Quote:
Originally Posted by Dirtbag59
Got to wonder if there's some sort of franchise bubble.
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Funny thing about those financial bubbles - they are far easier to see in hindsight.
The ongoing NFL-NFLPA dispute is simple really. The owners overspent on unnecessary stadiums, and now they want the players to work more for less pay to help pay down the debt. That's your entire labor dispute in one sentence.
The NFL produces three things: stadium debt, intellectual property, and bureaucracy. None of these things should be confused with "free market" values. The league is a prime example of what happens when you mix politically influential egos with easy credit and a media environment that largely promotes economic ignorance. You have the perfect boom business.
But the networks face their own economic challenges, and unless you can guarantee that Fox, ESPN, CBS, et al., will be stronger in the future than they are now, then you can't say with any confidence the NFL will survive and thrive indefinitely. The league is built on consumption, and when you adopt that model, eventually you'll eat yourself out of your $1.3 billion house and home.
Found this from Forbes.
The Most Valuable Teams In Sports - Forbes.com