I'm much more on the side of the owners. Why should the players have a voice in how much money the owners make? Agree to play at a negotiated price, and do your job as a player. If you do well, you might negotiate better for the next contract. If you don't do that well in relation to the rest of your competition, good bye. Maybe I'm looking at it too simplistically.
You are looking at it too simplistically. You tell them to play at a negotiated price -- what do you think they're doing? Negotiating a price! The owners are trying to take away ~1/4 of the pay pool while expanding their own revenue with an extended season.
With an 18 game season, the owners are proposing the players rack up more injuries resulting in shorter careers while getting paid less and having fewer medical benefits after retirement...all while the NFL has been saying they care about the players and are trying to protect them from injuries. Can you say hypocritical??
The issue isn't necessarily about how much the owners make. The players claim the owners are doing just fine financially and don't need more money, while the owners say they're losing money. The players are saying "ok, fine...if you're LOSING money and need more then show us your books, prove it to us, and we can begin discussing ways to accomodate." The owners refuse to open their books, so the players won't budge on reducing their rates.
It's not the players concerned about the owners profit margins, it's the owners crying poor. That's a complete 180 of what you're saying. The players would be happy to keep the revenue similar to what it has been in past seasons and even offered a minor pay cut. They are fighting over post career benefits, the 18 game season, and not getting their own salaries cut down too much by "owner greed".
Lets not forget that this league and all of that profit is because of what the PLAYERS do on the field and not what the owners do from the front office. The talent deserves to be paid. It's a dangerous sport that we love to watch and we pay to watch. Pay the people putting their necks on the line for our amusement.
Putting everything a side, I don't know why the owners care if they make money off of their team. They already have businesses making them money. Owning an NFL team should be like a toy that is the prize of your collection. More to look at and enjoy than to make another part of the money grubbing empire. Its for the fans enjoyment.
This kind of crap is why I enjoy college football. It's for the love of the game and not as much about the money.
