The coming collective bargaining negotiation which will take place between NFL management and the NFLPA is probably going to get very ugly.
NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said the chances of there being a lockout next year is “14” on a scale of 1 to 10.
It makes me believe that there’s going to be a work stoppage in 2011.
Right now the players are getting about 55% of the gross revenues which come into the league and the owners believe that’s much too high.
They have been intimating that there are teams losing money but I don’t think they can open their books and prove that.
I don’t think the teams are making as much money as they want to, but there’s no way in the world that they’re not profitable.
The new NFLPA head has been attemptiing to win the PR battle by asking the question, how could a business as profitable as the NFL be listed as a “Non Profit”.
Smith has a relationship with President Barack Obama and he’s emphasizing the importance of getting the U.S. Congress involved in the collective bargaining negotiation process.
The owners have already secured agreements with CBS, NBC, Fox and ESPN which will allow them to still get paid $5 billion dollars, if there is a work stoppage in 2011.
Why would the owners get that provision in a contract unless they were preparing for a work stoppage?
It’s amazing that there would even be a chance of a work stoppage for an organization which is making billions and billions of dollars, but I think it’s going to happen.
Stay tuned.
