Rock out with your Lockout

[SkinzWin]

Owners and players make way more money than they should now as it is. Why don't we move the NFL in the direction of the financial markets and allow us to get kick backs, "dividends", since we are the force that lines their pockets with green in the first place? That is the petition I want to sign. Until the day we have meaningful jobs like teachers, police officers and firemen get paid the same as these overpaid athletes, I will not be happy. I work just as hard as these guys who get to have fun for a minuscule percentage of their salary. Wait, am I sounding a tad bit bitter? Oops....

[RobH4413]

The owners are the ones who have opted out of the current CBA agreement. They voted to opt out 2 years early.

I'm siding with the players because I feel that the owners have dug themselves into their own hole. The owners want to keep the same percentage of sharing, but decrease what qualifies as sharable revenue with the players. The players take the biggest health risk by playing the game, and should be compensated fairly... It's up to everyone to figure out what, "fairly" is.

[Daseal]

Originally Posted by SkinzWin

Owners and players make way more money than they should now as it is. Why don't we move the NFL in the direction of the financial markets and allow us to get kick backs, "dividends", since we are the force that lines their pockets with green in the first place? That is the petition I want to sign. Until the day we have meaningful jobs like teachers, police officers and firemen get paid the same as these overpaid athletes, I will not be happy. I work just as hard as these guys who get to have fun for a minuscule percentage of their salary. Wait, am I sounding a tad bit bitter? Oops....

I hate this argument. Let's really step back and look at this. Anyone can be a cop or a firefighter. Most people on this board could study/train for a year and become a cop or fireman. None of us could become world class athletes. What these players have are special skills that they hone, either for free or pay [tuition, equipment costs, etc], until the age of 20-21ish. Then they are given a very short career span to make money. Their routine work day includes far more violence and danger than the typical cop and fireman as well. I'm not saying service people don't face danger, but I'm arguing over the course of a week, a football player has a far higher risk of being seriously injured. Most of these guys get a short amount of time in the NFL, it's important they're well compensated.

[RobH4413]

YouTube - The NFL Lockout Exposed! How It Came To...

Here's another take from former New England Patriots left tackle Brian Halloway.

[Paintrain]

Originally Posted by Daseal

I hate this argument. Let's really step back and look at this. Anyone can be a cop or a firefighter. Most people on this board could study/train for a year and become a cop or fireman. None of us could become world class athletes. What these players have are special skills that they hone, either for free or pay [tuition, equipment costs, etc], until the age of 20-21ish. Then they are given a very short career span to make money. Their routine work day includes far more violence and danger than the typical cop and fireman as well. I'm not saying service people don't face danger, but I'm arguing over the course of a week, a football player has a far higher risk of being seriously injured. Most of these guys get a short amount of time in the NFL, it's important they're well compensated.

THIS, THIS and THIS!! Thank you for spelling it out.. Nothing infuriates me more than the 'teachers, fire fighters and ditch diggers don't get paid this much' argument as if athletes should apologize for their salaries. Wah, wah, wah.. These guys are in the top 1% in the WORLD of those with similar skill sets. There's a reason why elite artists, actors, businessmen and athletes get paid the amount they do. I hate that argument with a passion..

Now, on the topic of this dispute, I side 100% with the players. The owners exercised the option to void the CBA, causing this scenario. With record ratings (although lower attendance figures) it would be beyond moronic for the NFLPA and owners to allow a lockout to proceed past the draft. I doubt it will go that far though because teams need a full offseason to incorporate free agency and drafting into their 2011 plans.

A couple of things/signs are working in favor of a short work stoppage:
-The amount of coaching turnover. Outside of Carolina, all of the owners who made coaching changes will be paying a portion of their fired coaches salaries. If there is a lockout in place into the season, they would be paying a former coach as well as a current coach with no revenue coming in. A few analysts indicated the coaching carousel would be a sign of the owners intent going into the offseason. High turnover would be a good indicator of a short stoppage, low turnover would mean they were locked in for the long haul.
-The large FA class. This is supposed to be the biggest and deepest FA class since free agency began since it's basically 2 years worth of players on the market. The players aren't stupid. They know that the longer the offseason lockout exists, the shorter the FA period and the shorter the dollars will be as well. In addition, the possibility exists of an extension of 2010 terms on all expiring contracts which means hundreds of unhappy players. The NFLPA wants no parts of that either so they will be motivated to make a deal.

Expect a deal around Easter, in time for abbreviated FA before the draft and much more activity afterwards.

[FRPLG]

Originally Posted by Daseal

I hate this argument. Let's really step back and look at this. Anyone can be a cop or a firefighter. Most people on this board could study/train for a year and become a cop or fireman. None of us could become world class athletes. What these players have are special skills that they hone, either for free or pay [tuition, equipment costs, etc], until the age of 20-21ish. Then they are given a very short career span to make money. Their routine work day includes far more violence and danger than the typical cop and fireman as well. I'm not saying service people don't face danger, but I'm arguing over the course of a week, a football player has a far higher risk of being seriously injured. Most of these guys get a short amount of time in the NFL, it's important they're well compensated.

Halle-freaking-lujah

I tire of this argument too. The commerce of our country and (increasingly in the rest of the world) is governed by freedom. In a free market, products and services of value are paid at the level at which they are available (scarcity). Professional athletes are amongst the most scarce commodities anywhere. You don't have to like it but it is the system by which you yourself gain a great amount of benefit.

The common misconception is that people get paid to do their job based on how "important" society deems it. That couldn't really be any further from the truth. It's a function of value and scarcity. And where there is little scarcity (teachers) there is little pay no matter how much society values the work they do.

I appreciate what teachers do (as an example) and I have many friends/acquaintances who do it. A few complain about pay some. I always ask why so many people teach if the pay isn't good enough. They never have a real answer.

[skinsguy]

Originally Posted by FRPLG

Halle-freaking-lujah

I tire of this argument too. The commerce of our country and (increasingly in the rest of the world) is governed by freedom. In a free market, products and services of value are paid at the level at which they are available (scarcity). Professional athletes are amongst the most scarce commodities anywhere. You don't have to like it but it is the system by which you yourself gain a great amount of benefit.

The common misconception is that people get paid to do their job based on how "important" society deems it. That couldn't really be any further from the truth. It's a function of value and scarcity. And where there is little scarcity (teachers) there is little pay no matter how much society values the work they do.

I appreciate what teachers do (as an example) and I have many friends/acquaintances who do it. A few complain about pay some. I always ask why so many people teach if the pay isn't good enough. They never have a real answer.

Interesting concept. I'm not sure I completely buy it though. I believe one reason cops and teachers are paid the way they are is because they are state employees. While state employees tend to have pretty good benefits, their salaries aren't always high, but I don't know if that is an argument of scarcity or just the fact that the government is only going to supply X amount of money to pay these state employees, since the government has X amount in their budget to pay for each and every program.

A truer comparison would be if all education and law enforcement was privately funded. Not saying cops and teachers would be making millions a year, but I could potentially see them making more.