Eric Winston: Don't care if NFL 'dies out in 20 years' because of work stoppage
 

Winston not concerned if NFL dies out in 20 years

ESPN.com news services

NFL Players Association president Eric Winston agreed with DeMaurice Smith's recent comments that a work stoppage in 2021 is likely, given the current relationship between the union and the league.

But Winston took it a step further Monday in an interview with WCPO in Cincinnati, suggesting that players shouldn't care that a strike or lockout "might kill the goose that laid the golden egg."

"Honestly I don't care and I don't think the guys in this locker room care whether [the NFL] is going to be around in 20 years because none of us are going to be playing," Winston, an offensive tackle for the Bengals, told WCPO. "So if these guys [the owners] want to own for a long time, then they can own for a long time. But another work stoppage might kill the golden goose."

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NFLPA head: 2021 strike or lockout very likely
A work stoppage in 2021 is "almost a virtual certainty," NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith told Sports Illustrated in a video interview posted Thursday.

Smith, the union's executive director, said last week that "the likelihood of either a strike or a lockout is almost a virtual certainty."

The NFL's current collective bargaining agreement, which is set to expire in 2021, was finalized after a 132-day lockout in 2011.

Winston, 33, said the union is preparing its players for another prolonged labor dispute but emphasized that the long-term health of the NFL is not a concern of his.

"I'm certainly not worried about it," he said. "I'm not going to be around that long. I don't care if even if there are rookies in here -- they're not going to be playing that long.

"So if this thing dies out in 20 years, it dies out in 20 years. That's not really my concern, and I don't think it's any of these players' concern in here either."

Smith, when asked about Winston's comments during an interview Tuesday with ESPN's Outside The Lines, said the veteran offensive lineman is "a person who understands the frame and business of football."

"The owners locked us out the last time," Smith said. "They took the decision to make sure that people didn't have a place to work. They cut off the insurance to our families. They wanted to force an 18-game schedule. What are you supposed to do? Fight back, right?"

Winston is a 12-year veteran and has been the NFLPA's president since March 2014. He acknowledged that there are "always going to be issues between labor and management" but also said that a work stoppage will be the "inevitable outcome" unless serious progress is made in negotiations.


The NFLPA has clashed in recent years with the NFL over player discipline in such high-profile cases as Adrian Peterson's suspension for child abuse, Tom Brady's Deflategate suspension and, most recently, Ezekiel Elliott's suspension for alleged domestic violence.

Winston also was asked Monday why he thinks fans tend to side with ownership in labor disputes.

"My personal theory is [fans] think they have a stake in the team," he said. "I was as blindsided by it probably as anybody [in 2011]. ... They don't look at the issues the way we look at issues -- wages, hours, working conditions, and health and safety. You could talk about the same thing in a coal miners' union meeting as we do in our meetings.

"I think fans look at the team and say that that's their team -- they have an ownership in that. That's why you always hear fans say 'Oh, the salary cap,' and they think they're kinda the general managers. Obviously fantasy football and things like that play into it."

Ugh this mouth breather again :facepalm:

That will go over well.

Dethpicable

Fans don't have 'ownership'.

We're the customers. We just want our product, and we're assholes about it.

Seriously, what the **** was he talking about at the end there? Do you think Eric Winston gives a **** that his shoes are made in a sweat shop?

Love these forward thinking football players. Winston showing off that he is a neanderthal. These guys should be told the same thing as any other worker..if you don't like working here please feel free to find a different line of work.

They complain about hours and work conditions..tell that crap to coal miners who toiled away and got black lung for much less. No one forces these football guys to play..they could go look for other jobs but instead they will take their millions and whine and cry about it. Whatever job you take you go into it knowing the risks associated with it. Man up and do your job or find one you feel fits you better. Tired of the whining.

How much do coal miners make, again?

Hopefully he has CTE

Someone please tell that puthy to thut hith puthy mouwf.

Another strike will drive away fans and money.

Don't they get pensions and other benefits after retirement?

That'll rally people to your cause. Dumbass.

A Coal Mine Worker earns an average wage of $23.04 per hour.

http://www.payscale.com/research/US/...er/Hourly_Rate

Is this homosexual still around? Shouldn't the AIDS have killed him by now?

He shor has a purty mouth.

****ing mouthbreathing moron.

I'm guessing he isn't into recycling either since he only cares for his current era.

I was just trying to help Mither Winthton understand why the average fan may not be as sympathetic to the hardships of people whose minimum salary is $450,000 as they would be to coal miners.

THIS

man, I hope during the last work stoppage, he and his family were able to buy groceries and afford healthcare.

