NFL: "I'm Sorry"

I’m sorry.  Two words in the English language that can be used for multiple things.  A husband forgot his wedding anniversary.  You forgot a good friend’s birthday.  A doctor’s appointment was missed.  A certain blogger not writing for ESPN Gainesville/Ocala for several months.

 

 

Never before has a group of people deserved a I’m sorry more than NFL fans everywhere do right now.  The NFL has been in a lockout for over 100 days currently with no Collective Bargaining Agreement.  I have learned to hate the acronym CBA over this spring and summer.  They must have an awfully good reason why?  While the country is struggling with unemployment, high gas and food prices and housing values decreasing lower than the Great Depression the NFL has major problems of their own.  How do the owners and players decide how to share over 9 billion dollars in revenue?  How does that make you feel the next time you skimp and save for a night out with your family?

This NFL lockout is outrageous, preposterous and downright infuriating.  The NFL is the king in professional sports in this country.  Hey guys, don’t hesitate to screw a good thing up!  There are valid arguments on both sides of this, but the point is this should have never come to this point over a sport where both sides are making millions and billions of dollars.

We are in the middle of summer and by now I am salivating for training camp and the preseason.  As of July 10^th, there is no agreement in site.  The legal system has ruled in favor of the owners and stated that the lockout is legal.  I tend to side on the owners in this, but feel both sides are way out of line.

The key points in this stalemate have been the amount of revenue that should be split between the owners and players, a salary cap and a rookie wage scale.  The players were receiving between 53 to 60 percent of the revenue under the old CBA.  The owners claim they need more of the revenue for rising costs.  Stadium renovation and competitive balance between the smaller and larger markets are two of the key expenditures owners have argued about.

The players state they are entitled to see the owners books and shouldn’t have to give back any revenue to the owners.  They are also concerned about health benefits for former NFL players that weren’t as fortunate to have played in such a lucrative time in the league.

The owners have thrown out increasing the regular season from 16 to 18 games, but the players don’t want to risk more injuries to them with the additional regular season games.  I believe the regular season will remain at 16 games once the new Collective Bargaining Agreement is reached.

Due to this lockout we’ve had no free agency in the league and rookies haven’t been able to meet with their new teams and coaches in off season conditioning workouts or practices.

The team that I cover for ESPN Gainesville/Ocala, the Jacksonville Jaguars drafted quarterback Blaine Gabbert out of Missouri in the first round back in April.  Talk about a title wave of excitement on the First Coast over this move.  The Jaguars traded up in the first round allowing them to pick Gabbert.

The excitement has died due to the lockout.  Gabbert’s chances of unseating David Garrard as the starting quarterback in Jacksonville diminish with each passing day that an agreement isn’t reached.  He hasn’t had a chance to workout with his new teammates and learn the playbook with the Jaguars coaching staff.

Other teams are in the same dilemma with their rookies.  With no free agency occurring due to the lockout many teams have several questions regarding the current roster.  Normally, you pick up a few veterans to plug some key holes on your team in March.

This season that will occur when and if we get a CBA agreement.  Your starting to understand why I hate the acronym CBA now!  Teams had to make certain decisions during the NFL draft that might not have happen had the free agent signing period occurred.  The uncertainty of who you might pick up in free agency left General Managers like Gene Smith of the Jaguars with some tough decisions during the NFL draft this past April.

The league is going back to the negotiating table this week.  Maybe we can finally get something settled and start talking about actual games and training camp and predictions for the 2011 NFL season.  Unfortunately, there isn’t any NFL activity to speak of on the field right now.  It’s July 10^th and I should be looking forward to training camp in weeks.  Instead, I’m waiting to watch True Blood on HBO and see how Sookie escapes her plight against Vampires.  If you don’t know what I’m referring to in the previous sentence I’m sorry.  Two words the NFL should be saying to their fans everywhere.