Training Camp Launches! But Negotiations Continue…
Training Camp Launches! But Negotiations Continue…
New safety protocols launch Training Camp… But, negotiations aren’t done
The league and NFLPA agreed to new safety protocols Monday, so the NFL will launch Training Camp today without a hitch. Hold your horses though, a Regular Season isn’t certain as negotiations are ongoing. But, with this agreement, a 2020 Season is a lot close to becoming a reality.
Still, the future of the NFL is in uncertain times.
Judy Battista from NFL.com reported, “NFL players will be tested every day for the first two weeks of training camp. And it’s expected that players will need more than one negative test before first being allowed to enter team facilities.”
Though the NFLPA was satisfied about the safety protocols, they feel more ‘work’ needs to be done.
I want to focus on this part of their statement, “The testing protocols we agreed to are one critical factor that will help us return to work safely and gives us the best chance to play and finish the season.”
“One critical factor.”
This means there are more ‘critical factors’ that need to be resolved before the players will play.
The NFLPA was and will be the blockade to football in 2020. As the players’ representatives, the NFLPA is doing what’s in the best interest of their clients, so this isn’t a knock. The recently signed collective bargaining agreement made the owners the vulnerable side when COVID-19 hit, so it’s natural for the NFLPA to take advantage. Nearly half of the players the NFLPA represents felt they were taken advantage of by the new deal. Remember the vote was passed by a razor-thin majority with 1,019 players voting in favor and 959 voting against.
Surely, the NFLPA wants to improve its image with its clients.
Yes, there are very real concerns about the health of the players and their families. This concern can’t be underestimated. And it’s a sure bet with the pay per head review sites that if the roles were reversed, the owners would seize as much extra power as they could…
… But, the NFLPA must beware that the chum in the water doesn’t cause a frenzy.
Money, money, money
Whether it’s the players or owners, the NFL is about money: bottomline.
Money is ‘one of the critical concerns’ for the NFLPA.
Given the economic climate and sizable amount of fans losing interest in the NFL, players should beware not to push too far.
The financial base of the NFL will decline going forward… and sharply. This is a very unexpected turn of events. The owners seem to be well aware of this fact and it could be one reason why they are bending over backward to the NFLPA.
The owners stand to lose a ton of money whether the season is canceled or not. The league makes about $3 billion in its massive TV deals, which is about $94 million per team. Yes, they have plenty of other revenue streams, but their stadiums generate a huge chunk of their total revenue. If you knock off the Top 2 stadium revenues of the Cowboy ($621 million) and the Patriots ($315 million), the average for the rest of the teams is about $150 million a year from stadium revenue. So, even if the season is played, the owners are taking roughly a 60% hit to their finances. And, if you take the $200 million cap minus the $94 million TV contract, teams stand the be in the red by roughly $110… if they play this season.
Yes, the owners have plenty of other revenue streams. And no, you shouldn’t cry for them either. Still, there is some incentive for the owners to say cancel the season if pushed too hard. By abandoning the season, players will receive only a fraction of their salary compared to if they played. Maybe, the owners would rather cancel the season than being taken to the woodshed?
Is the golden goose near cooked?
Also, this stadium decline won’t be for just this season. The financial situation for millions of families in the U.S. is now changed for the foreseeable future. Spending vast sums going to games is no longer an option for many now. Covid-19 will be the reason for the empty stadium this year, financially strapped fans will be the reason going forward.
Fans of the NFL are losing their homes, jobs, lives, and financial security. Watching millionaires and billionaires squabble and possibly sacrifice the suffering, simple folk’s pastime in the process might just be the Coup DE Grace on the NFL.
I do think the owners are trying to avoid a canceled season at nearly all costs, even at taking a short term financial hit. I think they see the big picture. The owners know the NFL is heading into a steep decline and worry a missed season could make the decline far steeper if the base of disinterested fans grows.
The questions is are the player and the NFLPA in touch with the reality of the situation?
Do the players realize the NFL is at a crossroads?
The last hurdle now is how to defer the losses to the owners’ pockets from COVID-19.This is a good article that sheds light on the details.
I’m not savvy enough in business to give a knowledgeable take on the business side of things… So I just won’t. But, I do know both sides must compromise on the money. I also know this:If the NFLPA gets lost in the sauce of hubris and pushes too hard, and the season is canceled, the players might be cooking their own golden goose!
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I think sports, in general, is going to have a huge revenue crisis. COVID-19 is going to eliminate all fans this season. Even if a vaccine is perfected in record time, it must be tested and then distributed. Healthcare workers and the military will be first. It will take a year for the vaccine to saturate the general public. This will work if the virus doesn’t mutate.
So moving on to next year, some fans will have lost interest sufficiently that they will not be buying jerseys and such; more revenue lost. Only those under 65 will be attending games until confidence in the vaccine is gained. Those expensive seats may go empty for a while. Attendance will be down. Lower demand means lower cost in most portions of the economic world. Then there is the TV and other media contracts. A truncated season means less revenue. At the same time players in all sports don’t seem to get it! Rating have to be high and interest in their sport has to grow if they want to make more money. They have to play! The show must go on! Owners will pay now but will be reluctant to continue high salaries if their profit margin dwindles.
