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Those sneaky owners.

I don’t know about you… but they definitely had me fooled. You see, I was actually on their side, at one point, over the course of this whole collective bargaining agreement mess. Really, I was on their side. I mean, the way I saw it, players are getting PLENTY of money. Loads of the stuff. More than most of us will ever see in this lifetime, anyway… collectively! Guys like Albert Haynesworth are running around cashing $21 million dollar checks, and then are telling the owners what they will and will not do, and when they will and will not do it. Guys like JaMarcus Russell come into the league instant multi-millionaires, only to bust and be out of the league in 3 or 4 seasons, financially set for life. Not that I’m a hater, mind you. I like the fact that these guys get paid all that they can, given how dangerous this sport is to play. Especially the players that actually go out and work hard. But I just do not like the greed of it all. And that is the primary thing I see, when I look at the Haynesworths and Russells of the NFL. So yes… I thought the owners had a point. Player salaries and new stadium costs, indeed, seem to be out of control. And as a fan, I do not want to see any lockout… and I truly felt the owners did not want to see one either. So I blamed the players for this mess, in the beginning. Even though I knew, in the back of my mind, that the owners also played a heavy role in making their own beds with the current CBA.

But then last week, I came across a little known fact (to the average football fan)… a move the NFL owners made during the last television contract negotiations. A contract stipulation, if you will. You see, the NFL product is so good, that networks will pay for it, even if it doesn’t exist. Yeah… that’s right. You read that correctly. The NFL product is so good, that every single network that broadcasts NFL games… and there are four of them, as well as a certain well-known satellite giant… have agreed to pay the NFL for their product, even if it doesn’t exist. I believe it was P. T. Barnum who originated the classic phrase, “there is a sucker born every minute”.

Clearly there is. You see, those sneaky owners managed to somehow convince the networks to guarantee payment of that astronomically large sum of cash that comprise the current package of television contracts, even if there are no games played. Not one quarter, not one snap.

Genius.

See, now the owners could care less about next season. Stadium costs? Paid. Employee costs? Done. And no need to pay player salaries? Awesome. The owners literally have zero to worry about next season. They will still get paid, just the same as if we all were watching games as we normally do next season. Meanwhile, the players have their very livelihoods at stake. They will get paid, not one dime. The playing field in the CBA negotiations is not even, at all. I mean seriously, if the owners have nothing to lose by there not being any season next year, then what kind of negotiation is this? In order for this “negotiation” to work… meaning, some give and take on both sides… it certainly seams to me that both parties need to have something at risk, in the interest of fair play. But the way this is currently set up, the players are the only ones really with something to lose. Thankfully, DeMaurice Smith saw through the thin veil of deceit with the current TV deal, and used a clause in the current CBA against the NFL. A clause that says, and I’m paraphrasing here, that the NFL must negotiate TV contracts, in good faith, to maximize profits in order to obtain the highest revenue possible, to the benefit of paying the highest player salaries possible… or something to that effect. Mr. Smith is contending that the NFL violated this clause by accepting less money from the networks, in exchange for the networks to guarantee payment of the contract, even if a season is locked out. Ladies and gentleman, for those of you who have not put two and two together yet, it should now be painstakingly clear to you, that the NFL had this entire lockout scenario planned for some time now.

If this was a chess game, Mr. Smith would be loudly saying “check”.
But checkmate? Or even a stalemate? It’s in the court’s hands now. The court has to make the right decision. That simple. The court has to agree with Mr. Smith. If the court agrees with Mr. Smith, then the NFL will be forced to put this money in an escrow account, unable to be touched until a new CBA is hammered out. Suddenly, the owners will have bills coming up next season… stadium costs… employee salaries… that still will have to be paid. Except this time, they will not have access to their lockout protection. Now, they have to pull that money directly from their pockets… thereby, taking a significant cash flow hit, due to the locked out season. Anyone here other than me think that might have an impact on the owners urgency to hammer out a new deal? Yeah, exactly. Now, BOTH sides have a vested interest in making sure a deal gets done, and the give and take aspect of negotiations, become real, as opposed to the farce that is currently in place.

The owners have stacked the deck, and we all must hope the NFLPA wins its case against the TV contract money in court. Because if they do not, then this entire “negotiation” is a farce, and we can all kiss the 2011 season goodbye.

Those sneaky owners.

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