The Economics of the NFL Lockout
July 25, 2011 in Daily Bulletin
It’s looking like the NFL lockout is about to come to an end, which raises the question: what will the effects of it be? In an article posted on Freakonomics, that very topic is addressed. The sports economist interviewed believes that demand for the sport by fans will be unaffected and that they will be happy to see the season start up. He also believes that in the new collective bargaining agreement, the owners are getting the better deal. Their share of the revenue will increase as the salary cap each team faces decreases; the rookie pay scale will also face a decline but veterans will be voting on the deal which could help explain why the players seem poised to accept the offer.
Source: Freakonomics Blog
Just another example of unions folding to the suits in America. I was hoping this would be a great labor stand-off, but I guess that is impossible anymore. The owners definitely tried to force the players’ hand by using sports media, entities which have a vested economic interest in the season starting ASAP, to vilify the “greedy” players as much as the greedy owners. It was a quote battle of millionaires vs. billionaires unquote. Perhaps there is a grain of truth to that, but the average NFL player only makes it 3.5 years in the NFL and very few players ever take home Brady salaries. A lot of them end up crippled and brain-damaged. I’m all in favor of the players getting as much money as they possibly can for engaging in high-speed collisions with other freak athletes. I only wish they held out and called the owners’ bluff.