That is the outlook being presented by the players union. An uncapped season means that free agents will get nothing in the way of offers. The Top 4 teams will not be allowed to sign free agents, and the next 4 will be severaly limited. So 8 teams are basically taken out of the equation. Restricted free agency goes from 4 to 6 years taking a lot of players out of the equation. On top of all this, the owners will demand an 18% cut in players salaries.
The owners are in a very enviable position because they are guaranteed T.V. money no matter if the 2011 season takes place or not. That means that the players are basically at the mercy of the owners. A lockout is imminent as of now, or so the union wants it's players to believe. The union is already telling players to save 25% of their salary because of the "inevitable" work stoppage in 2011. They are suggesting that players spend as little if their 2010 salaries as possible, and to plan ahead.
My take. The players are way over paid to begin with. These guys are crying about taking a 328K pay cut on average. That is peanuts compared to the salaries that they are making. These guys have no complaints. If they cannot make a living on a salary as low as one million a year, they do not deserve anything. People go in debt just to see a game. Do the players really expect the owners to riase prices even more than they have already? Green Bay took a 40% hit last year, according to their books. It is time that the over paid primadonnas that play in the NFL start taking a hit.
Players contracts are already way to high. Owners are the ones taking more risk, not the players. Come on, players don't think 40 million of guaranteed money isnt enough?? Its called greed. Also, if players sign a contract for 6 years, and a year later they think they deserve more, they should be able to hold out. You made the contract so you should have to stick to it.
If nothing gets done in 2010, you are going to see very little change in team rosters. That means that teams that did well this year will probably do well next year. The schedule could be critical. Next year, it breaks down like this:
AFC:
North plays AFC East and NFC South
South plays AFC West and NFC East
East plays AFC North and NFC North
West plays AFC South and NFC West
NFC:
North plays NFC East and AFC East
South plays NFC West and AFC North
East plays NFC North and AFC South
West plays NFC South and AFC West
You really have to like the NFC South here, playing the very weak NFC West, and the AFC North, which could go either way next season. The AFC is a lot closer, with no division getting two other soft divisions.
If they stopped paying rookies ridiculous amounts it would be better. I'm sure they would rather make 250k to play football than 30-40k with their college degrees.
1) The average NFL franchise is worth about $1 billion, so yeah, let's stick it to the players, and give the owners a free ride.
2) "People go into debt just to see a game." Stupid. No sympathy here. Don't blame the owners or the players for this.
3) The players are also in an enviable position. Remember scab football? It wasn't pretty, and fans got no refunds, not even partial refunds, for season tickets. When the NFL tried to sell season tickets for the next season, did the fans just forgot about that? The NFL owners have far more to lose in a lockout than the players do.
4) Consider the next TV contract negotiation. Would TV execs be willing to pay billions for scab football?
5) Remember profit sharing for players? No, it never happened, so when owners demand a pay cut, insisting that profits "may" decline, the players won't care.
6) I like the idea of restricting free agency at the top teams. Let's give the other teams a chance. Of course, the NFL owners like it too, because anytime you restrict the demand in an otherwise free market, prices will come down.
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