The 2011 NFL season remains in doubt as the owners and players have yet to reach a new collective bargaining agreement.
Millions of dollars are at stake as the future of how to share league revenues and other issues are still subject to negotiations.
What shouldn’t be lost in the discussions is how obtaining these large sums of money is possible and who ultimately stands to lose from a stoppage in play.
The NFL has benefited from enormous fan popularity as of late, unlike other professional sports where the fan base has dwindled.
Major League Baseball, on the other hand, turned off fans in droves after the canceled 1994 season in which there was no World Series. The subsequent institution of inter-league play between the American and National League during the regular season remains a remnant of the effort to attract baseball fans back.
Television revenues, no doubt, play a sizable part in a professional sport’s financial health. But those revenues wouldn’t be possible without fans turning on the TV to watch the games.
Pro football players today are able to receive salaries substantially above the poverty level because of the fans that support them. Fans purchase the game tickets and merchandise that has even included the jersey of whatever team a quarterback named Brett Favre happened to be playing on.
The residual effect of having an NFL franchise in a community includes revenue generated through lodging, dining establishments, etc., as fans bring in money while attending home games.
All of that revenue would be lost with a stoppage in play. Canceled games benefit no one when the owners and players are both out millions of dollars by not reaching a new collective bargaining agreement, not to mention the ill will that could generate among fans.
The potential fallout from the NFL canceling opening-week games scheduled Sept. 11, which will also mark the 10-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the East Coast, has already been speculated by sports talk radio hosts.
I believe a one-year extension incorporating terms of the previous agreement’s final year would be a better alternative than no 2011 season at all. That way, both the NFL owners and players could still make millions while a new long-term agreement is being worked on.
In addition, fans — whether they support a team that has never won a Super Bowl or a certain franchise with four Super Bowl victories, including the last one — would not be deprived of rooting for the team they hope will receive the Vince Lombardi Trophy next February.
If you think you have a solution to the NFL’s present labor standoff, I’d like to hear from you. Please e-mail, fax, snail-mail or drop off your suggestions at The Journal for possible inclusion in an upcoming edition. Hopefully the owners and players will also hear what you have to say and reach a new agreement.
Boneske may be reached via e-mail at kevin@ifallsjournal.com.
