WE'RE BAAAAAAAAAACK!!!!!!!!!
As we enter what will undoubtedly be the craziest offseason period in NFL history, let's take a look at the losers and winners of the NFL lockout.
LOSERS
Rookies - The long-overdue installation of a rookie wage scale really hurts top draft picks. As I tweeted on Saturday, #1 overall pick Cam Newton would have received $13 million per year in the old system. With the wage scale, he will now get $5.5 million annually. Even undrafted free agents took a hit, as signing bonuses for those players are now severely limited.
The good news is that once a player earns a roster spot, his minimum salary is significantly higher. And the money that would normally go to athletes who have yet to play the game will now fund the retirement benefits of those who have left it. And that's how it should be.
Rebuilding franchises - You're naive if you think new coaches like Ron Rivera and Pat Shurmur haven't been communicating with their young QBs during the lockout. But playbook copies and discreet phone conversations can't replace the on-field instruction of lost OTAs. Teams like the Panthers and Browns will start off a step behind more established franchises.
Coaches - Back in March, I expected coaches to bear the burden of the labor concessions, and indeed they did. The new limits on padded practices won't have as big of an impact as some think because the game has progressed past the militaristic boot camps of the last century. Still, every coach wants as much time on the practice field as possible, pads or not. The elimination of two-a-days will make it tougher for coaches to hammer their principles and plans home. I still think it's a disagrace that the men who control the games have no voice at the bargaining table.
Special teams - Special teams may be a third of the game, but it's definitely the bottom third. With coaches focused on installing the meatier offensive and defensive gameplans, special teams will be shoved to the back of the priority list. Combine that with the new kickoff rules, and you can expect some sloppy returns in the first few weeks of the season.
Team employees - Some team employees had to take paycuts during the lockout, while the rest watched their careers dangle in the wind for five months. Reports are emerging that owners will now reimburse the cash withheld from their staff's paychecks, but no one wants to get by for half a year on a fraction of his salary.
Albany, NY, Cortland, NY, and Westminster, MD - The lockout didn't end early enough for the Giants, Jets and Ravens, who each had to move their usual offsite training camps closer to home. I've been to Albany for Giants camp and seen firsthand how that community embraces the players. It's a shame they can't this year.
College football - This isn't as much of a loss as it is a dissappated opportunity. If the lockout extended into the season, both fans and advertisers would have turned their football-hungry eyes and wallets to the only game in town. Instead, now it's just business as usual for the NCAA(albeit still a very good one).
WINNERS
Players - Injury insurance, fewer offseason workouts, a salary floor, and a tabling of the 18-game schedule proposal highlight the significant gains DeMaurice Smith won for the athletes.
Owners - They initiated the lockout to get a bigger piece of the pie. Mission accomplished. Their revenue share increases from about 50% to 53%.
Stable franchises - In this shortened offseason, teams with a strong foundation of coaches and players will have an advantage over those that don't. 11 teams return with the same coach, offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and starting quarterback as last year. You could've guessed the Patriots, Colts, Steelers, Giants, Packers and Saints are among them. And promising teams like the Jets, Bears, Falcons and Buccaneers also are in good shape. But the one surprise team in that group? The Detroit Lions.
TV networks - Even without any games, FOX, CBS, NBC, and ESPN were still contractually obligated to fork over a combined $4 billion to the league this season. Instead, they will enjoy another fall of record-breaking ratings and ad revenue.
Retired players - They clamored for a seat at the table and worried that neither side took their interests into account. But in the end, the players and owners did right by the men who built this game, and will inject $1 billion into pensions, insurance and other benefits.
Preseason games - The NFL exhibition season has turned into a running joke over the years. But with practice time at a premium, preseason games will matter this year more than ever before. Coaches installing new systems will keep their veterans in the games longer, and backups will need to fight on every snap to solidify their roster spot.
Us - If you put aside the griping by beat writers, SportsCenter anchors, and season ticket holders over the last five months, you'll recognize that we, the fans, actually came out of this labor mess relatively unscathed.
