Hawk on Mar 14, 2011 3:31 PM EDT up reply actions

you must think pretty low of yourself then

let’s try an exercise.

1) You’re born the child of a wealthy family. upon turning 18 you receive $1mil trust fund. Did you earn it?

2) You are a CDS trader on wall street. You spent most of the housing bubble selling worthless mortgage derivatives to people you knew were suckers messing around with OPM (other peoples money). in the end both the bank you worked for and most of your clients went bankrupt, and all of the products you sold had zero economic or social value. however, you were able to keep millions in bonuses you were paid during the bubble because there is no clawback mechanism. also, you covered your ass just enough to not get arrested. Did you earn all that money?

3) Your a lobbyist for Haliburton. You use your contacts in congress and the defense establishment to secure a bunch of no bid contracts to provide shoddy products and services to soldiers in Iraq at outrageous prices and pocket huge profits from it. A portion of those outsized profits get passed along to you for your lobbying work. Its all legal, but clearly immoral and does nothing for society. Did you earn it?

4) You inherit an NFL franchise from your father. You don’t do a particularly good job running it, but you happened to own it at a time that sports generally and football specifically exploded in popularity, due mainly to cultural and technological changes you had no part in. The valuation goes from seven figures to billions of dollars in spite of yourself. Did you earn it?

by davver on Mar 14, 2011 4:58 PM EDT up reply actions

Absolutely love. The answer to all of them is “no, you did not earn it.” Wanna run for office with me, davver?

by Mr MaLoR on Mar 14, 2011 5:20 PM EDT up reply actions

Whether they ‘earned it or not, they are the ones responsible for it, and if something bad were to happen to their business, assets or whatever, they would ultimately be the ones responsible for that as well. I knew several multi-millionaires personally before this economy hit. Many of them ’got lucky’ to be is the right place at the right time… a few of them were even born into the success. They’re all bankrupt now. There are too many scenarios and people in this world for us to judge a few and try to determine what people deserve.

by BAL_Hawk on Mar 14, 2011 8:36 PM EDT up reply actions

You can say that many people don’t ‘deserve’ what they’ve been given, but that all depends on your definition of what people deserve. People in Haiti probably think every single American is born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

If you really want to make everything fair for everyone, you would need to make sure that no one has an advantage because of where they are born, how their are raised or what they inherit. I’m sure that there are less fortunate people than you… How would you feel if someone decided that you had an advantage in life and wanted you to take some of your money and give it to someone else ‘less fortunate?’ I’m sure you’d be asking very quickly who the heck they are to judge you and your life… and what standards exactly are you living above where they’re expecting to give your money away? That’s the only reason I don’t judge others for what they have or don’t have. I’m just thankful for what I do have and try to help others that are less fortunate as often as possible.

by BAL_Hawk on Mar 14, 2011 8:24 PM EDT up reply actions

its interesting the choice of words

I used “earned” you used “deserve”. There’s a difference. I don’t know if someone deserves their worth. Deserve is a moral statement. I may have an opinion, but I understand its an opinion.

Earned, on the other hand, is a bit closer to fact. I don’t know if a trust fund baby deserves his inheritance or not (certainly, his parents deserve to give their money away however they want). But he certainly didn’t earn it.

I’m not in the business of making everything fair for everyone. I’m simply observing the fact that many of today’s owners didn’t earn their wealth. By contrast, even given whatever luck players may have had genetically, they by and large have earned their salaries through the sweat and blood they leave on the field. Further, I’ve noted that the increase in franchise values and the NFLs success had a lot more to do with the players and external trends then any management by the owners. This directly counters the point made by the OP.

by davver on Mar 14, 2011 8:40 PM EDT up reply actions

and following up even more

though whether someone “deserves” something is an opinion, that shouldn’t stop us from having an opinion when its really really obvious. for instance, examples #2 and #3 in my post clearly show psychopathic behavior that is a threat to societies well being. people who use fraud and power to violate the spirit of the law, corrupt public institutions, and extract massive wealth while destroying great quantities in the process. you know what, I’m perfectly comfortable saying such people don’t deserve what they were paid, and I will lobby to have every cent clawed back by the court for their false profits. i will also try to get them thrown in jail, and even change the law to punish their actions ex-post, because they clearly violated the spirit of the law and even changed the letter of the law through lobbying in order to get away with their scams. furthermore, i will make sure such activities are banned going forward.

