Lockout Looming

The day has come at last. At 11:59 PM tonight, the NFL's collective bargaining agreement with the Players' Association expires, and if nothing is done in the next few hours, the league heads into a lockout. The possibility of not having football for a prolonged period of time is realistic.

Four outcomes are possible as a result of today's negotiations:

1) The most unrealistic outcome, but certainly the best: The Players' Union and the NFL come to an new collective bargaining agreement by 11:59 PM, ending all possibility of a lockout. Negotiations come to a conclusion and there will be football this coming season. This will probably not happen today, but there is a small chance.

2) Negotiations are extended. This means the mediated talks between the players and the owners continue for a set period of time, and whether or not there will be a lockout would still be unknown today. Expiration of the CBA is delayed.

3) The Players' Association decertifies. They would lose their right to collectively bargain, but could file individual antitrust lawsuits against the league, and hopefully prevent a work stoppage. Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Drew Brees have agreed to be lead plaintiffs if this happens.

4) The worst outcome possible: The two sides come to a stalemate. When football is played again would become uncertain, and negotiations would be postponed for an unknown period of time. Sundays would likely not include football this year.

There are four core issues that the owners and players are split on:

1) How to split the nine billion dollars in revenue the league brings in every season: The owners, this past season, received the first billion dollars for various needs. They are demanding for another billion dollars, therefore slashing the amount received by the players.

2) The rookie wage scale: The owners want smaller contracts initially given to rookies, thus not wasting money on busts. A prime example of an overpaid rookie is JaMarcus Russell, who was taken by the Raiders with the first overall selection in the 2007 draft.

3) The 18-game regular season: The owners want 18 regular season games in order to bring in more revenue. The players would rather sustain the current 16-game season, claiming the added two games adds to injury risk.

4) Retirement benefits: The owners want player benefits to end five years after a player retires. The players say that since many of them have sustained long-term injuries and conditions from their playing days, the benefits should continue for a longer period of time.

All of this aside, all of the players and fans want football. Most likely the owners do as well. This conflict has been deemed the "Millionaires vs. Billionaires" by fans, saying both sides are greedy and that they should agree to something, so there are games to watch on Sunday. Which just so happens to be the best situation for everyone.

Hines Ward Is 100% Correct

Yep. The NFL is hypocritical, exactly in the ways explained by veteran Steelers WR Hines Ward. As Ward put it, they say they are protecting the players, then want to go and increase the length of the season. Because the season would be longer, it creates more opportunities for injury, many more than they are "preventing" by fining defensive players who either touch a quarterback or put a hard hit on a receiver.

I loved the other point Ward made, about the hypocrisy regarding the league's advertising. He explains how the league discourages the players from drinking, which does make sense, but then half their ads are beer commercials. Also, the league discourages players from gambling, which also makes sense, but is affiliated with gambling sites. This relates perfectly to, for example, a teacher telling a class not to chew gum while they are themselves. Obvious hypocrisy.

The fining of players makes some sense. But the system in which the fines are decided is terrible, at least it seems. No one except the league knows exactly what it is, or even if there is one. There needs to be a definite process developed, and explained to the players. It is flawed in another way as well; only defensive players are targeted. Running backs, more than a few times, have lowered their helmet and crushed into defenders, many of which are similar to the plays defensive men have been fined on. These don't warrant fines, because it's an offensive player.

The relationship between the league and the players and their association currently in shambles. The league has been suing players regarding benefits and the such. There are the behind-the-scenes aspects no one really hears about, the confusing things not interesting to the common fan. Basically, the fact of the matter is the state of the league is not as good as it was a few years ago, and football still isn't definite for next season.

18-Game NFL Season

First of all, there might not even be football next year. Even if there isn't, an 18-game season is being considered, and there is more than a small chance it will happen in the near future. After all, the NFL season is significantly shorter than baseball's or basketball's, so why not? Well, the players' union makes the point injuries will increase with the number of games. Today, the union sent a counter-proposal to the league's plan, saying roster size should increase by 3-4 players, and for mandatory preseason workouts/training camp to be decreased. Also, they call for raised salary, which seems practical, even if they are among the highest-paid in the world.

The fan would really have no problem with the increased season, more football could only be good, right? Maybe a few would be annoyed by the change in player stats, but there is no real issue there. For the owners and execs, this is obviously for increased profit alone. They aren't the ones throwing their bodies around every week. Whatever happens, the plan to increase the season seems probable.