NFL Money Train

As the 2009 NFL season begins this week I am given pause to wonder about the statements I have observed in the off-season from the NFL. We have heard that the NFL is not doing as well financially this year and during the recession. The Green Bay Packers, the smallest market team in the NFL, made a whopping 20 million dollars this past season. Can you imagine how much the large market teams of the Cowboys, Redskins, and Bears made this year? It really makes you wonder why the NFL is treating the fans and the players as if they are not watching, as if they are blind. This year the salaries went up 8 to 10 percent. Ticket prices still went up. New stadiums are still going on line. New marketing partnerships are still being made. In a statement to the NFL Players Association the NFL owners stated that they opted out of the current NFL labor collective beginning agreement, not because they were in financial hardship, but because they were not making enough money and the players should take more of the risk. The NFL Players association already gives money back to assist in the costs associated with the new stadium construction in the form of revenue credits. That money is not given out as salary, part of the 58% total revenue due to the players, it is given back or credited to the owners so that they could use it towards the debit obligations of the new stadiums. The players, and I hope the fans are much more savvy and are watching and listening because we can all see what is coming down the tracks. The NFL Money Train, and it is on a collision course with the NFL Players Association and the fans who have and are paying for stadiums that may not host games in the near future. Believe It! Stay tuned...