Connect with us

News

Harrison Lets Loose on 18-Game Schedule and Player Safety


Steelers linebacker James Harrison is not letting up in his criticism of the NFL according to the Associated Press.

Before Wednesday’s practice, Harrison said that the owners’ push for an 18-game regular season and the possibility of a lockout prove the NFL is more interested in maximizing revenue than the health of its players.

“It’s not about player safety,” Harrison said. “It’s about money.”

The league and the players’ union face an early March deadline for trying to negotiate a new labor agreement.

“It’s no doubt to me,” said Harrison, whose Steelers play the Green Bay Packers for the NFL championship Sunday. “I believe they’re going to lock us out.”

Matt Loede has been in the sports media for over 16 years, with experience covering the MLB, NBA, and NFL. On Sunday’s during football season, you can hear Matt on national networks like Fox Sports Radio, Associated Press, and others. Born and raised in Cleveland Ohio, Matt studies and talks football inside and out, and is anxious to share his thoughts and comments with readers on a daily basis.

2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. DrGeorge

    February 3, 2011 at 11:39 am

    Harrison is right — it is all about money, because the NFL is an aggregation of football businesses dedicated to making money. For that matter, NFL player salaries and benefits are all about money too. But the concept can be stretched only so far.

    All pro sport franchises run the risk of (a) pricing themselves out of the market, or (b) overextending themselves financially by giving in to inflated labor demands and failing to anticipate fluctuations in future market demand (think General Motors), and (c) failing to share revenue adequately so that minor market teams can compete effectively (think Major League Baseball).

    Risks (a) and (b) are at the moment the greatest for the NFL because many NFL franchises are financially over-leveraged for stadiums, player salaries, and, in some cases, acquisition debt. The NFL cannot afford a long disruption to its collective revenue stream, nor can its TV partners. If an agreement cannot be reached on restructuring the players’ bargaining agreement and capping rookie salaries, the next NFL season may begin with scab labor in uniform, as happened before. NFL players are already highly compensated and have few real labor issues in any traditional sense. Management may press hard for an 18 game season, because they need the money. They will probably offer an expanded roster and more money as a way of addressing the player safety issue (although that is hardly a convincing proposal to the starters facing the 18 game marathon). The unknown is whether fan support will erode on a per game basis with the longer schedule (think MLB again). The game is highly dependent on TV revenue; if ratings drop significantly, ad revenues will fall, and the whole pyramid will collapse like a house of cards. (Remember the USFL?)

    So here’s another suggestion. Keep the existing NFL season at its present length. Negotiate only the salary issues and cap rookie salaries. To make up the need for revenue, organize a new summer football league comprised of athletes who were not under an NFL contract during the previous year. (A variant on NFL Europe.) Modify the rules to make allowances for the heat, add more cheerleaders, experiment with new rules under consideration for the NFL itself or adopt different rules (maybe restrict player weight, widen or shrink the field, add or reduce the number of players, etc.), and promote the summer league and its stars independently of the NFL. In brief, use the games as a testing ground. The benefits are many: Owners would make more money; young coaches and slow-developing players would get a chance to showcase their talents; stadiums would get full use; tailgate parties would roll on; TV would have something to broadcast and a marketable vehicle for advertising; stupid rule ideas would die a natural death; and sports fans wouldn’t go into withdrawal. It would be a win-win all the way around.

    Or if that idea sounds speculative, inane, stupid, or bizarre, suggest your own alternative. I claim no corner on ideas here. Surely some bright mind can come up with a better solution than escalating salaries, a longer season, and a prospective lockout? Where is the logic in that?

  2. Jay

    February 3, 2011 at 4:40 pm

    Beautifully put, Doc! I will have my masters in May in Sports Management and would like to discuss this idea with you more in depth.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement

Facebook

Archives

Categories

Sports Gab Network

Show Your Team Spirit

Get Your Steelers Tickets

Pittsburgh Steelers Tickets

Steelers Gab Newsletter


Sign up to receive our Steelers Gab newsletter, and keep up to date with all the latest Pittsburgh Steelers news.


Recent Comments

Meta





More in News