The NFL Lockout...Simplified (And Animated)

Does the NFL/NFLPA/CBA/NLRB alphabet soup gotcha down? Too many names, dates and locations to remember? Just hoping that someone could put it all together in a crudely animated CGI news report designed to give you a basic outline of what's going on? 

Well the good folks of Taiwan-based NMA have you covered. The same people who broke down the Tiger Woods scandal, reported on the Chinese serial foot licker and investigated whether it was Suge Knight who had Tupac Shakur killed have now set their sights on the National Football League's labor strife.

From what we can tell, some random white guys wearing Peyton Manning and Tom Brady jerseys are representing the players interests while other white guys in suits toss the pigskin around inside of empty stadiums. All the while, President Barack Obama is tasked with pardoning a flock of chickens that were apparently bound for sports bars all across the country.

Oh and Hines Ward is a white guy.

Sunday Reading: NFL Players Get Real World Inspiration

Recently I've commented on the sometimes fractured solidarity of the NFL players as the expiration date for the league's collective bargaining agreement draws near.

News of a potential NFL work stoppage has begun to seep over from the sports sections to the business section. But in the past week, it appears that many "real world" issues are starting to find their way into the league's affairs.

Some inside and outside of the NFL Players Association have questioned union head DeMaurice Smith's ability to get a deal done without giving up major concessions. While other players have publicly expressed their support, Smith used the inspiration of the recent Egyptian revolution to help make his case and galvanize his constituents at the same time.

Via The Nation:

“You know,” he said, “we watched things unfold in a far-off country where a lot of the discussion preceding the protests was purely social media, people connecting. We have an ability to get our ‘let us play’ ad out. We know that anybody listening can type in ‘let us play’ and that ad will pop up and, frankly, if networks want to make a decision to boycott us, keep us off, those are the kind of things that get me fired up and let me know that I’m on the right side of right.”

His words were given a boost by a pair of news stories peripherally related to football later in the week. It began with the ongoing public worker protests in Wisconsin. Several current and former Green Bay Packers publicly extended their support for the unions, the most notable being All-Pro cornerback Charles Woodson.

Woodson's statement was about more than looking good in the eyes of Packer fans (although it certainly won't hurt). It was also a message to owners from one of the league's elected NFLPA player representatives about the union's resolve to fight.

The second story was the tragic suicide of former Chicago Bear Dave Duerson. Just a day after his death, reports surfaced that Duerson believed football led to a degenerative brain disease and left his brain intact in order to have it studied. The idea has strengthened current players' objections to the idea of an 18-game regular season. It should also boost the union's push for better benefits for retired players.


DeMaurice Smith: On an NFL Lockout and Inspiration From Egypt

For perhaps the first time in the history of NFL labor negotiations, the players have significant leverage. The league is reportedly earning billions every year (and was recently reported to be nearing a $2 billion extension with ESPN to continue broadcasting Monday Night Football), yet is asking the players to take a "trust us" approach over owners' claims of financial losses. The players are being asked to work more for less money while the league will still collect television revenue even if there is no football next season. 

Everything is aligned for Smith and the NFLPA to begin their stand here. If this week doesn't build player unity, what will?

The NFLPA Just Wants Some Love

With just over two weeks until the NFL's collective bargaining agreement expires, both the league and the player's union have been in a fight to win over the public's trust (even if at times it seems like the NFLPA has been fighting amongst itself).

As the deadline approaches, the rhetoric ramps up leaving most of us to wonder just how far apart the two sides are when it comes to making a deal. But as we all know, there's a thin line between love and hate, so the union has decided via Twitter and its NFLLockout.com website to spread the love on Valentine's day.

I wonder if this came in a box of 33, with an especially big one for the teacher (Roger Goodell). 

Sunday Reading: Breaking Down the NFL Labor Situation

Now that the NFL season is over just about every piece of news about the league has something to do with the continuing labor negotiations and the threatened lockout. There are plenty of great insiders on the Internet with plenty of great insight on what's going on with the negotiations and predictions on what could happen next.

But the most thorough analysis of the root causes that have led us to where we are may be on a blog hosted by a group promoting Austrian School ideals.

(Don't worry, I had to look it up myself. Click here.)

In a two-part blog post, the author comments on everything from the rookie wage scale and public stadium financing to the league's stance on gambling and Roger Goodell's demagoguery. Through it all, the owners are roasted for being a staid, ineffectual billionaire boys' club riding a wave of unprecedented success created by the players, television networks and the public at large.

Via Mises Economic Blog:

The NFL produces three things: stadium debt, intellectual property, and bureaucracy. None of these things should be confused with “free market” values. The league is a prime example of what happens when you mix politically influential egos with easy credit and a media environment that largely promotes economic ignorance. You have the perfect boom business. 

But all booms eventually end. NFL acolytes — and they are presently the majority — will insist, as Homer Simpson once did, that “everything lasts forever.” One media writer I correspond with insisted to me recently the NFL will be even more popular in 20 years then it is today. Go back to 1991 and think about all of the businesses you could have said that about, incorrectly, at that time.

There was a time not long ago when sports was a separate entity from politics and economics. As the NFL and other leagues have continued to expand in both size and monetarily, they have started to intertwine with policy and finance. This is a fascinating read showing how all sides interconnect.

Behind the Lockout, Part I
Behind the Lockout, Part II

Turns out this could be as good an argument as the NFLPA could have hoped for. Maybe it can stop its members from taking shots at one another.

Does Antonio Cromartie Want To Fight Kevin Mawae, Too?

A couple of weeks ago, we wrote about a brief but heated feud between New York Jets' cornerback Antonio Cromartie and Seattle Seahawks' quarterback Matt Hasselbeck.

The spat began when Hasselbeck suggested that Cromartie (who had recently criticized NFLPA leadership) didn't know "what CBA stands for". Cromartie not so kindly offered to give Hasselbeck a facial re-do before the quarterback sheepishly withdrew his comments.

So it's with baited breath that we wait to hear what Cromartie has to say about NFLPA president (and former Jet) Keven Mawae's comments in Sunday's New York Post. In an interview with Steve Serby, Mawae commented on player unity while taking an unsolicited shot at the Jets' DB. Via NY Post:

I think our players understand the issues. If you have guys like (Antonio) Cromartie who want to pop off because they don't know what's going on, they haven't taken the initiative to understand the issues. I truly believe we're more united than ever before.

Earlier in the interview, Mawae says the union has spent the past two years preparing players for the possibility of a lockout and that if a player isn't educated on the issues, then that is the player's fault. But to come back minutes later and imply that there ARE uneducated players by calling one out by name suggests a failure on the part of the union.

The point has been made repeatedly that the owners with their deeper pockets and alternate sources of income have the resources to withstand a work stoppage better than the players. For those that have heeded the union's warnings and saved in preparation of not receiving that weekly game check, they will likely be okay. But labor solidarity needs everyone pulling the same direction and if ownership senses they can pick off a disgruntled player here or there, it could poison the well for everyone.

There are still about three weeks until the March 4 deadline, but already outside observers like former MLB union chief Marvin Miller doubt the resolve of the union. When the NFL's union leadership is taking public swipes at its own membership, it does nothing to restore faith.

(H/T Pro Football Talk)