Finally, we come to the unforgivable mistakes of both owners and players. Both groups have allowed politics to become a distraction from the game. Owners would be smart to stop playing the national anthem before games. They need to impress upon players that fans come from all walks of life and don’t watch sports to make political statements. They watch sports to get a break from things like racism, taxes and global threats. Players must realize that their fans want to see them perform the incredible and wonderful ways no one else can without displays of anti-Americanism, racial bias and so on. Never talk about religion or politics when you are in business.
Fans will just stop watching teams that don’t get it! Owners are going to have to set some limits. Right now, the unions are running professional sports but have no money invested in the teams. Maybe the union needs to purchase minority ownership. In that way, players would have some cash on the table!
“Owners would be smart to stop playing the national anthem before games. They need to impress upon players that fans come from all walks of life and don’t watch sports to make political statements.”
It’s a weird place for me. I love the freedom of speech. I think the NFL and the players have every right to say whatever… Of course, there are consequences to freedom of speech as well and it might be a hit in the wallet. But, if they are good with that, then that’s their right. The thing that gets under my skin about all this is the NFL has squashed other views in the past as protecting the shield and such. But now they are allowing this type of free speech while curtailing others now and in the past. They have zero cares for’protecting the sheild’ and have revealed themselves to be fascists that used ‘ protecting the shield’ as cover for crushing freedom of speech. Kneel for the flag, be pro Christianity or Islam or anti both, salute BLM, be anti-abortion, whatever… all of that is American in that it is covered under the first amendment. The NFL is now a place where you play football and can only express the ideas they rubber stamp. That’s crap. Play football and have your opinions whatever they are as long as it’s in the realm of reason. Fans can find players and teams they like that celebrate their ideals or they can squash the game altogether that is capitalism and an exercise in the freedom of speech. The NFL though has taken another road. Not because they put decals on their helmets for this cause or that or because they support BLM, but because they crush any thought they don’t agree with. Look at Drew Brees he was crushed for simply saying I don’t agree. Guy isn’t a racist. Maybe he was wrong or misguided if that’s your take. Okay I can see that as a rational take. But, the vitriol that he was blasted with is insane. Basically think and say as we (the NFL) believe or you are going to get crushed. That is very un-American… and unacceptable.
I think sports, in general, is going to have a huge revenue crisis. COVID-19 is going to eliminate all fans this season. Even if a vaccine is perfected in record time, it must be tested and then distributed. Healthcare workers and the military will be first. It will take a year for the vaccine to saturate the general public. This will work if the virus doesn’t mutate.
So moving on to next year, some fans will have lost interest sufficiently that they will not be buying jerseys and such; more revenue lost. Only those under 65 will be attending games until confidence in the vaccine is gained. Those expensive seats may go empty for a while. Attendance will be down. Lower demand means lower cost in most portions of the economic world. Then there is the TV and other media contracts. A truncated season means less revenue. At the same time players in all sports don’t seem to get it! Rating have to be high and interest in their sport has to grow if they want to make more money. They have to play! The show must go on! Owners will pay now but will be reluctant to continue high salaries if their profit margin dwindles.
Finally, we come to the unforgivable mistakes of both owners and players. Both groups have allowed politics to become a distraction from the game. Owners would be smart to stop playing the national anthem before games. They need to impress upon players that fans come from all walks of life and don’t watch sports to make political statements. They watch sports to get a break from things like racism, taxes and global threats. Players must realize that their fans want to see them perform the incredible and wonderful ways no one else can without displays of anti-Americanism, racial bias and so on. Never talk about religion or politics when you are in business.
Fans will just stop watching teams that don’t get it! Owners are going to have to set some limits. Right now, the unions are running professional sports but have no money invested in the teams. Maybe the union needs to purchase minority ownership. In that way, players would have some cash on the table!
“Owners would be smart to stop playing the national anthem before games. They need to impress upon players that fans come from all walks of life and don’t watch sports to make political statements.”
It’s a weird place for me. I love the freedom of speech. I think the NFL and the players have every right to say whatever… Of course, there are consequences to freedom of speech as well and it might be a hit in the wallet. But, if they are good with that, then that’s their right. The thing that gets under my skin about all this is the NFL has squashed other views in the past as protecting the shield and such. But now they are allowing this type of free speech while curtailing others now and in the past. They have zero cares for’protecting the sheild’ and have revealed themselves to be fascists that used ‘ protecting the shield’ as cover for crushing freedom of speech. Kneel for the flag, be pro Christianity or Islam or anti both, salute BLM, be anti-abortion, whatever… all of that is American in that it is covered under the first amendment. The NFL is now a place where you play football and can only express the ideas they rubber stamp. That’s crap. Play football and have your opinions whatever they are as long as it’s in the realm of reason. Fans can find players and teams they like that celebrate their ideals or they can squash the game altogether that is capitalism and an exercise in the freedom of speech. The NFL though has taken another road. Not because they put decals on their helmets for this cause or that or because they support BLM, but because they crush any thought they don’t agree with. Look at Drew Brees he was crushed for simply saying I don’t agree. Guy isn’t a racist. Maybe he was wrong or misguided if that’s your take. Okay I can see that as a rational take. But, the vitriol that he was blasted with is insane. Basically think and say as we (the NFL) believe or you are going to get crushed. That is very un-American… and unacceptable.