one doesn’t have to develop some gung-ho opinion evaluating the value of every damn action people take in society. but when you see obvious bullshit, call people on it and take action against it.

by davver on Mar 14, 2011 8:52 PM EDT up reply actions

I am just going to stay away from discussing this anymore, and sit back and watch the show evolve some more. I already discuss this bullshit 8 hours a day, 5 days a week with a bunch of hormonal college students and I need a break from it. So have at it you two.

by Mr MaLoR on Mar 14, 2011 9:01 PM EDT up reply actions

I’m actually done as well. I come on here to talk football. I’ve said my peace.

by BAL_Hawk on Mar 14, 2011 10:39 PM EDT up reply actions

are you a professor malor?

by davver on Mar 14, 2011 10:59 PM EDT up reply actions

Haha, no. Student.

by Mr MaLoR on Mar 14, 2011 11:11 PM EDT up reply actions

where at?

by davver on Mar 14, 2011 11:46 PM EDT up reply actions

Maryland

by Mr MaLoR on Mar 15, 2011 12:21 AM EDT up reply actions

cool, had a nice campus when i visited

went to the maryland/navy game at M&T but couldn’t get into the brand of football.

by davver on Mar 15, 2011 12:40 AM EDT up reply actions

Yea, that was a fun day. ACC football is tough to enjoy because it just doesn’t compare to some of the play in other conferences. We have a future Heisman candidate at QB on our roster though, so alot to be excited about.

by Mr MaLoR on Mar 15, 2011 12:56 AM EDT up reply actions

wasn't troy smith a heismen winner?

its just so hard to get into these one dimensional college teams, whether that dimension is run all the time or pass all the time

all these workout wonder QBs all do the same thing:

shotgun
scramble

shotgun
first read
scramble

by davver on Mar 15, 2011 9:39 AM EDT up reply actions

I never said Maryland was one dimensional. They actually are known for having a pretty strong run game and will continue to do so. But they now have a QB who is more than capable of leading them to a big time bowl game.

by Mr MaLoR on Mar 15, 2011 11:37 AM EDT up reply actions

You People Scare Me

Advocating ex-post-facto incarceration.

CDS? There was/is a market for that, ergo why they were traded. There was a famous “avant-garde” artist back in the 1970’s who put is excrement in little tin cans and sold it -there was a market for it. Made a nice tidy sum. Should he go to jail, now ex-post-facto, for trading a product that has no redeeming social value? It is called capitalism, and G-d bless that artist that he was able to sell his you-know-what.

Are there unintended consequences of capitalism? Absolutely. But you cannot throw the baby out with the bathwater. Who are you to judge what markets and products are “just”? The arrogance is breath-taking.

I sold my house at the height of the housing bubble (March of 2006) for 100’s of thousands of dollars more than it is worth today. Heck, the purchasing family could conceivable be “under water” now. Should I have not sold it to them? Should I now go to jail ex-post-facto? Heck, they could have gone into bankruptcy. How am I different from the CDS traders? Did I not ruin somebody’s life? Whenever there is a trade, there are two parties. If one party is not “smart” in the field they are embarking in, or did not perform proper due diligence, then buyer beware, and they are left to the tender mercies of a Darwin-like marketplace -eat or be eaten.

Get real.

People who break the laws should go to jail. Period. Bernie Madoff, “Duke” Cunningham, et al -may they rot in jail for a very long time. Do not like the laws? Work to get people elected who will enact and enforce the laws you want.

One last thing, most of the “moneyed” types on Wall Street, the ones you loathe with every fiber of your being- most are registered democrats (full disclosure, I am counting Bloomberg as a democrat). A good chunk of them came from Hopkins, work for Goldman-Sachs, et al. Hopkins, outside of the Ivy Leagues and Berkeley, has one of the most liberal student bodies and faculties.

by vlad755 on Mar 29, 2011 1:54 PM EDT up reply actions

Doesn’t matter if your $$$ was earned or inherited, this is still a business, there are owners, and the players (employees) can be replaced. There’s only so many spots on a pro team and theres 1000’s of really good college players that would play for half the cash. These guys are playing on a slippery slope, and they just may get burned.

"They kept throwing it at me. I don’t know why. They just kept trying, and I just kept knocking it down." - Joe Hayden, Cleveland Browns.

by J. W. on Apr 6, 2011 5:42 AM EDT up reply actions

I think the “spread the wealth” philosophy is extremely dangerous. It sounds good in theory, but it has not and will never work in reality. Every country that has tried it (in entirety) has been unsuccessful, but anyway… this isn’t a political board.

