Summer usually marks the build up to a new season of the NFL with teams starting training camp and preparing for pre-season. However, following the lockout earlier this year it is looking increasingly likely that the upcoming season will be shortened, or even worse, cancelled.
The subject of the dispute between players and owners is called the collective bargaining agreement (CBA), which, in 2008, owners voted to discontinue after the end of the 2010 season. The CBA gave the players 57 percent of the league’s $9 billion revenue whilst the owners took $1 billion for growth and development of the league.
Effectively, the players and owners have reached a stalemate, with the players refusing pay cuts and rejecting proposals by the owners of an extended season and new health and safety proposals.
The last lockout in American sport came in 2004 when a similar situation within the NHL caused the season to be cancelled. The NBA is also in lockout over the exact same issues, marking its fourth lockout since the league began in 1946.
Realistically, I believe we’ll see the whole of the 2011 NFL season wiped out, with neither the players nor the owners wanting to back down and come to an agreement. Unfortunately, professional sport is no longer just entertainment, it is now a business, especially when it comes to American sport.
For all NFL and NBA fans I hope that an agreement can be made, but it is looking less likely as the days go on. I know one thing for sure, my Sunday nights won’t be the same without the drama of the NFL.
| The first major NFL crisis since the '82 strikes |
No comments:
Post a Comment