Lockout Thread

[ice grillin you]

yeah they get money as soon as they sign but they arent making anything now and they wont be making anything until they are allowed to sign

how is that worse than the guys who are already getting checks that just stopped

[Sgt PSN]

Mostly because the guys who have been getting checks should have a little in reserve, especially since they've known it was a possibility for at least 1 year.  Kids coming out of college on the other hand probably don't have much to fall back on. 

I'm not saying they won't get by, but they are easily in a tougher spot than billionaire owners and millionaire athletes who have already been paid. 

With all the rumors and speculation around gov't paychecks being frozen, who would be impacted worse, you or some kid right out of college who just started?

[ice grillin you]

they will either go to back to college and work out with good trainers in good facilities or they will go back to doing whatever they did before they were in college...living with ma dooks working out at their high school and splittin appetizers at applebees with their boys on the weekends..in other words they wont be impacted in the least...cant lose what you dont got

the exception could be some kid who has taken out some big loan and used the cake to purchase some big ticket items expecting to pay it off with his nfl contract....but even that will be covered by his agent in most cases

[QB Eagles]

But at the same time, this seems to be a very childish thing for the NFLPA to do.

It is childish, but they are making the judgement that it's within their best interest, and they are probably correct. They are trying to get all the leverage against the NFL that they can, in an attempt to drive the owners to the table. This is probably the first of many childish stunts.

[Drunkmasterflex]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/15/adrian-peterson-slavery-nfl_n_836090.html

Has there ever been a dumber comment by an athlete?

[General_Failure]

Seems like somebody says that every five to ten years.

[Diomedes]

True, and yes, there have been dumber comments by athletes.  Jocks says stupid shtein all the time because, news flash, they are among the dumbest motherfargers on the planet.

Besides, he's got a point.  I'd use the word 'gladiators' rather than 'slave,' but he's onto something with his line of thinking.  The players risk their lives and should they not be killed or maimed while playing the game, their long term health is guaranteed to be adversely affected.  Sure, they get more money than most of us do in return for their services, but what they get is always a tiny fraction of what the Owner makes.  Kinda like the way we get paid and the way the CEO gets paid.

We do the work, they get the money.

[Eagaholic]

Yay Jerruh

Jim Trotter of SI.com gives a behind the scenes glimpse into one of the reasons why the negotiations between NFL owners and players broke down.

Mediator George Cohen began the session by giving each owner an opportunity to speak. Jerry Jones, never one to pass up center stage, tried to lighten the mood by talking of his upbringing and the business acumen that led to his purchase of the Cowboys 22 years ago. The tenor changed when he began discussing how two years of negotiations had failed to bring the sides closer. What he said next, with arched eyebrows, helped steer the situation past the point of no return.

"I don't think we've got your attention," Jones said to the players, several of whom recounted the incident. "You clearly don't understand what we're saying, and we're not hearing what you're saying. So I guess we're going to have to show you to get your attention."

Jones tapped his fists together for emphasis—the players interpreted it as a sign that a lockout was coming—then stood and walked toward the door. As he reached the end of the table, Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, another labor hawk, began to rise, but Robert Kraft of the Patriots, who was sitting next to him, put a hand on Richardson's forearm and kept him from going.

If Jones's intention was to intimidate the players, he failed. "I think everybody in the room thought it was overly dramatic, almost hilarious," one player said. "It was like a Jerry Maguire moment. You know, 'I'm leaving. Who's coming with me?' I know it didn't scare any of us."

[ice grillin you]

somehow i dont think a billionaire threatening to roll out of a negotiation would carry much weight

if i were the players id bring conrad dobler and andre waters widow to the next bargining table

[smeags]

True, and yes, there have been dumber comments by athletes.  Jocks says stupid shtein all the time because, news flash, they are among the dumbest motherfargers on the planet.

Besides, he's got a point.  I'd use the word 'gladiators' rather than 'slave,' but he's onto something with his line of thinking.  The players risk their lives and should they not be killed or maimed while playing the game, their long term health is guaranteed to be adversely affected.  Sure, they get more money than most of us do in return for their services, but what they get is always a tiny fraction of what the Owner makes.  Kinda like the way we get paid and the way the CEO gets paid.

We do the work, they get the money.

so wait, slaves and gladiators got paid ? got free educations to go to college thanks to their skills? had a choice to do what they did ?

[Drunkmasterflex]

Yeah Dio I think you are a little off-base on this one.  These athletes may not be among the most brilliant men in the world, but they are afforded many opportunities that most people would kill for.  Not to mention there are tons of jobs where people risk their lives and serious injury and don't get paid a fraction of what these guys do. 

[Sgt PSN]

Dio's extra salty when it comes to the rich and it's clouding his judgement.  I'm far from being on the owner's side, but the more this drags on the more I realize I'm not on either side.  And that pisses me off because now I'm starting to look at the NFL the same way I look at our political system; I hate it. 

I have hard time feeling sympathetic for millionaires and billionaires arguing over money.  The people I do feel sorry for are the guys on the practice squads and special teams players who bust their asses twice as hard as the "stars" all year long and do so for maybe a few hundred thousand if they're lucky.  I feel for college kids entering the draft who have been working hard to reach the NFL only to find out there might not be any practices or games in the near future.  I feel bad for the employees of the teams that work behind the scenes and are looking at potential layoffs or pay cuts.  And I feel bad for the poor schlubs who work the gates and concession stands to help make a few extra bucks.  If there's no season, there's definitely no need for their services.  Guess they'll have to pick up a paper route or something.   

[smeags]

I'm not on either side. 

^^^ this

[ice grillin you]

i will almost always side with players because without them sports doesnt exist...theres tons of people who can run a business whereas only a handful of people in the world can play pro sports...they are so much more important than the owners its not even funny...that said there are times when im split such as in hockey a few years ago when the viability of the league was in question

however i dont think it would be possible to have a situation that leans players more than this current one...you have a sport where the players are literally putting their lives on the line and are the lowest paid pro athletes...they have no guaranteed contracts nor do they have 100% free agency...again the only pro athletes that dont

finally factor in that the sport prints its own money...the tv contracts are obscene and are only getting larger


shtein i think a 50/50 split of revenues is insane if im a player...i dont even know why they agree to that

[Sgt PSN]

If you put a gun to my head and told me to pick a side, I'd pick the players.  Kind of like how I'd pick Democrats over Republicans given the same scenerio.  I don't have a problem with how much athletes make and I don't think they should be paid any less than 50%.  But at the same time, I do have a problem when someone like AP comes out and says that he's treated like a slave.  Warren Sapp said it a few years back as well.  Ever notice that it's always the more well known and well paid players who say this stuff?  But you never hear those types of things coming from the 53rd guy on the roster making 200k. 

Do the players have legitimate gripes?  Of course they do.  But that doesn't take away from the fact that they live a very priviledged life that the majority of their fans will never get to experience.