Football No New CBA Without an 18-Game Season? - Page 4

Mecca · 07-24-2019, 04:58 AM

https://www.si.com/nfl/2019/07/23/nf...18-game-season

By ANDREW BRANDT July 23, 2019
Before getting to the column, a note about how I spend my birthday last Friday: sitting for the NFLPA agent exam to gain certification to represent NFL players. As part of my partnership with Gary Vaynerchuk and Vayner Sports, I agreed to become certified. And the room of wannabe agents was full of “my people,” many commenting that they studied for the exam in part by reading this space and listening to my podcasts (all the more pressure for me to pass with flying colors). There were about 220 aspiring agents attempting to join the current registered group of roughly 800. My sense is that the pass rate will be low, perhaps under 50%, as the NFLPA would like to cull the herd. Regardless, there will be more agents (including me).

On to the column …

CBA? Only if 18 games
My wish that the NFL and NFLPA move on CBA negotiations appears to have been answered. Reports indicate that talks are happening, even with some momentum. Parallel reports have the NFL raising the issue of a potential 18-game season, with predictable pushback from the union. While the 18-game season will draw much debate, I don’t know see how a CBA is negotiated without it.

Negotiations, by necessity, require concessions by both sides, and each party’s strategy of having “gives” in their arsenal to achieve “gets.” The NFLPA ’s wish list for “gets” would include, but is not be limited to:

(1) Improved revenue split from approximately 47% of league revenues (after having roughly 50% in the prior CBA);|
(2) Improved minimum team spending thresholds and timing windows, above the current 89% threshold, which is only inspected every four years;
(3) Shortened rookie contracts: from five years to four for first-round players; four years to three for other picks, to allow earlier free agency gains;
(4) The end of or limitations on the franchise tag;
(5) The end of or limitations on the commissioner’s power over personal conduct;
(6) The end of or limitations on discipline for marijuana use;
(7) The meaningful sharing of new revenues associated with legalized gambling.

This wish list is great, but raises the question: What, exactly, is the NFLPA going to offer the NFL to achieve any of these desired outcomes? I can’t think of a single thing, except … 18 games. With the NFLPA giving up many concessions in 2011, this is the only paved path to a new CBA.

What if, say, the NFLPA agrees to an 18-game season in return for the players’ revenue share going up two percentage points, from 47% to 49%? These two points would not only, over the life of the deal, move billions of dollars from the owners’ side to the players’ side, but also give the players 49% (not 47%) of the incremental revenue from two extra games per season. There is no other “give” the NFLPA has that is nearly as valuable.

I always say two things about a multi-issue negotiation such as this: (1) Everything’s negotiable, and (2) Nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to. This CBA negotiation will definitely be complicated, as the NFL is still looking for even more “gets”—such as further stadium credits—even after extracting what it did in 2011. But for the NFLPA to get any meaningful wins from the league in this CBA negotiation, the 18-game season is their paramount “give.”

Sure, there’s NFLPA pushback (we don’t expect them to say “Sure!”). And yes, adding two meaningful games flies in the face of the league’s stated priority of making the game safer. However, the business of sports always wins.

Melvin Gordon’s uphill climb
As an advocate for players being properly valued for their services, I feel for Melvin Gordon (and all NFL running backs) in his pursuit of an upgraded contract and his consequent holdout threat. But he is fighting a losing battle.

NFL running backs are stuck in a system that, because of the position’s short shelf life, works against them. Prime earning years for running backs are before and during their undervalued rookie contracts. All of those unpaid carries that Gordon had at Wisconsin, or that Ezekiel Elliott had at Ohio State, worked well in getting those players drafted high, but will lead to diminishing returns on future income. For what other position do we discuss “tread on the tire”? Query this: Does production early in a running back’s career actually help his drive for a new contract or hurt it?

Gordon and his agent are trying to get that one big contract of his career—and running backs only get one, if that—now, as opposed to waiting for an uncertain marketplace after this season. The past year Le’Veon Bell was able to negotiate with all NFL teams and only found one, the Jets, bidding for his services, and the league’s highest-paid running back, Todd Gurley, was seamlessly replaced by journeyman C.J. Anderson down the stretch for the Rams. Some NFL teams are not only reluctant to reward a productive running back with a third contract, but even hesitant to hand out a second one!

