Pyrite Gal Posted March 4, 2006 Posted March 4, 2006 It ain't over until its over and the bottom could still drop out and lead to the owners, the players and all us fans getting screwed. However, I really am impressed with the tactical advantage that the NFLPA has created in this situation and how they have managed things since they grasped victory from the jaws of getting their butt kicked by the team owners in the mid-80s lockout. 1. The NFLPA was essentally busted in the mid-80s as the owners proved strong enough and the players broke apart in the mid-80s lockout. Ed Garvey, the NFLPA head rolled the dice demanding 52% of the gross and the team owners slapped him down and he got fired by the players as the owners locked out the players in mid-season. The replacement games were not a good product, but players stopped getting checks they were counting on and were reminded each week that the replacement stiffs were getting paid. Even worse for the NFLPA, with limite competition among the networks and millions rather than billions at stake, the good ol' boys of the NFL were able to talk the good ol' boys of the networks into hanging in there presenting the less than good product until the NFLPA broke. 2. However, I'd love to hear the story of how Upshaw and the NFLPA leadership decided upon the strategy of threatening to decertify as a bargaining agent and forced the team owners to have to confront the possibility that they might have to compete in a free-market for player talent. This threat was key and the team owners seemed to fall over themselves to reach a complex agreement (the CBA) under which the NFL and the NFLPA would join together to restrain trade for individual players through mechanisms like the player draft and joint lawsuits against college age men who wanted to sale their services in the free-market. Other major sports such as the NBA, MLB and the NHL have developed programs and approaches which give college age men (and even minors above the age of 15 in some cases with parental approval) the right to sell their services in the marketplace. With the partnership between the NFL and NFLPA, pro football has somehow found a way to restrain trade and shut the door not only on kids but also on college age men. The bonus for this has been that the NFL gets other fiscal agents and also the government (through state colleges) to give them a massive subsidy in training and developing pro athletes. This really is economically sweet from the NFL partnershps perspective, its actually no wonder that the team owners fell all over themselves to make this bargain with the NFLPA. 3. Add to this the NFLPA secured a number of agreements as far as the timing of the renegotiation and the resulting status of players which provide them with a large tactical advantage: A. The timing of the mid-80s lockout was a killer for Ed Garvey. By locking players out in mid-season they hit the players directly as they were losing paychecks they were counting on and from the more well-paid players who were losing 10s of thousands of dollars each week to the lowly paid players who were hit even harder losing thousands each week a critical mass of players got restless. By moving the neogitation point to Marcg, the NFLPA is less subject to internal descent as the players won't miss game checks or even pre-season stipends until much later. In fact, the NFL draft in April represents a brickwall where the owners must have a deal or havoc ensues. B. The player demographics also greatly aid the NFLPA. In the mid-80s you had athletes even taking serious part time jobs in the off-season not simply to build a future career (if they were smart enough to do this which many pampered athletesare not) but to make some bucks to make their fiscal ends meet. Now, the NFLPA negotiated a minimum salary of roughly $300K/year and even the most marginal players have a nest egg which allows them to hang tough in negotiation unless they grossly mismanage their money like a Henry. In addition, the NFLPA put into place a pension system which athletes who play a mere 5 years qualify for and this has provided greater security to athletes (though it is not enough $ to set them for life) allowing them to hang in there a bit when the negtiations get nasty. In addition, they have built the NFLPA with a history and legacy that allows current young players to feel part of a greater whole, see what their future looks like and gets them thinking about the benefits of the whole rather than simply themselves. While this is not guarantee of loyalty to the NFLPA at all, it helps them remain solid. C. In addition to the NFLPA being stronger, the team owners also have schisms under the new system which make it harder for them to remain unified. While the old guard of the Rooney's and Halas' could lead and maintain unified discipline among the team owners in the mid-80a. You now have independently wealthy beyind the Rooney's dream upstarts like Dan Snyder and Jerry Jones that make mere felons like Al Davis look like cooperative guys. One of the more impressive things Upshaw and the NFLPA leadership have done is to make revenue sharing a central part of CBA negotiation. Its amazing that you have workers tellimg owners how to split their profits among each other. By inserting this wedge issue into the negotiation they make it far harder for the team owners to remain unified. Its no wonder that team owners have prohibited discussion of revenue sharing at this