Thinking About the NFL Lockout

Obviously, we all hoped that this wouldn’t happen, but it became evident early last Friday that a new deal would not be reached between the NFL and the union.

Fans have been waiting for weeks to hear of some good news regarding what has been an ugly process at times. It’s hard for us not to remain cynical through all of this, as the problem between the two sides is how to divvy billions of dollars in revenue per year. It would be easy to take the side of the players because, after all, the owners are not exactly hurting for money.

But at the same time, this is still a game and the players are paid handsomely to show off their full athletic prowess only 16 times a year (minimum). Granted, I have never played in the NFL, and I understand that it is a brutal game, but players have an idea of what they’re getting into. And, I might not understand everything about this lockout, but if financial support for a player’s health is a big issue in these negotiations, doesn’t anyone ever question what these players are choosing to do with their mounds of money? How much blame can you place on the league for players not being smart with their money after retiring from the NFL?

That being said, I can support the players’ stance against the proposed 18-game season (a proposal that has been shelved). And I fully support the cause to establish a rookie wage scale. It would solve so many issues between the players and owners, as the ridiculous signing bonuses could be used to establish the funds to help retired players and, you know, pay the current players even more.

Hopefully, the lockout gets resolved soon because trying to envision an autumn without football is more painful than envisioning an eternity of hell spent in a 10th grade algebra class. The whole situation is unfortunate, because it really just revolves around greed but, when put in perspective, it’s all pretty ridiculous. As a fan, I’d love to see the lockout end, but it’s hard to feel too bad for any group that’s squabbling over what to do with billions of dollars.