Although it would never happen, the NFL draft eligibility rule that requires players to be three years removed from high school should really be amended to exclude running back. Those players need their own union; their plight is that much different from other positions.

Melvin Gordon may have very good reasons to have his contract upgraded. He just plays the wrong position to have any leverage to do so.

Tyreek Hill and the limited shelf life of outrage
The NFL’s decision not to discipline Tyreek Hill is a case study for the changing nature of the league’s personal conduct policy and how the luxury of time can tame the social media mob.

There was no video of Hill (as there was with Ray Rice, who was suspended indefinitely, and Hill’s former teammate Kareem Hunt, who was given an eight-game suspension), but there were reports of disturbing audio. Once those reports surfaced, the Twitter crowd mobilized, demanding Hill’s release and speculating that, like Rice, he would never play football again. Both the NFL and the Chiefs resisted the urge to act, and the outrage, even from Twitter, was unsustainable.

Now, the reaction to HIll’s non-discipline is muted compared to the pitchforks that came out when the audio comments were reported. It is a lesson for all businesses, especially the NFL: Outrage is inevitable, but so is that outrage being replaced by outrage over something else. (This, of course, is something the Tweeter-In-Chief knows very well).

Ultimately, the problem with commissioner discipline regarding domestic violence is not that it is too harsh (post-video Rice, Hunt, Ezekiel Elliott); nor is it that it is too soft (pre-video Rice, Hill). Rather, it is too arbitrary.

Transparency breeds trust; if the NFL had clear and public criteria for discipline—or lack thereof—it would be much better served in the court of public opinion.

What I want to add to this is if you really think about it, 18 games paves the way for them to expand to 36 teams. More games and expansion are really the only viable ways left for them to increase profit.

oldman · 07-24-2019, 08:55 AM

Austin used to be a Cowboys town, but that easy drive into the DFW area from there has turned into a nightmare. I think SA would have a better chance since it would draw a lot of Mexico..

CasselGotPeedOn · 07-24-2019, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldman

Austin used to be a Cowboys town, but that easy drive into the DFW area from there has turned into a nightmare. I think SA would have a better chance since it would draw a lot of Mexico..

The San Antonio Dreamers

58-4ever · 07-24-2019, 09:49 AM

I am just hoping we have leverage to keep Mahomes under the new CBA. (Franchise Tag and things like that)

**RealSNR** · 07-24-2019, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CasselGotPeedOn

The San Antonio Dreamers

San Antonio Sandy Vaginas

**RealSNR** · 07-24-2019, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 58-4ever

I am just hoping we have leverage to keep Mahomes under the new CBA. (Franchise Tag and things like that)

Do you seriously believe KC needs any kind of CBA tools other than a lot of money to keep Mahomes in town? Seems to me that as long as he gets paid and the organization is well-run, he's pretty ****ing happy here. Green Bay never used the tag on Rodgers, and that's 300x the shithole that Kansas City is. Why the **** would Mahomes bolt? We're not exactly holding him here at ****ing gunpoint.

This isn't the ****ing NBA, idiot.

Mecca · 07-24-2019, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RealSNR

Do you seriously believe KC needs any kind of CBA tools other than a lot of money to keep Mahomes in town? Seems to me that as long as he gets paid and the organization is well-run, he's pretty ****ing happy here. Green Bay never used the tag on Rodgers, and that's 300x the shithole that Kansas City is. Why the **** would Mahomes bolt? We're not exactly holding him here at ****ing gunpoint.

This isn't the ****ing NBA, idiot.

Although the players want it to be like the NBA.

Kman34 · 07-24-2019, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RealSNR

Do you seriously believe KC needs any kind of CBA tools other than a lot of money to keep Mahomes in town? Seems to me that as long as he gets paid and the organization is well-run, he's pretty ****ing happy here. Green Bay never used the tag on Rodgers, and that's 300x the shithole that Kansas City is. Why the **** would Mahomes bolt? We're not exactly holding him here at ****ing gunpoint.

This isn't the ****ing NBA, idiot.

Whoa.. little harsh on 58... I think as long as Andy is here we’ll be a contender and Patrick will get a brinks truck full of money every pay day... If Andy leaves then I might worry a little bit but by then we should have 2 or 3 Super Bowls...

