WILL THERE BE A LOCKOUT IN 2011?
Maybe, but I tend to doubt it.
Both owners and players know what a strike did to baseball, ushering in a fantasy steroid-driven period that taints the sport today. They also know how much money can be lost by striking; not to mention fan backlash. Owners have large stadiums financed with enormous loans that need to be filled for revenue to come in, and players have large life styles, many with enormous debts, that require mighty infusions of cash. A strike hurts the owners, players and fans, and we all know this.
I think what we are seeing here is a lot of saber rattling. The new head of the NFL Player’s Union DeMaurice Smith wants to show he is a tough negotiator on behalf of his men, and is ready to take this to the wire. He also knows that there is a bit of dissension amongst the owners, and he will try and use that to his advantage.
This split amongst the owners really comes from the Haves versus the Have-Nots. Large market teams like Dallas, New England and New York, are sick of sharing their revenue with teams like Cleveland, Jacksonville and Buffalo. Their feeling is that many of these teams continue to produce a poor product, bring in little money into the league, yet share in pie of the bigger teams. However, with a lockout staring them all in the face, NFL Guy predicts they close ranks.
So, where does this leave the fan? Not sure. My gut feeling is that there will be no strike, but I cannot be sure. They’ve done it before, and it hasn’t given the players better standards of living in terms of long term health care and safety precautions. Gene Upshaw made sure of this; taking care of himself in the process. Many owners are in a great deal of debt due to these monolithic stadiums and overhead expenses. We shall see…
I sure hope not.