Coal Miner and NFL....exactly the same!

Who the **** lets someone with this mindset head up a union?

So they should be sympathetic to the hardships of the billionaire owners?


I think there's plenty of blame to go around, but if the cuase of a 2021 strike is the players being disgusted with the completely arbitrary and unfair "justice" system in the NFL, I wouldn't blame them one bit.

Herr Kommissar can do whatever Herr Kommissar wants, and the only appeal is to Herr Kommissar. Who could POSSIBLY object to that system?!? :shake:

He is such a selfish little bitch.

Hated this guy & still do.

I've seen so much hatred of the NFL over the last couple of years that I wouldn't be surprised if the fans give double-birds to both the owners and the players.

Winston strikes me as the kind of guy who wears velcro shoes.

Wondering what made a bunch of concussed players make a decision? Hm

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

I guess Winston doesn't care about anyone who might want to play in the NFL in 20 years. These negotiations are not going to go well.

Winston seems like the type of guy that has one of those Zombie Outbreak Response Team spare tire covers on his Jeep.

Take him to jack stack!

people should tell Winthston he should be grateful the NFL doesn't pay players strictly based on performance; because he'd be broke.

In fairness, the NFLPA has had it broken off in them repeatedly. They play the most demanding and most damaging of the professional sports. They have the shortest careers and feel it the longest after they're done.

If I could be similarly successful at any of the 5 major sports (including soccer), I'd take all of them over football and wouldn't think twice about it.

As a reward, they get no guaranteed money. Worse still, in a league where, what, 1 in 3 players see real money after their rookie deals are over, the rookie scale has turned to shit on them as well.

Meanwhile, the NFL is making more money than every other major sport.

If I'm an NFL player, I'm absolutely looking for some serious changes and if that means finding an asshole like Winston to head your PA - so be it. The soft-shoes approach hasn't done shit for them.

I'm amazed at how much NFL owners have managed to bend over the NFLPA in comparison to every other professional athlete.

That's about business, not about personal attacks etc. Do a better job of negotiating and you won't need to lash out like a 3 yr old throwing a tantrum.

I don't care if Winston dies in 20 years, either.

NFL players are free to play another sport if it's so much better.

just make it where each game there's a pool of $x dollars per game.
Winners get 70% to divide up between the players.
Losers get 30% to divide up between the losing players.

LMAO

**** him!

It's anchoring.

The problem Winston faces is that he doesn't have an infinitely long timeline to work with here. His constituency is comprised of people who have Bentley payments to make and 4th and 5th houses to pay for as well as extremely short careers in which to make the money that allows them to do it.

Worse still, for the guys on the fringes, a single year out of work now doubles the pool of new labor (effectively 2 years worth of draftees) and thus greatly increases the odds of them just being out on the street, $500K poorer and with no long-term NFL prospects now.

So for the super rich that are spending like sailors on shore leave, they'll want that money to cover exorbitant expenses because they live like idiots. For the young guys on rookie deals who are looking at 3-5 year careers, they can't afford to lose 20% of their career and earning potential in a Pyrrhic victory.

There isn't an easy 'negotiation tactic' for Winston here because he doesn't really have a hammer. At least not one that's easily wielded. So he has to throw some haymakers in the hopes they land. Sooner or later his own constituency will lack the political will to allow him to follow through on any long-term leverage.

I damn sure don't envy him.

I wish bad things to happen to Matt Cassel for his comments.

Certainly a nuanced, well-reasoned response.

A majority of fans were lining up to support the players, and this ****stick shits all over their good will.

More and more, guys are choosing baseball over football.

Be careful what you wish for...

They only receive a pension if they've accrued three full seasons and it doesn't begin until age 55

what an imbecile

If the head of my union said that publicly they'd be gone by lunch.

Can't disagree with what you've said but that is still about the players, not the owners. The players need to get their act together instead of waging war against their employer.

That's stupid. The only leverage the players have is to strike against the owners.

NFL ratings were down big time last year. The current CBA expires after the 2021 season and if the ratings continue to decline, the players will have even more leverage against the owners because the TV networks won't shell out a shit ton of money for replacement players or a missed season.

Define 'get their act together'.

Line up in harmony and sit out a season? Again - if that happens, there's hundreds more draftees looking to make the league and thus hundreds of those same people will never touch a football field again. That one season they sat out could've easily been a season they'd have been in the league and that's another 500K they'd have made.

The owners have the players by the shorthairs here. These careers are just sooo short that it's virtually impossible to expect the players to play hardball.

