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The Spectacle Blog
Wisconsin isn’t the only place where collective bargaining is in the news. The clock is ticking on the CBA between the National Football League’s owners and players. If no labor agreement is reached, the NFL players union is likely to decertify and the players will file an antitrust suit against the owners. Under that scenario, the players will bring out the big guns: Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Drew Brees have reportedly agreed to be three of the name plaintiffs in the suit. Pro Bowl guard Logan Mankins is another.
UPDATE: The players and owners have agreed to a 24-hour deadline extension.
Occam's Tool| 3.4.11 @ 2:08AM
And I care because....
Baseball Fan| 3.4.11 @ 7:29AM
...Those poor players are being used by the ugly owners. There just trying to protect the middle class. What's the league minimum? I; for one; can live without pro football. Heck; baseball goes almost to Christmas now. Bring on the boys of summer.
Richard Baker| 3.4.11 @ 7:47AM
These "professionals" seem to desire the end of the NFL. Maybe they'll get it. It's not like anybody involved in this activity is using their brains. Kill the golden goose, that's the ticket.
Ryan| 3.4.11 @ 8:42AM
Not necessarily. The owners are just as bad culprits here; they have deals in place with the networks that they will make their money anyway, so they're negotiating from a different position.
Also, remember that the average NFL career is around 3 years, that most AREN'T millionaires and have to find careers AFTER football in the middle class.
solidground| 3.4.11 @ 9:57AM
So maybe "most" make a half mil a year instead of a million. Even if that were true, and I'm not sure it is, as far as I'm concerned the spectre of a punk kid who very possibly didn't spend even a quarter of his college career in a classroom and perhaps can't even spell his own name making a half mil a year to fart around on a football field makes me want to puke.
PhilTheCapitalistPig| 3.4.11 @ 10:35AM
The players expect to be treated like business partners when they have no ZERO investment. I say screw em. They want too much. That being said, I agree with Larry, right below this post.
NoLib| 3.4.11 @ 2:52PM
Zero investment? I don't know about that, professional football exacts a high physical price of players.
Larry| 3.4.11 @ 8:13AM
YAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWN
We'd all be better off if people paid less attention to idiot men playing children's games for a lot of money.
PhilTheCapitalistPig| 3.4.11 @ 10:36AM
Amen, brother. The world is falling apart all around us and all people care about is sports.
Is it a coincidence that sports show up in America around the time Progressives did? hmmmm....
Larry| 3.4.11 @ 11:25AM
Bread and circuses my friend. Although these days bread is going to be too expensive. Nitwits will always find the big $$$$ to pay for a sports ticket though.
Sports is the opium of the masses.
Tim the Enchanter| 3.4.11 @ 9:04AM
I wish people would stop referring to this as a "labor" dispute. It's a game. When is the last time you heard anyone say, "Let's go work a game of football!"?
All American American| 3.4.11 @ 9:33AM
The older I get, the exponentially less important professional sports really means to me. Stuff ike this doesn't help.
Billionaire owners who extort new stadiums from taxpayers then charge exhorbitant prices to the same people who just funded and built it. Ignorant, gangsta, functionally illiterate millionaire players whining about not being able to take care of "dey keeeedzz" on only $6M a year.
Wah.
To the poster who said the avg length of an NFL career is only 3 years--the average NFL salary in 2009 was $1,800,000. Throw in their take of the gate receipts and per diem etc and let's just call it an even $2M. Give me $2M x 3 years and I can live just fine and dandy for the rest of my life, thank you very much.
Then again I won't be paying child support to 6 baby mommies and pissing through my money on phony scams, drugs, booze, Bentleys, or 'hos.
Larry| 3.4.11 @ 10:09AM
Nice post. Except they don't extort them from us, the taxpayers. They extort them from the spineless and pusilanimous government officials who are SUPPOSED to be the stewards of our money.
Oh my gosh! Our city might not have a professional sports team!! Waaaaaah. Here's a few hundred million$$$$$$. Go buy yourself a stadium and uh... I'll meet you in the alley after dark for those season passes.
Occam's Tool| 3.4.11 @ 11:18AM
Indeed, and with states facing budget deficits. Look at the incredible boost to Chicago and Illinois' economy having The Bulls, the Cubs, the Sox, The Bears, the Black Hawks (hint, one of these teams has NOT played for a championship in my almost half century lifetime. The others have all won at least one, and one has won 6.) and The Northwestern Mildcats in Division I NCAA Football has done for the booming Chicago economy. Heck, look at what the Pistons, The Tigers, The Lions, and the Red Wings have done for the ultramodern conglomeration of ritzy neighborhoods that is the beauty spot of Michigan, Detroit.
Screw the owners, the players, and the horses they rode in on.
solidground| 3.4.11 @ 9:51AM
As far as I'm concerned, the multimillionaire players can drink the special kool aid and the owners can go cry in their hundred-dollar-a-shot burbon. A so-called "union" bargaining with ego-driven millionaires for more money, job security and pension benefits on behalf of a competing crowd of gluttonous millionaires is the height of offense to people who struggle to make ends meet every day. May they all choke on their greed.
PhilTheCapitalistPig| 3.4.11 @ 10:37AM
Amen
Bob K.| 3.4.11 @ 10:44AM
Oh Boy! I can hardly wait for Tom Terrific, Prancing Peyton and Daring Drew to bring out the big guns!
LarryK| 3.4.11 @ 10:54AM
Does that sound a little...?
Not that there is anything wrong with that.
Larry| 3.4.11 @ 11:33AM
Oh my gosh. Your post isn't very civil, is it? Mentioning guns?? Oh my! I'm going to have to inform Comrade Golfer about your uncivil post and have report you to the Civility Czar. :-)
NoLib| 3.4.11 @ 2:54PM
I thought Larry was referring to the players' biceps.
gearjammer| 3.4.11 @ 3:30PM
NFL is number one in ratings and thus NFL should extract more from media conglomerates. This can be done by cutting pay of stars who bring in lousy ratings-like Couric and Matthews and well on and on.