The NFL Lockout is Turning Everyone into a Loser – Can't We All Just Get Along?!

The NFL Lockout is Turning Everyone into a Loser Can't We All Just Get Along

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The decertified NFL players association which is not, I repeat, not a union is encouraging incoming players to skip the league's draft festivities in late April if the current lock-out by owners is still going on. Instead, the not-NFLPA is planning to have its own party over the same three days at another location in New York City as an alternative for the draftees so that they don't walk across the stage at Radio City Music Hall and shake the hand of "the man," NFL commissioner Roger Godell. This is akin to a high school having two separate proms down the street from each other. It's bad enough that the NFL itself already has set itself up with a dual-coverage situation by selling broadcast rights to the draft to ESPN, but then still having its own cable network televise the event as well.

Just as we don't need both Chris Berman and Rich Eisen on two channels talking about it, we don't really need spoiled college football players at two different draft events. Hell, 30 years ago the NFL draft was a bunch of guys sitting around a conference table divvying up players from across the country. It was a fantasy football draft before there was such a thing. When ESPN first put it on the air, it wasn't because they were enlightened geniuses who saw its potential. They just needed programming to avoid showing another rerun of the Scottish Highlands competitions.

The most galling thing, I believe, in the not-a-union NFLPA's request is the part that they've left out when they're talking to the young men that will soon be members of their nonexistent organization. While it is true that the NFL's owners are the ones that enacted the lockout and, to be honest, that's partially because while each and every one of them made a boatload of cash in one or more ventures, they suddenly turn into morons when it comes to running a sports team the former NFLPA has already stated its intention of selling the draftees down the river. Most observers have long agreed that one thing that the owners and players have found common ground on is the issue of a rookie wage scale, which will cap the amount of money that players entering the league will be able to make.

That is actually a sound business plan and the players, for their part, are looking at it as a way to drive money to more established players and into funding for retired players. However, do you think that in their invitation to their draft soire the union happened to mention to the young potential millionaires the part about the limited contracts? Do you think that it was signed by the St. Louis Rams' Sam Bradford, who signed a 6-year, $76-million contract, with $50-million guaranteed, as last year's number one draft pick? Or, by Detroit 's Matthew Stafford, who received a 6-year, $78-million contract, with $42-million guaranteed, the year before?

Again, were I a business owner, I would also want to pay less for unproven talent. And, were I an established employee, I would want incoming employees to have to earn their keep before getting a bigger piece of the pie. It's the hypocrisy of asking young players to not participate in an event that every player currently in the league had a chance to participate in. The hypocrisy of asking young men not to have their one shining moment of getting to hold up a jersey with their name on it and posing for pictures with their familiesa moment that the NFLPA's membership joyfully (for the most part) participated in themselves. There is a long list of potential casualties from the NFL labor strife local businesses, vendors, parking attendants, etc. it isn't surprising that it didn't take long for common sense to fall on the sword.

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