**jjchieffan** · 07-24-2019, 10:38 AM

On point 7, I know nothing about gambling. I've never participated in it. But how are the teams gaining revenue from it? I don't know of any teams that are running bookie businesses. The gambling industry is a separate entity from the NFL, right? Just because they take bets on NFL teams wouldn't mean that the NFL benefits from them, so where are these gambling revenues coming from?

Hydrae · 07-24-2019, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mecca

Probably but the Texas population is huge, Houston and Dallas are both in the top 10 with the Austin market coming in in the 20s and San Antonio being right around 40 I believe.

Jerry would fight any new teams in Texas hard as he did when the Raiders were looking at San Antonio. He has enough power in the NFL that I would be surprised if we see another Texas NFL team.

Also, with a new MLS team set to start here in Austin next year I don't think we are in a position to add an NFL team.

Hydrae · 07-24-2019, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjchieffan

On point 7, I know nothing about gambling. I've never participated in it. But how are the teams gaining revenue from it? I don't know of any teams that are running bookie businesses. The gambling industry is a separate entity from the NFL, right? Just because they take bets on NFL teams wouldn't mean that the NFL benefits from them, so where are these gambling revenues coming from?

I wondered that myself and look forward to an answer.

chiefzilla1501 · 07-24-2019, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sweet Daddy Hate

What an absolute crock of shit. How many more bad ideas can Rodger and his buddies come up with?

People blame the owners and they're part of this mess too. But Roger is Mr. Shiny Object. Other commissioners have had more backbone and a lot of terrible ideas seem to be his brainchild. I just hope he doesn't do too much damage before we get locked into permanently dumb decisions like overseas home teams.

58-4ever · 07-24-2019, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RealSNR

Do you seriously believe KC needs any kind of CBA tools other than a lot of money to keep Mahomes in town? Seems to me that as long as he gets paid and the organization is well-run, he's pretty ****ing happy here. Green Bay never used the tag on Rodgers, and that's 300x the shithole that Kansas City is. Why the **** would Mahomes bolt? We're not exactly holding him here at ****ing gunpoint.

This isn't the ****ing NBA, idiot.

What is with the hostility, you fat ****? This is not the NBA because... are you waiting... of the CBA!!!

He's happy now... but that could change over time.

chiefzilla1501 · 07-24-2019, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjchieffan

On point 7, I know nothing about gambling. I've never participated in it. But how are the teams gaining revenue from it? I don't know of any teams that are running bookie businesses. The gambling industry is a separate entity from the NFL, right? Just because they take bets on NFL teams wouldn't mean that the NFL benefits from them, so where are these gambling revenues coming from?

https://www.playusa.com/nfl-legal-sp...tting-revenue/
Mostly gambling creates interest. Gamblers watch a lot of games and they have to obsess over it to be good enough to make money. It also opens up tons of ad and sponsorship revenue streams

**jjchieffan** · 07-24-2019, 11:02 AM

I'm not sure how I feel about an 18 game season. It would be nice, on one hand, to have more football to watch. It would probably add 3 more weeks of football because they would have to add another bye week. But the added risk of injury to key players would be bad. I agree with the notion of expanding rosters to accommodate for that. Also, if they had 2 bye weeks, then they should also only schedule teams to play Thursday night games following their bye weeks. If they did that, I think I would be in favor of it.

**RealSNR** · 07-24-2019, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kman34

Whoa.. little harsh on 58... I think as long as Andy is here we’ll be a contender and Patrick will get a brinks truck full of money every pay day... If Andy leaves then I might worry a little bit but by then we should have 2 or 3 Super Bowls...

It’s not harsh at all. He made a dumb statement.

Even if it becomes like the NBA, do you think our adorably-awkward-around-the-camera, NASCAR-watching, jorts-wearing, beer-drinking, ketchup-eating, Texas-country-blooded franchise QB gives one singular **** about playing football in front of ungrateful fair weather LA fans? Do you think New York is a place he dreams about living in and that he’ll gladly sacrifice playing for shithole teams Giants or Jets so he can walk out his penthouse and buy Brittany some Gucci shit?