Back in March, I predicted that the lockout wouldn't be resolved until late August, or even early September. Given the NFL's labor history, that was a rather optimistic view. The 1982 strike cost the league seven regular season weeks, and the 1987 strike subjected fans to replacement players for three weeks. Highlights included Hall of Famer-turned-scout Otis Taylor fistfighting Jack Del Rio on the picket lines. Yet this time, the only blows exchanged were press releases and Tweets, and we'll only miss one preseason game. What changed?
The success of the game is the most obvious difference. In '80s, the league was not enjoying the unprecedented profit that we see in the game today. Players negotiated under a much stricter free agency system, and owners were relocating teams (and would continue to for the next decade) to escape struggling markets. Both sides had much more to gain, and much less to lose. The goose was still golden, but it had significantly fewer feathers than it does now.
But beyond the higher stakes, you can't underestimate the impact of public pressure on this process. Twenty-five years ago, sports radio and old-fashioned hate mail was the only way for fans to voice their displeasure. It was easy for the billionaires and millionaires to lose touch with their customers. Yet this time around, every tiny misstep and quarrel was tweeted, commented, and blogged about in real-time. It's clear that each side wanted to win in the court of public opinion, and Roger Goodell and DeMaurice Smith only needed to travel to the NFL.com message boards to see that they were both losing. Peer pressure is a powerful thing.
In the end, the fans came out of this in very good shape. For the cost of five months of uncertainty, we received a guaranteed ten years of labor peace where we don't have to think about CBAs or decertification. I'll take that deal any day. Football is back, and it's here to stay.
The good news is that once a player earns a roster spot, his minimum salary is significantly higher. And the money that would normally go to athletes who have yet to play the game will now fund the retirement benefits of those who have left it. And that's how it should be.
Rebuilding franchises - You're naive if you think new coaches like Ron Rivera and Pat Shurmur haven't been communicating with their young QBs during the lockout. But playbook copies and discreet phone conversations can't replace the on-field instruction of lost OTAs. Teams like the Panthers and Browns will start off a step behind more established franchises.
Coaches - Back in March, I expected coaches to bear the burden of the labor concessions, and indeed they did. The new limits on padded practices won't have as big of an impact as some think because the game has progressed past the militaristic boot camps of the last century. Still, every coach wants as much time on the practice field as possible, pads or not. The elimination of two-a-days will make it tougher for coaches to hammer their principles and plans home. I still think it's a disagrace that the men who control the games have no voice at the bargaining table.
Special teams - Special teams may be a third of the game, but it's definitely the bottom third. With coaches focused on installing the meatier offensive and defensive gameplans, special teams will be shoved to the back of the priority list. Combine that with the new kickoff rules, and you can expect some sloppy returns in the first few weeks of the season.
Team employees - Some team employees had to take paycuts during the lockout, while the rest watched their careers dangle in the wind for five months. Reports are emerging that owners will now reimburse the cash withheld from their staff's paychecks, but no one wants to get by for half a year on a fraction of his salary.
Albany, NY, Cortland, NY, and Westminster, MD - The lockout didn't end early enough for the Giants, Jets and Ravens, who each had to move their usual offsite training camps closer to home. I've been to Albany for Giants camp and seen firsthand how that community embraces the players. It's a shame they can't this year.
College football - This isn't as much of a loss as it is a dissappated opportunity. If the lockout extended into the season, both fans and advertisers would have turned their football-hungry eyes and wallets to the only game in town. Instead, now it's just business as usual for the NCAA(albeit still a very good one).
WINNERS
Players - Injury insurance, fewer offseason workouts, a salary floor, and a tabling of the 18-game schedule proposal highlight the significant gains DeMaurice Smith won for the athletes.
Owners - They initiated the lockout to get a bigger piece of the pie. Mission accomplished. Their revenue share increases from about 50% to 53%.
Stable franchises - In this shortened offseason, teams with a strong foundation of coaches and players will have an advantage over those that don't. 11 teams return with the same coach, offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and starting quarterback as last year. You could've guessed the Patriots, Colts, Steelers, Giants, Packers and Saints are among them. And promising teams like the Jets, Bears, Falcons and Buccaneers also are in good shape. But the one surprise team in that group? The Detroit Lions.
