Who is going to win the LOCKOUT BOWL?

[sfladave]

The players will always be the huge winners. The owners are already multi million or billionaires without the NFL. The players come from all kinds of back grounds, some with and some without legitimate college degrees, and earn millions of dollars. That is crazy. I don't care if they are "entertainers" and all elite "entertainers" earn millions. I don't care that they put their lives on the line, and in many cases risk major injuries and have major problems after their careers are over with their health. You can say the exact same thing about fire fighters, police officers and military soldiers.

 

I wish the 32 owners of the NFL would shut the whole thing down and start it all over again. The goal would be to cater to the average fan instead of television and corporations. Every major sport should do the exact same thing, especially in today's economic times. Here is what should happen:

 

1) Every NFL team should sign a 50 year irrovocable lease with their current cities and should go back to paying those cities and counties good money for the right to play in those publicly funded stadiums, including going back to paying those cities and counties parking and concessions money. (The very few owners that paid for their own stadiums with zero public funding can be free to negotiate more favorable leasing terms, but they should still sign a 50 year lease.)

 

2) PSL's should be banned. (However owners could still charge for their luxury suites whatever their individual markets will bear)

 

3) All ticket prices for seats in every NFL stadium should be cut by at least 50%.

 

4) Screw Los Angeles. The NFL should not allow any current team to move there, but instead force them to start from scratch as an expansion team - and in fact add another expansion team from another city that has never had NFL football to keep the number of teams even.

 

So how on earth do the owners afford to take these 4 fan-friendly steps you might ask? Very easy - reduce the money they pay the players. Cut the salary cap in half - at least. What is it now, (or what was it before this past 2010 uncapped season) - about 125 Million dollars per year per team? Are you freakin' kidding me? Cut that in half, and each team will immediately save 62.5 Million dollars. Per year. Gee, that means Tom Brady and Peyton Manning will only earn 8 Million dollars each instead of 16 Million per season?? How on earth will they ever survive?? And the last guy on the team - the 53rd guy to make the roster, will have to "get by" on only $100,000.00 per season instead of $200,000.00?? Are you telling me that some 7th round draft choice or rookie free agent that over-performs and beats the odds to make the roster at the final cut, won't think it's worth "his trouble" to earn $100,000.00 per season? What are his other options, a sweet $30,000.00 a year entry level marketing job in the real world - if (and that's a huge if) he earned a bachelors degree in college??

 

I say shut it all down owners, and start it up again from scratch. Every major sport should cut it's payroll by half at the end of their current seasons, and give that money back to the average fans who cannot afford to even attend any of the games anymore. But first and foremost, the NFL needs to do that. They won't of course. But I would love to see it because really....what could the players do??

Pehaps we should just seize the NFL from the owners and players and socialize it for the people? The hell with letting supply and demand dictate what should happen! While we're at it maybe we should seize all of Silicon Valley and bring computer prices down to pennies on the dollar of where they are currently. I suppose healthcare would be next!

[JinWPB]

The players will always be the huge winners. The owners are already multi million or billionaires without the NFL. The players come from all kinds of back grounds, some with and some without legitimate college degrees, and earn millions of dollars. That is crazy. I don't care if they are "entertainers" and all elite "entertainers" earn millions. I don't care that they put their lives on the line, and in many cases risk major injuries and have major problems after their careers are over with their health. You can say the exact same thing about fire fighters, police officers and military soldiers.

 

I wish the 32 owners of the NFL would shut the whole thing down and start it all over again. The goal would be to cater to the average fan instead of television and corporations. Every major sport should do the exact same thing, especially in today's economic times. Here is what should happen:

 

1) Every NFL team should sign a 50 year irrovocable lease with their current cities and should go back to paying those cities and counties good money for the right to play in those publicly funded stadiums, including going back to paying those cities and counties parking and concessions money. (The very few owners that paid for their own stadiums with zero public funding can be free to negotiate more favorable leasing terms, but they should still sign a 50 year lease.)

 

2) PSL's should be banned. (However owners could still charge for their luxury suites whatever their individual markets will bear)

 

3) All ticket prices for seats in every NFL stadium should be cut by at least 50%.

