SEAHAWKS: A NFL lockout could affect more than you think

You’ve all heard about it. It’s the elephant in the room, the thing that can’t get out of the back of your head as a NFL fan.

The Lockout.

Before the 2010 season even started, NFL owners claimed that they were losing money owning their teams; so consequently, the owners terminated the current CBA (collective bargaining agreement) between themselves and the players. What the CBA essentially does is distribute money between the owners and the players, and when 9 Billion dollars’ worth of revenue is on the line, things can get heated between the NFL Players Association and the 32 NFL Owners.

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So basically if the NFLPA and the owners don’t get their revenue sharing problem straightened out by March 3rd, NFL football will be nonexistent in the fall of 2011.

Hearing that, you’re probably wondering what the heck you’re going to do on cold, Fall, Sunday afternoons in a couple of months. But according to Washington State Labor Council President Rick Bender, there may be bigger problems than you actually having to do something productive on Sunday afternoons this Fall.

In a concerned letter written to Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, Bender stated that “The conservative estimate is that an NFL lockout will cost every American host city over $140 million in lost jobs and revenue.” and “they (the owners) have secured nearly $4 billion in guaranteed television network payments -- even if the 2011-2012 games are not played!”

The NFLPA reports that the country would lose 115,000 jobs if a lockout were to happen, not to mention all the stadium workers.

After seeing these eye-popping stats, you wonder why a thriving business would even think of taking a year off. Well, you’re not alone in that boat, but there are somewhat logical reasons why the two sides are arguing.

The average NFL career is 3.6 years, and not everyone is getting paid like a superstar. So when a 4-year veteran retires, he’s most likely in some pain, and down the road, when he’s 60 years old, there’s likely to be some medical problems. So essentially what the NFLPA is asking for is lifetime health care, and as some of you might know, that is a LOT of money.

On the owner’s side, some of their thinking is, “Hey, we pay these guys, so why can’t we get a little reward!” That’s reasonable thinking, especially when guys like Jerry Jones go all out and spend a 1.3 Billion dollars on a stadium.

So with both of these sides having good reasons to stand their ground, the NFLPA and owners remain in a deadlock. And according to some sources, talks for a new CBA have regressed.

If a NFL lockout does happen, which it looks like that may be the case; it’ll be bad for everyone. People will lose jobs, small businesses that rely on fans will suffer, the city of Seattle will suffer, and you (and probably me) will be bored on Sunday afternoons.
Money can be dangerous thing, especially when it’s 9 billion dollars.

Reach Nathan Parsons at nathanparsons98@yahoo.com