Mahomes probably wants money. We can give him that. He wants a competent organization that can win. Veach has demonstrated we’re going to be aggressive in pursuit of that goal. Why the hell would he move to another franchise that can only offer him the same shit and no more? I guess history, but once again, Mahomes isn’t NBA. He doesn’t want to be a part of a larger history. He wants to forge it. Imagine if he went to Dallas and getting old fart Hank Hill yokels saying, “Yeah Mahomes is pretty good but tell you what there was something just perfect about those Staubach years that I wouldn’t give up for anything in the world....”

Pat Sr. was 100% right. We ARE the perfect franchise for him. No contest.

07-24-2019, 04:58 AM
Mecca Hockey Town Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Kansas City, Missouri Casino cash: $-772950	No New CBA Without an 18-Game Season? https://www.si.com/nfl/2019/07/23/nf...18-game-season By ANDREW BRANDT July 23, 2019 Before getting to the column, a note about how I spend my birthday last Friday: sitting for the NFLPA agent exam to gain certification to represent NFL players. As part of my partnership with Gary Vaynerchuk and Vayner Sports, I agreed to become certified. And the room of wannabe agents was full of “my people,” many commenting that they studied for the exam in part by reading this space and listening to my podcasts (all the more pressure for me to pass with flying colors). There were about 220 aspiring agents attempting to join the current registered group of roughly 800. My sense is that the pass rate will be low, perhaps under 50%, as the NFLPA would like to cull the herd. Regardless, there will be more agents (including me). On to the column … CBA? Only if 18 games My wish that the NFL and NFLPA move on CBA negotiations appears to have been answered. Reports indicate that talks are happening, even with some momentum. Parallel reports have the NFL raising the issue of a potential 18-game season, with predictable pushback from the union. While the 18-game season will draw much debate, I don’t know see how a CBA is negotiated without it. Negotiations, by necessity, require concessions by both sides, and each party’s strategy of having “gives” in their arsenal to achieve “gets.” The NFLPA ’s wish list for “gets” would include, but is not be limited to: (1) Improved revenue split from approximately 47% of league revenues (after having roughly 50% in the prior CBA);\| (2) Improved minimum team spending thresholds and timing windows, above the current 89% threshold, which is only inspected every four years; (3) Shortened rookie contracts: from five years to four for first-round players; four years to three for other picks, to allow earlier free agency gains; (4) The end of or limitations on the franchise tag; (5) The end of or limitations on the commissioner’s power over personal conduct; (6) The end of or limitations on discipline for marijuana use; (7) The meaningful sharing of new revenues associated with legalized gambling. This wish list is great, but raises the question: What, exactly, is the NFLPA going to offer the NFL to achieve any of these desired outcomes? I can’t think of a single thing, except … 18 games. With the NFLPA giving up many concessions in 2011, this is the only paved path to a new CBA. What if, say, the NFLPA agrees to an 18-game season in return for the players’ revenue share going up two percentage points, from 47% to 49%? These two points would not only, over the life of the deal, move billions of dollars from the owners’ side to the players’ side, but also give the players 49% (not 47%) of the incremental revenue from two extra games per season. There is no other “give” the NFLPA has that is nearly as valuable. I always say two things about a multi-issue negotiation such as this: (1) Everything’s negotiable, and (2) Nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to. This CBA negotiation will definitely be complicated, as the NFL is still looking for even more “gets”—such as further stadium credits—even after extracting what it did in 2011. But for the NFLPA to get any meaningful wins from the league in this CBA negotiation, the 18-game season is their paramount “give.” Sure, there’s NFLPA pushback (we don’t expect them to say “Sure!”). And yes, adding two meaningful games flies in the face of the league’s stated priority of making the game safer. However, the business of sports always wins. Melvin Gordon’s uphill climb As an advocate for players being properly valued for their services, I feel for Melvin Gordon (and all NFL running backs) in his pursuit of an upgraded contract and his consequent holdout threat. But he is fighting a losing battle. NFL running backs are stuck in a system that, because of the position’s short shelf life, works against them. Prime earning years for running backs are before and during their undervalued rookie contracts. All of those unpaid carries that Gordon had at Wisconsin, or that Ezekiel Elliott had at Ohio State, worked well in getting those players drafted high, but will lead to diminishing returns on future income. For what other position do we discuss “tread on the tire”? Query this: Does production early in a running back’s career actually help his drive for a new contract or hurt it? Gordon and his agent are trying to get that one big contract of his career—and running backs only get one, if that—now, as opposed to waiting for an uncertain marketplace after this season. The past year Le’Veon Bell was able to negotiate with all NFL teams and only found one, the Jets, bidding for his services, and the league’s highest-paid running back, Todd Gurley, was seamlessly replaced by journeyman C.J. Anderson down the stretch for the Rams. Some NFL teams are not only reluctant to reward a productive running back with a third contract, but even hesitant to hand out a second one! Although it would never happen, the NFL draft eligibility rule that requires players to be three years removed from high school should really be amended to exclude running back. Those players need their own union; their plight is that much different from other positions. Melvin Gordon may have very good reasons to have his contract upgraded. He just plays the wrong position to have any leverage to do so. Tyreek Hill and the limited shelf life of outrage The NFL’s decision not to discipline Tyreek Hill is a case study for the changing nature of the league’s personal conduct policy and how the luxury of time can tame the social media mob. There was no video of Hill (as there was with Ray Rice, who was suspended indefinitely, and Hill’s former teammate Kareem Hunt, who was given an eight-game suspension), but there were reports of disturbing audio. Once those reports surfaced, the Twitter crowd mobilized, demanding Hill’s release and speculating that, like Rice, he would never play football again. Both the NFL and the Chiefs resisted the urge to act, and the outrage, even from Twitter, was unsustainable. Now, the reaction to HIll’s non-discipline is muted compared to the pitchforks that came out when the audio comments were reported. It is a lesson for all businesses, especially the NFL: Outrage is inevitable, but so is that outrage being replaced by outrage over something else. (This, of course, is something the Tweeter-In-Chief knows very well). Ultimately, the problem with commissioner discipline regarding domestic violence is not that it is too harsh (post-video Rice, Hunt, Ezekiel Elliott); nor is it that it is too soft (pre-video Rice, Hill). Rather, it is too arbitrary. Transparency breeds trust; if the NFL had clear and public criteria for discipline—or lack thereof—it would be much better served in the court of public opinion. What I want to add to this is if you really think about it, 18 games paves the way for them to expand to 36 teams. More games and expansion are really the only viable ways left for them to increase profit.
Posts: 115,406