weekends meeting, but no matter as it is a palpable subtext which stops the team owners from being unified. It strikes me as actually somewhat amusing (if not simply hilarious in some of the rants) from folks on TSW berating Upshaw (and by proxy the NFLPA leadership as I doubt this was all Upshaw's plan though it is simply impressive he is smart enough to understand and grasp all this even if was a bunch of rich lawyers who developed this approach) The NFLPA is on message and has run a game in these negotiations which has given them a pretty clear tactical advantage in these negotiations. If you do not believe this then note these real world events which are the result IMHO of this tactical advantage: A. The NFLPA has already won public agreement on the big picture. The team owners have already agreed to: The team owners have already agreed to increase the NFLPA take and slice of the pie in gross receipts produced by the NFL. This will move from around 70% of the designated gross which does not include revenue streams such as luxury boxes to 56-6+% of the total revenues. The two sides are merely arguing over the last marginal amount whether it will be 57, 58, or 59 but in the big picture it does not matter (in the little picture it matters a lot becaise even at 1% we are taling about over $100 million) because he workers are going to receive a majority of the total receipts. Not bad at all since under Garvey they were statting at 52% and as the total pool of $ have grown have left that number in the dust. B. Ironically you had Paul Tagliaoo-boo, the NFL CEO and Upshaw saying the same thing as negotiation moved to their final stage. The team owners must share revenues as widely as they can in order for this to work. Rather than this being a fight between the workers and the team owners, this has become a fight between the old guard team owners such as the Rooney's who are making more $ than they though possible by cooperating with the NFLPA and the new guard of independent owners like he Joness' and Snyders. Who would have even imagined when the NFLPA was getting its butt kicked in the mid 80s that we would see a situation when the workers are demanding to tell the owners how to divide their profit and actually a larg majority of the owners are aligned with the NFLPA on this point. C. The networks are sitting this one out for the most part. Back in themid-80s when there were far fewer networks and less $ around, there appeared to be a good ol' boy coffee klatch where the NFL leadership could ask (threaten or they might jump to one of the other networks) the nets to carry the less than good replacement games. By doing this it kept the checks (adjusted I'm sure) flowing into the teams and provided a weekly reminder that the players were missing their checks. No between the advent of far greater competition among the nets and more capital, if the team owners tried to call out the NFLPA, there is a fighting chance they could develop a cash source elsewhere for an alternative product. In addition, if the team owners threatened to leave a network, between products which allow commericals to be sold to a beneficial demograsphic like the X-games and new idiocy like the XFL being able to at least get a shot on primetime, the nets have a shot at alternate product if the team owners get too high and mighty. At any rate, I am quite comfortable flat out saying that I think Gene Upshaw and the NFL leadership has done an outstanding job arranging and being opportunistic about what reality has thrust upon them with creating a great position for them with these negotiations. The timing is great for their position. The ranks of the NFLPA is under less pressure to break and more pressure and opportunity to hang together. Their partner/opponents are split in their approach and the NFLPA leadership is saying things which play up this split (the larger side of this split also wants to go the NFLPA way on all this BTW). Still it ain't done and the folks who can spoil their party are in a position of weakness, but even a weak party may be able to spoil the game despite what a majority of team owners may want to do. A. It takes a super-majority of team owners to approve a deal so I think has few as 8 team-owners can hold up an agreement. Its close though it looks like the folks who would provide the 7-9 votes are waffling pretty badly. B. Folks like Snyder and Jones are rich enough they are not used to being pushed around by anyone. They might rebel even if it does not serve their interests financially because they do no need the NFL $ which they seem to treat as a play thing anyway. However, there are folks like the Rooneys who seem to hold sway in the NFL for whom it was not long ago that the Steelers were one of their chiefsources of revenue. These folks have also matured with the NFL (as seen in efforts like the Rooney Rule) and the smartest thing that the NFLPA has done is create a world in which it is fellow owners like the Rooneys who are facing down the Snyders rather than the players. The NFLPA is playing a heady game and theoretically it canall come crashing down for everyone if the team owners call them out. However, I really doubt that the majority of the owners are going to let the rich owners do this and a deal will get done which splits the baby and gives the players 58% of the gross receipts (or 57% if the players are feeling charitable or 59% if the players want to press home this tactical advantage.
