Not wanting to play more games may lead to not playing any at all.
An expansion of the NFL schedule from 16 to 18 games — along with the percentage of revenues and health care costs — is the NFL Players Association’s major dispute in a series of labor talks that, if not completed by 12:01 a.m. Friday, could lead to no football in 2011. It doesn’t matter that players could be paid more or that the two games would be removed from the preseason to keep the number at 20 overall.
Players point to growing injuries and post-career physical problems as reasons to oppose the 18-game schedule. Owners want expanded revenues by turning meaningless August games into profitable January ones.
A compromise to 17 is unwelcome by both sides. Nobody plays an odd number of games. It messes up the standings, and half the teams get an extra home game.
Team owners always are trying to add games to increase revenue. Baseball went to 162 games in 1961, but that extra week always feels wrong when the World Series reaches late October. The whole problem with the NBA is players walk through 82 games to save their legs. The only pro basketball worth watching is the playoffs. The NHL also seems a long march at 82 games. Basketball and hockey could reduce to 50 games and be much more exciting but also much less profitable.
Football players aren’t tempted by greed, though. They know careers already are fragile. The average NFL career is four years. An additional two games mean extra risk, and players would rather take an extra season over a few extra games each season.
Nobody is against shortening the preseason to two games. The whole preseason has become a joke; starters play maybe half of one game and a few series or not at all in others. Indeed, the first and fourth preseason games are complete throwaways. Only the owners want them because they’re moneymakers. Players know the wear-and-tear of two regular-season games is completely different from that of two preseason ones.
Nobody’s talking about how players would be paid in an expanded season, either. Some owners mentioned that players already are paid for 20 games so they wouldn’t be paid more. That’s fuzzy math at best. Players barely earn $1,000 a preseason game and at least $25,000 for regular-season games. Owners can’t scam players into this scheme.
Owners make the same money in tickets sales because all games cost the same. But they will make much more from TV networks on regular-season games; preseason contests are sold to local outlets. And they’ll get more money by playing in January than August. Teams also make more on concessions during the regular season because preseason games are often half-filled, but that’s not much money.
Ultimately, players probably will win on health care, while owners will win the revenue battle. The season’s length could go either way.
Examiner columnist Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more on Twitter @Snide_Remarks or e-mail [email protected]
