Will there be a 2011 NFL season?

[Montrovant]

So, it sounds as though little or no progress is being made between the owners and the NFLPA on a new CBA. The NFL just filed an unfair labor practice charge (NFL.com news: NFL says players' union is 'surface bargaining' so it can file suit) and the executive director of the NFLPA has reportedly said multiple times that he expects a lockout (NFL.com news: NFL owners call meeting for final day of current labor deal). Does this mean we will not have a 2011 season? Will we have replacement players? How badly will it hurt the NFL if they don't have a 2011 season with regular players?

With the billions of dollars involved, I'd think the owners and players would both want to work damn hard to make sure they don't kill their golden goose.

 

[JFK_USA]

Their will be a lockout which begin March 4th. Thats obvious. But I think the Owners should get some more money. They aren't making profits like they should. The Owners have other revenue streams to have money coming in. Players don't.

Players make way too much. I am all for them getting the fair share but 60% of the money? Thats ridiculous. The owners will ultimately make the difference.

 

[JamesInFlorida]

I think the 2011 season will be canceled.

 

[Sheldon]

Yes there will be a lockout. The current CBA expires in a couple weeks, and neither side is budging.

But is it going to extend into September? Who knows... with the amount of money on the line, it seems like there's no way they wouldn't play. But I would've thought that of MLB, and the NHL, too.

Most likely the supplemental revenue sharing will get amended so the owners get a couple billion off the top before the players get their 60%. With the number of new stadiums, but each owner getting different deals regarding how much the city or state would help pay, and how THAT revenue gets dispersed, some are getting more or less screwed than others.

I think the players also want better health plans too.

Oh, and an 18 game season. Owners want it, players don't--for obvious reasons.


My completely bullshit guess: there will be a bunch of grandstanding and posturing by both sides throughout the summer, but by late July/early August, a deal gets hammered out where everyone gets richer except the fans.

 

[uscitizen]

I think the 2011 season will be canceled.

I hope so.
think of all the money that could be better spent on other things.

 

[Montrovant]

I think the 2011 season will be canceled.

I hope so.
think of all the money that could be better spent on other things.

Do you really think the money that goes to the NFL now would be spent on anything better?

I imagine most people would simply spend it on some other form of entertainment.

 

[Article 15]

Yes there will be a lockout. The current CBA expires in a couple weeks, and neither side is budging.

It needs to be noted that the current CBA was scheduled to expire in 2013 and the only reason why we are facing a lock out right now is because the NFL owners voted to opt out of it.

If there is no football this season the blame falls on the owner's shoulders.

 

[Montrovant]

Yes there will be a lockout. The current CBA expires in a couple weeks, and neither side is budging.

It needs to be noted that the current CBA was scheduled to expire in 2013 and the only reason why we are facing a lock out right now is because the NFL owners voted to opt out of it.

If there is no football this season the blame falls on the owner's shoulders.

Of course, they opted out in 2008 as far as I know, so it's not as though this comes as a sudden shock to either side. I tend to put blame equally on both sides. Perhaps one side is more at fault than the other, but it's so hard to know what's truly going on, it's just easier to split it

 

[JamesInFlorida]

Yes there will be a lockout. The current CBA expires in a couple weeks, and neither side is budging.

But is it going to extend into September? Who knows... with the amount of money on the line, it seems like there's no way they wouldn't play. But I would've thought that of MLB, and the NHL, too.

Most likely the supplemental revenue sharing will get amended so the owners get a couple billion off the top before the players get their 60%. With the number of new stadiums, but each owner getting different deals regarding how much the city or state would help pay, and how THAT revenue gets dispersed, some are getting more or less screwed than others.

I think the players also want better health plans too.

Oh, and an 18 game season. Owners want it, players don't--for obvious reasons.


My completely bullshit guess: there will be a bunch of grandstanding and posturing by both sides throughout the summer, but by late July/early August, a deal gets hammered out where everyone gets richer except the fans.

Yes I agree it's very weird about the MLB and NHL lockouts. The MLB lockout severely hurt them-whereas the NHL is actually in much better financial condition now then pre-lockout. So the long term consequences of a lockout aren't really all that clear in my opinion-depends on how they handle it.

 

[candycorn]

So, it sounds as though little or no progress is being made between the owners and the NFLPA on a new CBA. The NFL just filed an unfair labor practice charge (NFL.com news: NFL says players' union is 'surface bargaining' so it can file suit) and the executive director of the NFLPA has reportedly said multiple times that he expects a lockout (NFL.com news: NFL owners call meeting for final day of current labor deal). Does this mean we will not have a 2011 season? Will we have replacement players? How badly will it hurt the NFL if they don't have a 2011 season with regular players?

With the billions of dollars involved, I'd think the owners and players would both want to work damn hard to make sure they don't kill their golden goose.

You will see professional football played in 2011 by the same professionals you saw play it in 2010. Too much money is to be made by playing the games--by both sides.

What worries (or should worry) the NFL isn't paying the players X or Y an extra 50K a year. Currently, those high salaries and cache that the NFL has forms a barrier to entry that no other sports league has. If the NFL were smart, they'd recognize that there are benefits to paying a backup offensive lineman 400,000 a year.

There is no reason to start another baseball or basketball league. The interest isn't there for one thing and the venues used are booked year round or very nearly. However, football has a volitile mix of dozens if not hundreds of empty stadiums--big freaking ones too--that make no money for 300+ days a year, fan interest that is borderline religious, and a never-ending factory of production in the colleges.

