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SBXVII · 03-25-2011, 09:20 AM

Ok, so I kinda had an "Aha" moment when I woke up.

On one side you have the owners who are claiming there is a loss in revenue partly due to the bad economy. I'm sure the owners are probably somewhat correct because fans don't have the money to purchase the expensive jerseys or purchase the expensive season passes. In some cases fans are turning in their season passes because they can't afford them anymore. I know the Redskins are somewhat in a different catagory due to the fact there has always been a waiting list and as soon as one fan turns in his passes another steps up to take his place, but there are other cities that I'm sure are not as well off as Washington. We fans have a tendency to look at what is around us or what we know. The Skins are close to us and they are one of the most profitable teams in the league so if we use them as an example we are blind to the worst markets out there.

So the owners want to take 1 bill off the top of the 9 bill the league makes to use towards revenue sharing, to help out the worst markets as well as using the money towards their stadiums.

The players know that getting a % of 8 bill is far less then getting a % of 9 bill. So they are requesting the owners show their books and if the owners can prove that there are teams struggling they will consider the 1 bill being taken off the top. Problem is they know the NFL is a money making machine between T.V. deals, commercials, advertising, seat cost for fans, and paraphernalia the NFL is getting more money every year. Honestly I'm still not quite sure how a % of 4 bill or a % of 4.5 bill effects the players who have signed contracts with set amounts of salary for each year but perhaps I'm just not the brightest crayon in the box. My understanding is the 4 bill or 4.5 bill goes towards a retirement fund for the retired players. I honestly don't know what else it goes towards. I thought at one point the players health insurance but I keep hearing about the owners have to pay for that up to a year after they are not playing.

Both sides I guess are making good arguements. Even we fans can't agree on which side is right or wrong and some of us are having a hard time deciding which side to lean towards. But in the grand scheme of things what about the fans? We've watched player salaries go up and up, we've watched ticket prices go up and up to off set the player salaries, new stadium costs, costs to upgrade the old stadiums and so forth. So I guess my question to the owners is "IF" you were to be given the 1 bill for revenue sharing would you agree to lower ticket prices by 5% and keep the price the same for the next 10 yrs? They already would have their money for the bad market teams and money to fix up their stadiums. Thats what they want the 1 bill for. Then it's all a matter of player salaries, coach's salaries, and extra personel such as secretaries and the like. So if the owners are not throwing $100 mill dollar contracts at players and doing their best to keep player salaries down then ticket prices should reflect that as well since the ticket prices went up to reflect players salaries.

To me if the owners are taking 1 bill off the top for their revenue sharing/stadiums and they are putting a Rookie salary in place, then amount saved from the Rookie salaries can off set the Vet salaries which enables ticket prices to either be lowered or stay the same for the next several years. If at all possible (which I know would not happen) lowering the ticket sales might enable the fans to keep their season passes and might enable more fans to purchase tickets to games who don't have season passes. What with people facing hard time and possible foreclosures on their homes I'm sure less fans are paying for or keeping their season passes which makes it harder for the owner to know in advance how many people will be at a game and how much money he has on average to spend.

Sorry for the long ramble. Just thought it would be interesting if the fans some how could get involved, hired an attorney to represent them and put pressure on both sides in regards to ticket prices.

03-25-2011, 09:20 AM	#499
SBXVII Franchise Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Virginia Posts: 7,766	Re: Ongoing CBA discussions Ok, so I kinda had an "Aha" moment when I woke up. On one side you have the owners who are claiming there is a loss in revenue partly due to the bad economy. I'm sure the owners are probably somewhat correct because fans don't have the money to purchase the expensive jerseys or purchase the expensive season passes. In some cases fans are turning in their season passes because they can't afford them anymore. I know the Redskins are somewhat in a different catagory due to the fact there has always been a waiting list and as soon as one fan turns in his passes another steps up to take his place, but there are other cities that I'm sure are not as well off as Washington. We fans have a tendency to look at what is around us or what we know. The Skins are close to us and they are one of the most profitable teams in the league so if we use them as an example we are blind to the worst markets out there. So the owners want to take 1 bill off the top of the 9 bill the league makes to use towards revenue sharing, to help out the worst markets as well as using the money towards their stadiums. The players know that getting a % of 8 bill is far less then getting a % of 9 bill. So they are requesting the owners show their books and if the owners can prove that there are teams struggling they will consider the 1 bill being taken off the top. Problem is they know the NFL is a money making machine between T.V. deals, commercials, advertising, seat cost for fans, and paraphernalia the NFL is getting more money every year. Honestly I'm still not quite sure how a % of 4 bill or a % of 4.5 bill effects the players who have signed contracts with set amounts of salary for each year but perhaps I'm just not the brightest crayon in the box. My understanding is the 4 bill or 4.5 bill goes towards a retirement fund for the retired players. I honestly don't know what else it goes towards. I thought at one point the players health insurance but I keep hearing about the owners have to pay for that up to a year after they are not playing. Both sides I guess are making good arguements. Even we fans can't agree on which side is right or wrong and some of us are having a hard time deciding which side to lean towards. But in the grand scheme of things what about the fans? We've watched player salaries go up and up, we've watched ticket prices go up and up to off set the player salaries, new stadium costs, costs to upgrade the old stadiums and so forth. So I guess my question to the owners is "IF" you were to be given the 1 bill for revenue sharing would you agree to lower ticket prices by 5% and keep the price the same for the next 10 yrs? They already would have their money for the bad market teams and money to fix up their stadiums. Thats what they want the 1 bill for. Then it's all a matter of player salaries, coach's salaries, and extra personel such as secretaries and the like. So if the owners are not throwing $100 mill dollar contracts at players and doing their best to keep player salaries down then ticket prices should reflect that as well since the ticket prices went up to reflect players salaries. To me if the owners are taking 1 bill off the top for their revenue sharing/stadiums and they are putting a Rookie salary in place, then amount saved from the Rookie salaries can off set the Vet salaries which enables ticket prices to either be lowered or stay the same for the next several years. If at all possible (which I know would not happen) lowering the ticket sales might enable the fans to keep their season passes and might enable more fans to purchase tickets to games who don't have season passes. What with people facing hard time and possible foreclosures on their homes I'm sure less fans are paying for or keeping their season passes which makes it harder for the owner to know in advance how many people will be at a game and how much money he has on average to spend. Sorry for the long ramble. Just thought it would be interesting if the fans some how could get involved, hired an attorney to represent them and put pressure on both sides in regards to ticket prices.