ajzepp Posted March 4, 2006 Posted March 4, 2006 It ain't over until its over and the bottom could still drop out and lead to the owners, the players and all us fans getting screwed. However, I really am impressed with the tactical advantage that the NFLPA has created in this situation and how they have managed things since they grasped victory from the jaws of getting their butt kicked by the team owners in the mid-80s lockout. 1. The NFLPA was essentally busted in the mid-80s as the owners proved strong enough and the players broke apart in the mid-80s lockout. Ed Garvey, the NFLPA head rolled the dice demanding 52% of the gross and the team owners slapped him down and he got fired by the players as the owners locked out the players in mid-season. The replacement games were not a good product, but players stopped getting checks they were counting on and were reminded each week that the replacement stiffs were getting paid. Even worse for the NFLPA, with limite competition among the networks and millions rather than billions at stake, the good ol' boys of the NFL were able to talk the good ol' boys of the networks into hanging in there presenting the less than good product until the NFLPA broke. 2. However, I'd love to hear the story of how Upshaw and the NFLPA leadership decided upon the strategy of threatening to decertify as a bargaining agent and forced the team owners to have to confront the possibility that they might have to compete in a free-market for player talent. This threat was key and the team owners seemed to fall over themselves to reach a complex agreement (the CBA) under which the NFL and the NFLPA would join together to restrain trade for individual players through mechanisms like the player draft and joint lawsuits against college age men who wanted to sale their services in the free-market. Other major sports such as the NBA, MLB and the NHL have developed programs and approaches which give college age men (and even minors above the age of 15 in some cases with parental approval) the right to sell their services in the marketplace. With the partnership between the NFL and NFLPA, pro football has somehow found a way to restrain trade and shut the door not only on kids but also on college age men. The bonus for this has been that the NFL gets other fiscal agents and also the government (through state colleges) to give them a massive subsidy in training and developing pro athletes. This really is economically sweet from the NFL partnershps perspective, its actually no wonder that the team owners fell all over themselves to make this bargain with the NFLPA. 3. Add to this the NFLPA secured a number of agreements as far as the timing of the renegotiation and the resulting status of players which provide them with a large tactical advantage: A. The timing of the mid-80s lockout was a killer for Ed Garvey. By locking players out in mid-season they hit the players directly as they were losing paychecks they were counting on and from the more well-paid players who were losing 10s of thousands of dollars each week to the lowly paid players who were hit even harder losing thousands each week a critical mass of players got restless. By moving the neogitation point to Marcg, the NFLPA is less subject to internal descent as the players won't miss game checks or even pre-season stipends until much later. In fact, the NFL draft in April represents a brickwall where the owners must have a deal or havoc ensues. B. The player demographics also greatly aid the NFLPA. In the mid-80s you had athletes even taking serious part time jobs in the off-season not simply to build a future career (if they were smart enough to do this which many pampered athletesare not) but to make some bucks to make their fiscal ends meet. Now, the NFLPA negotiated a minimum salary of roughly $300K/year and even the most marginal players have a nest egg which allows them to hang tough in negotiation unless they grossly mismanage their money like a Henry. In addition, the NFLPA put into place a pension system which athletes who play a mere 5 years qualify for and this has provided greater security to athletes (though it is not enough $ to set them for life) allowing them to hang in there a bit when the negtiations get nasty. In addition, they have built the NFLPA with a history and legacy that allows current young players to feel part of a greater whole, see what their future looks like and gets them thinking about the benefits of the whole rather than simply themselves. While this is not guarantee of loyalty to the NFLPA at all, it helps them remain solid. C. In addition to the NFLPA being stronger, the team owners also have schisms under the new system which make it harder for them to remain unified. While the old guard of the Rooney's and Halas' could lead and maintain unified discipline among the team owners in the mid-80a. You now have independently wealthy beyind the Rooney's dream upstarts like Dan Snyder and Jerry Jones that make mere felons like Al Davis look like cooperative guys. One of the more impressive things Upshaw and the NFLPA leadership have done is to make revenue sharing a central part of CBA negotiation. Its amazing that you have workers tellimg owners how to split their profits among each other. By inserting this wedge issue into the negotiation they make it far harder for the team owners to remain unified. Its no wonder that team owners have prohibited discussion of revenue sharing at this weekends meeting, but no matter as it is a palpable subtext which stops the team owners from being unified. It strikes me as actually somewhat amusing (if not simply hilarious in some of the rants) from folks on TSW berating Upshaw (and by proxy the NFLPA leadership as I doubt this was all Upshaw's plan though it is simply impressive he is smart enough to understand and grasp all this even if was a bunch of rich lawyers who developed this approach) The NFLPA is on message and has run a game in these negotiations which has given them a pretty clear tactical advantage in these negotiations. If you do not believe this then note these real world events which are the result IMHO of this tactical advantage: A. The NFLPA has already won public agreement on the big picture. The team owners have already agreed to: The team owners have already agreed to increase the NFLPA take and slice of the pie in gross receipts produced by the NFL. This will move from around 70% of the designated gross which does not include revenue streams such