begin with the WHO:
NFL: National Football League. The 9 billion dollar a year football league. Although the NFL is a sports league you should think of them as business. A 9 billion dollar a year business. Providing jobs for over one hundred thousand people across the states. The NFL is owned by the team owners and has a governing body headed by a commishoner, Roger Goodell.
NFLPA: Worker band together in unions to collectively bargain with their employer and come to agreements on thing like working conditions and labor contracts. National Football League Players Association founded in 1956 but not recognized until 1968 with the first collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The director DeMaurice Smith has beeen the spokesman for the union. It WAS the union for the players (workers) until it recently decertified to combat the lockout.
Basically...
The NFL and NFLPA made an agreement in 2006. Although the owners signed it, in a troubled economy they were losing profits. They declared in 2008 that they would opt out of the agreement when it expires in 2011. Owners want a larger piece of the pie, taking from the players who don't want to give it up. The CBA has expired and no deal has been made. The owners have locked-out and the NFLPA has decertified.
The players are happy with the former CBA and were asking for nothing new. But why would they want it to change. The previous agreement has players earning more than half the NFL revenue, without making any less if sales are down. Meanwhile as the econemy struggles, NFL sales are down and owners feel that the previous agreement gives the players too much. Cutting into their profits. Owners are proposing to basically double their piece of the $9Billion pie. Currently they earn adout $1billion and want 2, cutting into the players' pay and limiting their potential earnings. Owners are also asking to extend the regular season by adding two more games, two more oppurtunities to make $.
Either side is budging. Players feel that they are putting their lives on the line and have a limited window in which they can earn. They are asking the owners to prove they are losing $ and open up there financials. Obviously owners are'nt going to just hand that over. Your books our sacred in business. The owners made it known that they would opt out as far back as 2008. Over the last three years a lockout has been looming. After three years of negotiations, court proceeding, and mediation still no deal so what happens next.
Owners LOCKOUT. Essentially stopping all business. Players are combatting the lockout bisbanning the NFLPA. Now that they are out of a union they have the ability to file antitrust law suits. The owner are preventing player from potential earning by locking out so they have they right to sue.
Now i'm overwhelmed with were to go next so read for yourselves.
Court battles over TV deals and Anti-trust lawsuits. Even the Supreme Court had a say in the proceedings
What do you think. should the players keep thier cut or should the owners get more.
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