TV networks - Even without any games, FOX, CBS, NBC, and ESPN were still contractually obligated to fork over a combined $4 billion to the league this season. Instead, they will enjoy another fall of record-breaking ratings and ad revenue.
Retired players - They clamored for a seat at the table and worried that neither side took their interests into account. But in the end, the players and owners did right by the men who built this game, and will inject $1 billion into pensions, insurance and other benefits.
Preseason games - The NFL exhibition season has turned into a running joke over the years. But with practice time at a premium, preseason games will matter this year more than ever before. Coaches installing new systems will keep their veterans in the games longer, and backups will need to fight on every snap to solidify their roster spot.
Us - If you put aside the griping by beat writers, SportsCenter anchors, and season ticket holders over the last five months, you'll recognize that we, the fans, actually came out of this labor mess relatively unscathed.
Back in March, I predicted that the lockout wouldn't be resolved until late August, or even early September. Given the NFL's labor history, that was a rather optimistic view. The 1982 strike cost the league seven regular season weeks, and the 1987 strike subjected fans to replacement players for three weeks. Highlights included Hall of Famer-turned-scout Otis Taylor fistfighting Jack Del Rio on the picket lines. Yet this time, the only blows exchanged were press releases and Tweets, and we'll only miss one preseason game. What changed?
The success of the game is the most obvious difference. In '80s, the league was not enjoying the unprecedented profit that we see in the game today. Players negotiated under a much stricter free agency system, and owners were relocating teams (and would continue to for the next decade) to escape struggling markets. Both sides had much more to gain, and much less to lose. The goose was still golden, but it had significantly fewer feathers than it does now.
But beyond the higher stakes, you can't underestimate the impact of public pressure on this process. Twenty-five years ago, sports radio and old-fashioned hate mail was the only way for fans to voice their displeasure. It was easy for the billionaires and millionaires to lose touch with their customers. Yet this time around, every tiny misstep and quarrel was tweeted, commented, and blogged about in real-time. It's clear that each side wanted to win in the court of public opinion, and Roger Goodell and DeMaurice Smith only needed to travel to the NFL.com message boards to see that they were both losing. Peer pressure is a powerful thing.
In the end, the fans came out of this in very good shape. For the cost of five months of uncertainty, we received a guaranteed ten years of labor peace where we don't have to think about CBAs or decertification. I'll take that deal any day. Football is back, and it's here to stay.
Image found here.
Good stuff Pete. Glad to see you're neglecting the rest of your life to write this stuff.
ReplyDeleteOne addition to your list of losers should be "football skills." I cannot get over the extremes that the players went to in order to diminish the amount of practices and training requirements. I understand their aversion to practice injuries, but some of these changes border on the absurd.
In my line of work it would be just plain ridiculous for the employees to attempt to reduce the amount of job training the receive. In fact, the firm I work for gets great cudos for the amount of job traing it provides its employees. It's almost as if the players are saying "we're clearly working hard enough to get paid millions to play a sport and would like to be mediocre - thank you."
So my question is - how do the reduced practices affect the league? Do we notice a difference in the quality of football played?
At the end of the day I know that one of the "losers" in this CBA is a great deal of my respect for the players.
Mike,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. I don't think the loss of padded practices is a big deal, because the warrior mentality is being phased out of football. I actually read a Texans player say that his team only had about 17 practices with pads during the last regular season (the new limit is 14).
What I think will hurt is the loss of practice TIME. With how complex the game has become, repetitions are needed more than ever so that coaches can prepare their players for every possible game situation. With the lockout and coaches now having to adapt to the new schedules, we may see some more mental errors on the field this year than we're used to.
Tweet of the day "After about 5.5 months off, then 4 days of work, the Eagles get a day off today as mandated by the new CBA." - per BleedingGreen
ReplyDeleteVince Lombardi is spinning in his grave.
ReplyDelete