as luxury boxes to 56-6+% of the total revenues. The two sides are merely arguing over the last marginal amount whether it will be 57, 58, or 59 but in the big picture it does not matter (in the little picture it matters a lot becaise even at 1% we are taling about over $100 million) because he workers are going to receive a majority of the total receipts. Not bad at all since under Garvey they were statting at 52% and as the total pool of $ have grown have left that number in the dust. B. Ironically you had Paul Tagliaoo-boo, the NFL CEO and Upshaw saying the same thing as negotiation moved to their final stage. The team owners must share revenues as widely as they can in order for this to work. Rather than this being a fight between the workers and the team owners, this has become a fight between the old guard team owners such as the Rooney's who are making more $ than they though possible by cooperating with the NFLPA and the new guard of independent owners like he Joness' and Snyders. Who would have even imagined when the NFLPA was getting its butt kicked in the mid 80s that we would see a situation when the workers are demanding to tell the owners how to divide their profit and actually a larg majority of the owners are aligned with the NFLPA on this point. C. The networks are sitting this one out for the most part. Back in themid-80s when there were far fewer networks and less $ around, there appeared to be a good ol' boy coffee klatch where the NFL leadership could ask (threaten or they might jump to one of the other networks) the nets to carry the less than good replacement games. By doing this it kept the checks (adjusted I'm sure) flowing into the teams and provided a weekly reminder that the players were missing their checks. No between the advent of far greater competition among the nets and more capital, if the team owners tried to call out the NFLPA, there is a fighting chance they could develop a cash source elsewhere for an alternative product. In addition, if the team owners threatened to leave a network, between products which allow commericals to be sold to a beneficial demograsphic like the X-games and new idiocy like the XFL being able to at least get a shot on primetime, the nets have a shot at alternate product if the team owners get too high and mighty. At any rate, I am quite comfortable flat out saying that I think Gene Upshaw and the NFL leadership has done an outstanding job arranging and being opportunistic about what reality has thrust upon them with creating a great position for them with these negotiations. The timing is great for their position. The ranks of the NFLPA is under less pressure to break and more pressure and opportunity to hang together. Their partner/opponents are split in their approach and the NFLPA leadership is saying things which play up this split (the larger side of this split also wants to go the NFLPA way on all this BTW). Still it ain't done and the folks who can spoil their party are in a position of weakness, but even a weak party may be able to spoil the game despite what a majority of team owners may want to do. A. It takes a super-majority of team owners to approve a deal so I think has few as 8 team-owners can hold up an agreement. Its close though it looks like the folks who would provide the 7-9 votes are waffling pretty badly. B. Folks like Snyder and Jones are rich enough they are not used to being pushed around by anyone. They might rebel even if it does not serve their interests financially because they do no need the NFL $ which they seem to treat as a play thing anyway. However, there are folks like the Rooneys who seem to hold sway in the NFL for whom it was not long ago that the Steelers were one of their chiefsources of revenue. These folks have also matured with the NFL (as seen in efforts like the Rooney Rule) and the smartest thing that the NFLPA has done is create a world in which it is fellow owners like the Rooneys who are facing down the Snyders rather than the players. The NFLPA is playing a heady game and theoretically it canall come crashing down for everyone if the team owners call them out. However, I really doubt that the majority of the owners are going to let the rich owners do this and a deal will get done which splits the baby and gives the players 58% of the gross receipts (or 57% if the players are feeling charitable or 59% if the players want to press home this tactical advantage. 618117[/snapback] Pyrite Gal my asss!
Pyrite Gal Posted March 4, 2006 Author Posted March 4, 2006 His blow up doll must take a hell of a pounding. 618155[/snapback] Naw, I'm too busy writing long posts to worry about a blow up doll.
JimBob2232 Posted March 4, 2006 Posted March 4, 2006 Seems like a decent post...but I cant get past the first 2 paragraphs to know for sure.
Nanker Posted March 4, 2006 Posted March 4, 2006 FFS is that you? 618185[/snapback] No, it's NJSue. Can't you tell? She finished her Masters Degree and now has lots of free time to devote to meaningless research and analysis.
Fan in San Diego Posted March 4, 2006 Posted March 4, 2006 No, it's NJSue. Can't you tell? She finished her Masters Degree and now has lots of free time to devote to meaningless research and analysis. 618195[/snapback] Has the length of FFS but more focused and more research than FFS. I never knew NJ Sue to be long winded though. But the research quality is in her ball park and range. Pyrite Gal, Fools Gold ? A trans sexual ? mmmmm The Dean you must have some witty comment for this one ?
MarkyMannn Posted March 4, 2006 Posted March 4, 2006 No, it's NJSue. Can't you tell? 618195[/snapback] If it is her, I'm sure someone else did all the research work, including right down to the typing
Nanker Posted March 4, 2006 Posted March 4, 2006 Has the length of FFS but more focused and more research than FFS. I never knew NJ Sue to be long winded though. But the research quality is in her ball park and range. Pyrite Gal, Fools Gold ? A trans sexual ? mmmmm The Dean you must have some witty comment for this one ? 618223[/snapback] Been there. Done that. Do a little searchie poo.
Nanker Posted March 4, 2006 Posted March 4, 2006 If it is her, I'm sure someone else did all the research work, including right down to the typing 618226[/snapback] Bwahhahah!
Peter Pan Posted March 4, 2006 Posted March 4, 2006 Pyrite Gal, Fools Gold ? A trans sexual ? mmmmm The Dean you must have some witty comment for this one ? 618223[/snapback] Color me intrigued!
Recommended Posts