So if they have to pick a designated asshole who's on the way out of the league anyway and who is willing to go be the guy that takes arrows for them - so be it.

But man, just exactly what the hell do you expect them to do? They get killed in these negotiations and something's gotta give or it'll just keep happening. Perhaps a significant change in tact isn't the worst idea.

Step 1: Fire DeMaurice Smith
Step 2: Hire a nasty shark
Step 3: Threaten a strike
Step 4: Publicly state that the quality of NFL games will decrease significantly if the Player's go on strike or are replaced.
Step 5: Watch as the TV networks scramble, become scared and put clauses into their new deals IF a strike or lockout occurs.


The result: The owners suddenly are more open to negotiations that give a little back to the players.

The fact that Eric Winston... a.k.a. a mental midget is NFLPA President shows how weak of a union it is and how they will never be able to sustain an organized work stoppage.

And yes I know that he (unfortunately) went to Miami.

They were? After watching them drag politics into the sport **** those guys.

Yep. While I hear what the players are saying, a union leader doesn't come out and say he doesn't care if their employer isn't in business in 20 years. That's like telling the folks at Claycomo or Fairfax he doesn't care if Ford or GM is around. That doesn't instill a lot of confidence in those that would join the union next year or 5 years down the road. Maybe he's just been hit in the head too many times.

Exactly.

Winston's not wrong here. He just didn't necessarily make his point as well as he could have.

LMAO

"Them" = what, 10% of the guys that put on a uniform? If that?

C'mon, folks. Blasting away at the players when they have unquestionably the shittiest labor deal in all of professional sports isn't a great look.

Fire their current leadership and hire a guy like David Stern to run things. Tell idiots like Winston to shut up or move on. The NFLPA has plenty of leverage if they would just start using it intelligently. The 1st time Stern wins something big for the players they will jump on board and give him the support to really change things.

It is a complicated situation because of the amount of players on an NFL roster compared to the other sports and because of all the injuries that happen in football.

Overall, all things considered, I think NFL players deserve more money. It's the most popular sport in America and generates the most money yet the players are vastly underpaid compared to other sports. Something isn't right here.

That's still probably 80%-90% better than labor deals across America for the working class. My guess.

I will almost always side with the players when it comes to a dispute.


We know they are spoiled, but damn, look at the owners. They are the master manipulators of the NFL, and when things go bad everyone else gets the blame but them.


**** em'.

Barely. By a thread.

MLB is generating $9 billion a year these days and while the individual games don't generate the kind of revenue that 16 regular season games do for the NFL, the gap has narrowed and will continue to narrow.

Jesus, people. Quit comparing NFL players to Regular Joe jobs.

Your choice to be a ****ing coal miner.

Jealousy is a bitch.

Just seems odd to publicly state this 4 years before any real consequences from a strike will happen. Really bad PR move, but if it gets them some leverage then go for it.

For the amount of income generated? I kinda doubt it.

Moreover, most of those labor deals for the working class are in, at best, moderately skilled trades and NOT the top 0.1% of the particular class of people doing that job.

Looking at it apples to apples here, the NFL Players are getting a bad deal. That's not to say I'd put money in a hat for them but I'm damn sure not going to excoriate them for asking for more.

Go figure the year Chiefs are set and primed to go to the Super Bowl and win it three things will/could ac-cure that will demolish that pipe dream


A) Players strike/lockout by the owners NFL dissolves

B) WWIII because Trump

C) Zombie Apocalypse

D) Because Chiufs

This.

Isn't this exactly the time you should be floating trial balloons? Or planting seeds?

Getting caught flat-footed is exactly why they've had to scramble in the past. Because suddenly the spigot turns off and they look at each other and go 'oh shit, what now?'....

Get those gears turning earlier and maybe you'll get a better result. And as you've noted, with no ability to effectuate significant change in the next 4 years, where's the leverage and where's the downshot? Take a big swing - maybe you'll hit it, maybe you won't. Perhaps it will convince an owner or two that there are serious fissures here that need mending.

If not, there's 4 years to regroup and see where to go from there. I see no harm here.

Privately, yes. Its more of the perceived middle finger to the fans thats giving me pause. I am an absolute shit bargainer though so what do I know.

Eh they get payed to play a game sure injuries can happen but in my line of work I could get beat up any given time or even shanked and not see it coming. That's the risk I take. I could choose another line of work as well. I don't feel sorry for guys making millions of dollars more than me for playing a game.

Interesting. I'm obviously not familiar enough with the whole situation to really comment. Hopefully they work it out. If not, oh well.

