Training Camp Launches! But Negotiations Continue…

M.J.

4 years ago

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.

You can check Judy’s article for all the extra details.

NFLPA has the leverage right now

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.

Consider this article by Vincent Frank about the NFLPA and league battling on how to disperse the financial losses from this season. Back in early July Phinsnews wrote about the coming financial decline of the NFL and its impact on the cap. Unfortunately, it appears a declining cap is inevitable.

The ‘golden age’ of the NFL is over

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?

NFL owners have offered another olive branch along with the new Training Camp safety protocols and accepted the zero preseason game proposal the NFLPA requested.

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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