The real problem here is that the players do not have a defined position. In reality, they are partners since their conduct on and off the field makes or breaks the NFL. No one would argue that. I reality, the players do not own equity in any part of the NFL. Their contributions are exclusively their services. What they’re arguing about is what those services are worth. Obviously, their services are worth a great deal, but the players cannot get to carried away with acting like partner. They are not true partners, so they need to negotiate accordingly.

The way that the owners were negotiating forced the players to play hardball and decertify. The main problem is that the owners aren’t willing to share the profits in reality… only those based on low projections. That would mean everything that the NFL makes above a certain amount would belong to the NFL… which is greed on the NFL’s part.

by BAL_Hawk on Mar 14, 2011 11:50 AM EDT up reply actions

but anyway… this isn’t a political board.

I wish it was. More people need to be like my boy Anthony Weiner.

by Mr MaLoR on Mar 14, 2011 11:55 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

Wow… I could go on for hours on that subject (and many others). It’s probably best not to get me going on political issues.

by BAL_Hawk on Mar 14, 2011 2:03 PM EDT up reply actions

Definitely. The outcome is always ugly.

by Mr MaLoR on Mar 14, 2011 3:22 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

In politics everyone has an opinion. Socialism doesn’t work, we’ve all seen it. Eventually you run out of money to rob from peter to pay paul. The NFL isn’t to that point yet, though where else in this country can an employee tell his employer how much he is going to pay him? Some of you wouldn’t like it if I was an owner, because I would have replaced every last employee that thinks he owns my business.

"They kept throwing it at me. I don’t know why. They just kept trying, and I just kept knocking it down." - Joe Hayden, Cleveland Browns.

by J. W. on Apr 6, 2011 5:50 AM EDT up reply actions

link blocked

by davver on Mar 14, 2011 2:26 PM EDT up reply actions

Just type his name in on YouTube and enjoy listening to the President of the USA in 2016.

by Mr MaLoR on Mar 14, 2011 3:24 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

I’m not too fond of many of Weiner’s ideas, but there’s no doubt he wants the best for this country. The country needs more men like him. They can have differences in opinion (that’s one of the great things about democracy) but must be honest in defense of the country and the constitution. Too many of them have agendas. Ron Paul is another great guy to listen too.

by BAL_Hawk on Mar 14, 2011 4:45 PM EDT up reply actions

Ron Paul is a genius. I am in the process of writing a 25 page paper based around many of Ron Paul’s ideas. Very, very interesting and brilliant political mind.

by Mr MaLoR on Mar 14, 2011 5:18 PM EDT up reply actions

yeah he's a great guy

regardless of whatever ones ideology is, i wish they pursued it in as pure and moral a manner as ron paul

by davver on Mar 14, 2011 5:47 PM EDT up reply actions

This Post of Yours

Put you back in my good graces. While I disagree with Ron Paul’s notions of going back to the Gold Standard, as it would wreck our economy even more than it is currently being wrecked because of accelerated deflation, I do agree with most everything else he has to say.

Interesting sources that you look to for inspiration: Anthony Weiner and Ron Paul; kind of like Karl Marx and Barry Goldwater…

by vlad755 on Mar 29, 2011 1:16 PM EDT up reply actions

We agree. Ron Paul is a genius.

"They kept throwing it at me. I don’t know why. They just kept trying, and I just kept knocking it down." - Joe Hayden, Cleveland Browns.

by J. W. on Apr 6, 2011 5:51 AM EDT up reply actions

Wow

This wouldn’t be the same Anthony Weiner who was basically the author of Obamacare and is now seeking a waiver for it?

So let me get this straight: Tony wants me to pay more for lower quality care, yet exempt himself from that? That about sum it up? Can I file this under “do as I say, not as I do”?

by vlad755 on Mar 29, 2011 1:12 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, put that right up there with congress not having to live by any of the laws that they pass. Overtime, Social Security, Healthcare, Retirement, etc…….. Soicalism has been killing this country for the last 50 + years.

"They kept throwing it at me. I don’t know why. They just kept trying, and I just kept knocking it down." - Joe Hayden, Cleveland Browns.

by J. W. on Apr 6, 2011 5:54 AM EDT up reply actions