The NFL's Collective Bargaining Agreement: A New Plan of Action

Of course the players’ union will object and the owners will object. The players union will propose and the owners will propose. Something will be worked out. It is inevitable. But I like your guidelines.

after readind this i have some quick questions.

as i understand it, the league is split 60/40-ish revenue wise in favour of the players at the moment, or am i way off ?

if i’m ballpark close, how long has it been this way ?

if this is correct, do you ever wonder why the NFL takes so much heat on the issue of retired players medical benefits and not the NFLPA ?

just wondering as this always has bothered me.

I am (loosely) working on a post about the Pension system. I still have some work to do on it, but it’s coming.

Jon, this post can start some interesting debate. I think that pay scales from fishing might make useful comparisons, as both professions are extremely high risk, have lots of fixed overhead and the success is directly related to the skills of the participants.

A longliner I fished on took the variable expenses off the top (bait, fuel and groceries) then kept 40%. The rest was split up in shares among the captain, engineer and crew. Another longliner I was on paid 40% for crew labor after bait, fuel and groceries. The captain was paid separately.

When I was gillnetting I set aside 35% pure off the top for the captain (me) and the crew.

So, if this fishing analogy has any applicability to the NFL, maybe the ownership could keep the revenue for the variable costs (haven’t thought about this long enough to figure out what they are) and then keep 40% like the first longliner I mentioned.

I’m not sure if my post is any help but maybe some other readers will come up with other examples that we should look at.

I am pretty much on board with with your baselines…I have a comment regarding Roster Size…I like your suggestion of growing the roster to 60 but, I have always thought that the game day roster should be greater and I would like to see it increased to, say 50 instead of 45…This would give the coaches more flexibility with game planning and situational rotations as well as in-game injury considerations (i.e. maybe not feeling forced to play a player that really would be better served to sit the rest of the game as opposed to coming back in and possibly making a minor injury turn into something more severe)…This would also allow increased opportunity for the younger players to get a little more game (speed, etc.) experience and a stronger sense of emotional involvement with the Team…

1. Catch lots of fish,
2. Deliver a quality product (properly handled and/or butchered). This ensures there is no bruising or retention of bacteria that can break down the quality of the flesh (typically adjacent to the intestinal cavity).

In order for these conditions to be met, every fisherman on the boat must try his hardest all day/every day, train others and enforce quality handling. Causing the fishermen to share the risks and rewards of the boat owners creates a lot more incentive for top performance.

So, what if players got a fixed percentage of revenues from the gates, parking, concession stands, TV, etc.? Back in the days of barnstorming for football and other sports it was common practice for players to get a share of the gate. I believe that labor will be more proactive in producing a quality product when they have a bigger stake in the development presentation.

A good question would be if the league aggregate revenues for these activities should be divided evenly among the 32 teams or each team would stand alone. Naturally, individual brands should be encouraged to improve their products, such as the retail merchandise with team logos. Maybe this type of revenue should be exclusively held by the individual teams for disbursement among the ownership and the players.

This type of direct connectivity with the fans would encourage players to present a more professional product. There would be more player-level policing of inappropriate behavior, such as obscene hand gestures to the stands, DUIs, etc.

JT: “the problem in the NFL is the rookie fishermen are given their money before they haul a net.”

Not sure how appropriate it is to compare NHL salary issues to the NFL, but Theo Fleury (Calgary Flames, New York Rangers, Colorado Avalanche, Chicago Blackhawks) said in a recent interview that rookie salaries are skewing arbitration. The rookies get big contracts based on projected star potential, but they don’t always produce, just as in the NFL (ref: JRussell). When veterans with similar or better statistics go to arbitration, they make convincing arguments that they should be paid at a level comparable to the rookies. This leads to journeymen skaters being awarded salaries that are just as inflated as the non-productive rookies. The overall product gets watered down from this process.

The NFLPA would never accept 40%…period. They won’t even back down from their current 59%! lol

Because we fans are screwed too.

easier to resign your own players
ie. 20% is unrecognised by the salary cap