If you watched the landmark 30 on 30 about the USFL, you'd have seen where the salaries skyrocketed after the USFL's creation and really never stopped going upward. You also saw where 4 of the league's players qualified for the Pro Football HOF (Jim Kelly, Steve Young, Reggie White, and Gary Zimmerman). I'm not sure how many ex USFLers became NFL Pro-Bowlers but I'm willing to bet the number is probably in 3 digits in terms of the # of appearances in the Pro Bowl.

The NFL owners can crush the NFLPA. They can but they shouldn't because of this very thing. There would be no barrier to entry for someone--and I'm not kidding--like Jay-Z or a group fronted by him. There is a shitload of loose capital flowing around the world and while the NFL can pick who it lets into the club, an upstart league has no such requirement to be snooty and would welcome musicians with mega-bucks to spend.
Imagine the deal that can be put together; see JayZ at the Staples Center in LA on Saturday night then watch his team on Sunday in the Rose Bowl. Tickets plus airfare from New York start at $800. Or Fly Virgin Atlantic to London to see the Silly Nannies (inside joke) play in Wembly Stadium courtesy of team owner Richard Branson. Text "Virgin" to XXXXX to qualify for the sweepstakes (only $0.99 an entry).

The stadiums will still be there and I know most NFL owners are leaseholders at their stadia now but nothing is keeping a prospective league from tapping the empty collegiate stadiums that are vacant every Sunday. These are first-class facilities in their own right.

What it comes down to is whether or not fans will pay to see a second tier product. In basketball; no. In baseball, no...it won't happen because the entire 2nd tier--the minor leagues will be either playing or will be shut down by the owners as well as to not damage their prospects when an MLB strike is over. In football? More than likely there will be empty seats galore in many stadiums and some will have decent crowds. None of the owners will be making money off of their teams though. Taking the losses will be expected and likely part of the budget.

Meanwhile; the NFL owners will be competing for Heisman trophy winners the same way they did in the 1980's. Net loss for the owners to not get this solved. For the players, it's really a win/no lose situation. The market will be sated one way or the other. There may be some lean years coming up but over all, the players will come out far ahead of the owners.

 

[Ballentine]

I hope so

 

[Mini 14]

NFL Football is a business first, and a sport second.

I think the lockout will shorten the season, but not cancel it.

 

[Anachronism]

More than likely if there IS NFL football in 2011, it will be without ME as a fan. I've been a lifelong fan of the Washington Redskins, but I have finally reached the edge of my limit with the NFL as a league and professional football as a sport. My declining interest in the game came about mostly due to the 1994 CBA (you know, the one they've repeatedly extended). That CBA turned the league from a capitalistic system into a socialist collective. I'm the sort of person who despises socialism in any/all facets of life. To that end, the owners have the opportunity to fix those issues... to remove the salary cap, the revenue sharing, etc... and to turn the league back into a fine product by getting rid of the ticky-tack rules about contact which have turned it really into little more than hopscotch on the field.

Assuming the owner do not correct these issues, I will have watched my last NFL game EVER.

 

[JFK_USA]

The NFL will suffer from this. I think you'll see the popularity of College football increase dramatically if it extends into the season. NHL will benefit from an NBA lockout in 2011 and hopefully they get the season cancelled and the NHL will contiune its ratings rise.

MLB also benefits because they will get more viewers for the World Series.

The NFL isn't immune to the lockout losses. Sure it will get back to #1 but if it loses a season, sports fans will find something else to watch.

 

[LA RAM FAN]

I think the 2011 season will be canceled.

im all for it.and I love football.I hope that it is since the players and owners just like in baseball,have ruined the game.

 

[Sheldon]

The NFL will suffer from this. I think you'll see the popularity of College football increase dramatically if it extends into the season. NHL will benefit from an NBA lockout in 2011 and hopefully they get the season cancelled and the NHL will contiune its ratings rise.

MLB also benefits because they will get more viewers for the World Series.

The NFL isn't immune to the lockout losses. Sure it will get back to #1 but if it loses a season, sports fans will find something else to watch.

This is kind of off the wall, but rugby is another sport that could actually benefit from an NFL lockout.

The Rugby World Cup starts in September of this year and goes through the end of October. NBC and their Universal affiliate have (exclusive?) US broadcasting rights to the event this year. Most of it, as of now, will be shown on Universal, which is part of a DirecTV sports package.

But if there's no NFL to broadcast, then the major broadcasters will be scrambling for something--Fox execs will have a collective psychotic breakdown.

My guess then is that the RWC11 broadcasts migrate from Universal to its big brother NBC, that's a major gain in the sport's exposure to an unfamiliar audience.

 

[JFK_USA]

The NFL will suffer from this. I think you'll see the popularity of College football increase dramatically if it extends into the season. NHL will benefit from an NBA lockout in 2011 and hopefully they get the season cancelled and the NHL will contiune its ratings rise.

MLB also benefits because they will get more viewers for the World Series.

The NFL isn't immune to the lockout losses. Sure it will get back to #1 but if it loses a season, sports fans will find something else to watch.

This is kind of off the wall, but rugby is another sport that could actually benefit from an NFL lockout.

The Rugby World Cup starts in September of this year and goes through the end of October. NBC and their Universal affiliate have (exclusive?) US broadcasting rights to the event this year. Most of it, as of now, will be shown on Universal, which is part of a DirecTV sports package.

But if there's no NFL to broadcast, then the major broadcasters will be scrambling for something--Fox execs will have a collective psychotic breakdown.

My guess then is that the RWC11 broadcasts migrate from Universal to its big brother NBC, that's a major gain in the sport's exposure to an unfamiliar audience.

I agree. Fox is freaking out. They got nothing sports wise to show. ESPN will be fine. Rugby might see some increase in popularity but if I was the UFL, I would try to get a contract with Fox while the lockout is on. Help grow its brand.

 

[ginscpy]

College football needs to get a playoff