I'm not going to take sides I don't know enough about the finances of the whole situation. I will say this a lot of people are going to call NFL players whiners because they make a lot of money but I don't think that is fair. If they are underpaid, they are underpaid. If they can get more money out of the deal, might as well do it. I know I would.

Good point but hey if they decide they are too underpaid and they don't want to play their sport come 2021. So be it. You can't get mad at that just like no one can get mad at you if you decide a different line of work.

It's their decision just as much as your line of work is yours.

More than likely both sides are going to go back and forth with threats. It's mostly bluffing. Something will eventually get worked out. if there is a strike, it won't last long.

Kind of harsh, but as we've talked about in other threads... and as DJ said in this one, these guys are getting killed on every labor deal while the owners rake in billions of dollars. I'm guessing there's going to be a lot more ugly talk leading up to the next negotiation. They just want to look tough. I wouldn't worry too much about it yet.

I'm surprised Winston even brought up the coal miner thing. That's not a great look. But it's the same thing when people say "these guys make millions for playing a game." They do, but these guys are the best at the world at what they do, and the game makes billions of dollars. It really doesn't matter what your job is. If you're the best at the world at it, you're going to use that leverage to get paid for it. There isn't a single person in this thread who wouldn't.

There's barely 15-20 decent QBs in the world, maybe less at some other positions. The players only leverage is that the quality of football would go downhill without them. Maybe people would still watch, but if that was the case we'd still be watching the XFL. Go ahead and find 10 more guys off the street who can throw a football like Patrick Mahomes.

That's the voice of a man who loves the game.

This is a perfect encapsulation of the problem with the NFL. It's too big. There's too much money for the owners, and many of the players are there because they're great athletes and the money is too big to walk away from. No one involved in the sport cares about the sport any more.

Exactly.

Hypothetically If there was a job posting on indeed.com to make millions of dollars playing football in the NFL or even the league minimum $500k or whatever is can you imagine all the job applicants?

These guys are the top 0.1% they deserve the money they are getting and they are putting their bodies on the line. If they see an opportunity to make more money and are willing to strike to do it I can't fault them for that. Especially when I see the contracts these NBA and MLB players are getting I'd be like 'wtf?' if I was an NFL player too. Flip side I'm not going to get mad at the owners either for trying to get the best possible deal for themselves. That's what I would do. I don't care how rich I am I am not going to look to get ripped off.

It's all relative but we know something will get worked out. They'll both talk tough for years probably. Every threat NFLPA makes I'm sure the owners will make one back. Eventually something will get worked out.

Not many of them do but it wouldn't say no one. Brady clearly loves the game. Peyton did. Ray Lewis. I'm sure there are more but those are some of the guys I can think of. Those are the guys I'd love to see representing NFLPA not Eric Winston.

Anyway, Former TE Jordan Cameron actually talked about this

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/1...ally-love-game

They got 4 years to vent. They will sign a better deal and the NFL will give a little.

The baseball players almost cost the game of baseball its life because they didnt want a hard salary cap. It took the McGuire/Sosa home run chase to bring the fans and game back. And now its mostly about your own team. How many fans watch other teams play? They learned the selfish principle from the players and owners.

Baseball would be in better shape if they had a hard salary cap. It's unfair to have LA with $263 million to spend and 80% of the team under $100 million. LA gets to makes mistakes and move on. Other teams make mistakes it cripples their competitiveness.

No matter what side anyone is on it's going be the fans that pay for it. I have no problem with players wanting a bigger piece of the pie they deserve it. However the owners will just increase the price of tickets and the fans will pay for it.

When people can't afford to go they wont and then there will be less revenue for the NFL.

I hope Winston gets AIDS in less than 20 years

Winston is the one who brought up coal mining.

He's the one who invited the comparison.

Don't be a dumbass.

Ticket revenue is minuscule compared to the $9 billion dollars in TV revenue.

Yep.

And the PPV model won't recapture what the inevitable cable rights contraction bubble gives back as the bubble peters out. There just aren't enough viewers to make up for what the non-viewers are presently subsidizing. Player salaries, at least in relation to inflation, will be going down at some point and I don't think that point is too far off.

Within 10 years the owners won't have the license to print money they do now and as the television experience gets better and better, their ability to recover ANYTHING via gate sales will be diminished. Most teams can't sell out with any regularity now, even when they have quality squads.

The supply and demand curves are already not intersecting at the present price points - owners can't just keep jumping up the ticket prices infinitely.

Which may well be what causes the standoff - everyone involved in the game would be wise to make hay while the sun is shining. It won't be this bright for much longer no matter what any of them do.