 

4) Screw Los Angeles. The NFL should not allow any current team to move there, but instead force them to start from scratch as an expansion team - and in fact add another expansion team from another city that has never had NFL football to keep the number of teams even.

 

So how on earth do the owners afford to take these 4 fan-friendly steps you might ask? Very easy - reduce the money they pay the players. Cut the salary cap in half - at least. What is it now, (or what was it before this past 2010 uncapped season) - about 125 Million dollars per year per team? Are you freakin' kidding me? Cut that in half, and each team will immediately save 62.5 Million dollars. Per year. Gee, that means Tom Brady and Peyton Manning will only earn 8 Million dollars each instead of 16 Million per season?? How on earth will they ever survive?? And the last guy on the team - the 53rd guy to make the roster, will have to "get by" on only $100,000.00 per season instead of $200,000.00?? Are you telling me that some 7th round draft choice or rookie free agent that over-performs and beats the odds to make the roster at the final cut, won't think it's worth "his trouble" to earn $100,000.00 per season? What are his other options, a sweet $30,000.00 a year entry level marketing job in the real world - if (and that's a huge if) he earned a bachelors degree in college??

 

I say shut it all down owners, and start it up again from scratch. Every major sport should cut it's payroll by half at the end of their current seasons, and give that money back to the average fans who cannot afford to even attend any of the games anymore. But first and foremost, the NFL needs to do that. They won't of course. But I would love to see it because really....what could the players do??

 

 

Barack...is that you?

[3rdnlng]

Barack...is that you?

 

Hope and chains you can believe in.

[TheLynchTrain]

The players will always be the huge winners. The owners are already multi million or billionaires without the NFL. The players come from all kinds of back grounds, some with and some without legitimate college degrees, and earn millions of dollars. That is crazy. I don't care if they are "entertainers" and all elite "entertainers" earn millions. I don't care that they put their lives on the line, and in many cases risk major injuries and have major problems after their careers are over with their health. You can say the exact same thing about fire fighters, police officers and military soldiers.

 

I wish the 32 owners of the NFL would shut the whole thing down and start it all over again. The goal would be to cater to the average fan instead of television and corporations. Every major sport should do the exact same thing, especially in today's economic times. Here is what should happen:

 

1) Every NFL team should sign a 50 year irrovocable lease with their current cities and should go back to paying those cities and counties good money for the right to play in those publicly funded stadiums, including going back to paying those cities and counties parking and concessions money. (The very few owners that paid for their own stadiums with zero public funding can be free to negotiate more favorable leasing terms, but they should still sign a 50 year lease.)

 

2) PSL's should be banned. (However owners could still charge for their luxury suites whatever their individual markets will bear)

 

3) All ticket prices for seats in every NFL stadium should be cut by at least 50%.

 

4) Screw Los Angeles. The NFL should not allow any current team to move there, but instead force them to start from scratch as an expansion team - and in fact add another expansion team from another city that has never had NFL football to keep the number of teams even.

 

So how on earth do the owners afford to take these 4 fan-friendly steps you might ask? Very easy - reduce the money they pay the players. Cut the salary cap in half - at least. What is it now, (or what was it before this past 2010 uncapped season) - about 125 Million dollars per year per team? Are you freakin' kidding me? Cut that in half, and each team will immediately save 62.5 Million dollars. Per year. Gee, that means Tom Brady and Peyton Manning will only earn 8 Million dollars each instead of 16 Million per season?? How on earth will they ever survive?? And the last guy on the team - the 53rd guy to make the roster, will have to "get by" on only $100,000.00 per season instead of $200,000.00?? Are you telling me that some 7th round draft choice or rookie free agent that over-performs and beats the odds to make the roster at the final cut, won't think it's worth "his trouble" to earn $100,000.00 per season? What are his other options, a sweet $30,000.00 a year entry level marketing job in the real world - if (and that's a huge if) he earned a bachelors degree in college??

 

I say shut it all down owners, and start it up again from scratch. Every major sport should cut it's payroll by half at the end of their current seasons, and give that money back to the average fans who cannot afford to even attend any of the games anymore. But first and foremost, the NFL needs to do that. They won't of course. But I would love to see it because really....what could the players do??

 

"Every man a King, I tell ya'"