By: Jeremy Imlach

 If there is no NFL season, due to the labor dispute and lockout, it will have a negative affect on the NFL and the players for years to come.

 Extended from  Increased salary cap $7.5 million, pushing it to $102 million.  Additional money to resign players  59.5% go to players  $1 billion off the top go to owners in “cost credits”  Cost credits: business expenses.

 Owners  “[Saying] they must receive additional cost credits if they are to gain a fair return on investment and continue to grow the game.”  An additional $1 billion is requested by management in relief.  An 18-game regular season (removing two preseason games)  Control on rookie salaries.  NFLPA (NFL Players Association)  Maintaining the status quo.  No need for “repair”.

 “March 3: Hours before an 11:59 p.m. ET deadline for expiration of the CBA, the two sides agree to a 24-hour extension.  March 4: The two sides reach agreement on a seven-day extension of the CBA and agree to continue with federal mediation until 5 p.m. ET on March 11.  March 11: Unable to reach agreement on a new CBA, the NFLPA applies to decertify as the collective bargaining agent for the players at 5 p.m. ET. Seven hours later, the NFL locks out the players after the expiration of the CBA at 11:59 p.m. ET. The dispute now goes before Judge Doty’s court.”  Source: USA TODAY research

 CBA (Collective bargaining agreement) ended.  Owners won’t “open books” – release the financial data.  “[Owners] argue they are in financial pain. Yet, they don’t want a fully transparent review of their financials by the employees to prove what they’re saying is completely true.” – Armando Salguero, Miami Herald.  District Judge David Doty overturned ruling that league’s TV contracts would still be paid a combined $4 billion in rights fees, regardless of if there was a season. Doty said this violated the NFL’s CBA with the NFLPA.

 Players dissolved the union and filed an antitrust suit against owners  Owners locked out players  Hearing set April 6 th  Judge Susan Richard Nelson  Nelson dismissed the NFL’s argument that the decertification of the union was a sham but NFL refused defeat.  NFL heads to Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals to hear NFL appeal.  Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals grants continuation of lockout.

 “One of my concerns is that we not aggravate our fan base,” New England Patriots owner Rover Kraft.  Businesses in NFL cities are now under threat, including those who work at the stadiums.  Allowing the dispute to drag on could do lasting economic damage.  Popularity may drop, leaving permanent damage to the sport.

 1987 NFL Strike (Sept. 22 – Oct. 15)  Lasted a month to gain better free-agency rights.  One game was canceled.  Television ratings dropped 20 percent. NFL paid networks in compensation.  Players won no concessions.  1982 NFL strike (Sept. 20 – Nov. 16)  Nearly half of regular season wasn’t played.  Players sought revenue sharing for TV rights  Leagues minimum wage was increased.  Union was paid $60 million to bring strike to close.  NHL lockout  Forced league to reduce schedule from 84 games to 48.  NHL lost the season.  310 days  Longest lockout in athletic history.  Cut games to a 15 game season.

 1998 NBA lockout (July 1, 1998, to Jan. 20, 1999)  Player salaries had increased for years.  NBA sought salary caps to curb high costs.  Players agreed to dictation of a percentage of each team’s annual revenue.  MLB strike (Aug.12, 1994-April 2, 1995)  World Series canceled.  Spurred allegations of greed on both the side of players and owners.  Lasted 232, sparked by owners demand of a salary cap.  Strike hurt baseball beyond the missed games.  Revenues and attendance dropped in the subsequent seasons.

 Through the past disputes, it can be seen that lockouts, specifically lockouts that last through the season, significantly harm leagues, owners and players. If the NFL would like to keep its popularity driving, it must reach a new CBA prior to the season.

 What did the NFLPA have to do in order to file antitrust lawsuits?  How did the NFL reverse the ruling of ending the lockout?  Compare and contrast this labor dispute to the labor disputes in the past.  What was one of the main causes of the dispute?

 Dissolved the union.  Appealing to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.  Some labor issues were caused due to inability to share revenue, such as the current dispute is. Revenue sharing is apparent in each dispute.  NFL owners demanding more credits, and limiting salary caps.