07-24-2019, 08:55 AM	#46
oldman Curmudgeon Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: North by Northwest Casino cash: $5836784	Austin used to be a Cowboys town, but that easy drive into the DFW area from there has turned into a nightmare. I think SA would have a better chance since it would draw a lot of Mexico..
Posts: 5,319

07-24-2019, 09:49 AM	#48
58-4ever The Collective Unconscious Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: The OP Casino cash: $9450422	I am just hoping we have leverage to keep Mahomes under the new CBA. (Franchise Tag and things like that)
Posts: 10,436

07-24-2019, 10:38 AM	#53
jjchieffan Supporter Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Highlandville, MO Casino cash: $-167752	On point 7, I know nothing about gambling. I've never participated in it. But how are the teams gaining revenue from it? I don't know of any teams that are running bookie businesses. The gambling industry is a separate entity from the NFL, right? Just because they take bets on NFL teams wouldn't mean that the NFL benefits from them, so where are these gambling revenues coming from? __________________ Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth. Following the historical accounts and the genealogy from that point on, the age of the Earth is approximately 6000-7000 years old. The Big Bullshit Theory is a lie. It and the evolution theory go against real science. Satan has used our public school system to brainwash everyone into believing these lies. Be not decieved.
Posts: 13,355

07-24-2019, 11:02 AM	#59
jjchieffan Supporter Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Highlandville, MO Casino cash: $-167752	I'm not sure how I feel about an 18 game season. It would be nice, on one hand, to have more football to watch. It would probably add 3 more weeks of football because they would have to add another bye week. But the added risk of injury to key players would be bad. I agree with the notion of expanding rosters to accommodate for that. Also, if they had 2 bye weeks, then they should also only schedule teams to play Thursday night games following their bye weeks. If they did that, I think I would be in favor of it. __________________ Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth. Following the historical accounts and the genealogy from that point on, the age of the Earth is approximately 6000-7000 years old. The Big Bullshit Theory is a lie. It and the evolution theory go against real science. Satan has used our public school system to brainwash everyone into believing these lies. Be not decieved.
Posts: 13,355