The Official NFL Lockout Thread

[vol66]

The NFLPA never said to the players to boycott the draft. That was a rumor that was squashed today

NFLPA: No draft boycott; but 'different' feel? - ESPN


The vibe I get is that the NFLPA is now backtracking because of the negative publicity. What is the buisiness about "it will just look a little different"? Why?

My point is the union is no longer a union(decertified), what right do they have to comment at all on the draft? Seems like to me they are acting as if by going to the draft as usual, these players and their families would be "crossing the picket line." Seems a lot like black mail.

 

[VolsNSkinsFan]

superdave, I am not reading your gibberish

use paragraphs

 

[superdave1984]

superdave, I am not reading your gibberish

use paragraphs

As you wish Grammar Pharoh
But you are fine with the million dollar athlete not being able to read or write? Or fine that he's too stupid to understand a simple concept like putting a chunk of money away for after football? Or that they are so narcissistic they really believe that it's the coach's fault that they are riding the bench as an undrafted free agent rookie playing for minimum because they KNOW they are better than whoever is starting.
I appreciate guys who do their best to live the dream. But reality WILL set in.
The owners are just as spoiled. You see it every year. They ruthlessly cut roster spots because of salary issues. They overpay and overcharge to compensate.
The fan is getting jammed over it. And yet we still turn on the TV, pack the stadium and buy the gear. I would love to see every team play in front of an empty stadium this year.
I love NFL football. But I am disgusted by what it has become. You can't hit hard. That's a penalty AND a fine. You can't celebrate a big play. You can't honor your contract because you had a big year and clearly you are worth 10 times that contract's amount.
Bullbleep.
Grow up.

 

[TrueOrange]

So what did said punter do for the 12 or so years after he was booted off the team? Sit on his tail? If he had any sense (or self pride) he got a job and does what every other working person would do in his situation. Same for the long snapper. These guys KNOW what they are getting into. They all think when they get that scholarship they will be the next multi-millionaire in the NFL. They don't plan for anything. If an actress can take out an insurance policy on her fanny, these guys can get one on themselves too. They don't use their brains. If you play pro sports, you should be prepared for the fact that any play could not only be your last, but could also be the last time you walk or even breathe. Plan for the worst.
And no, I'm not jealous. I work every day, I raise my family, and I don't need 12 Ferrari's or a 17 room mansion with 5 pools. Neither do these guys. They get a contract and immediately go on a spending spree. Ignoring everything they have been told from day one. Yes, they got a free education and were "herded into the easiest majors on campus". Because most are too dumb to pass even those classes. Great athletes are so pampered by everyone because of their gifts that they don't have to adhere to what everyone else does. Had I not made grades, I wouldn't have gotten a scholarship, a degree, nor a job not using my back. These guys do. Yes, they work out every day and train hard. It's part of their job to be in top physical condition. If it was part of your job, you would too. If I knew that a requirement for my job was to be able to run a 4.4 40 and bench 250 lbs for 20 reps on a weekly basis, I would either be out of that job or a workout madman. These men chose their profession. They could have taken other routes. They chose to take a shot at the huge money. I don't blame them. Where I see them going wrong is assuming the odds were in their favor. Assuming they wouldn't need that free education. Reality. Look into it. Society deems athletes to be deserving of praise, wealth, fame, and status. Nobody "deserves" anything. You earn it. Because you can run a slant, catch a ball and run a 4.3 40 doesn't make you a better man than me. It makes you bigger, faster and stronger. It doesn't guarantee you anything. You don't deserve anything more than I do for being a computer nerd. If your boss chooses to pay you 5 mil a season, so be it. Good for you. You made the big payday. But don't whine to me because you were too stupid/selfish/naive to plan for when you can't play anymore. The day will come for me when I am unable to do my job, and it is up to me to prepare for it. It isn't my boss' fault if I can't make it after I no longer am able to work. If I get injured on the job, I have legal avenues I can take. So do pro athletes.

 

[TrueOrange]

NFLPA: No draft boycott; but 'different' feel? - ESPN


The vibe I get is that the NFLPA is now backtracking because of the negative publicity. What is the buisiness about "it will just look a little different"? Why?

My point is the union is no longer a union(decertified), what right do they have to comment at all on the draft? Seems like to me they are acting as if by going to the draft as usual, these players and their families would be "crossing the picket line." Seems a lot like black mail.

it's as ridiculous as the owners "negotiating" while planning to pocket $4 billion dollars if it doesn't go their way and a lock out happens



both sides here have multiple issues

 

[TrueOrange]

I'm trying to get my head around this whole thing and I appreciate many of the posts in this thread. The owners are just that, owners. The players are the most highly paid of a long list of employees that the owners are responsible for paying.

The owners are the folks that have to find the funding for stadiums and parking garages, licensing etc...Still it's hard to sympathize with the likes of Jerry Jones. Maybe some of the owners are in fact losing money, who knows. The truth is an owner that is losing money has options not the least of which is to claim a HUGE loss on his taxes. Trade your 1st round pick for cash or simply to get more picks in later rounds and avoid the salary of a top 10 pick. Increase prices. ETC...

The players are the face of the NFL. So when Manning, Brady, and Brees file a suit against the NFL I tend to want to buy what they are selling. I mean IF these guys say it's so, it must be so, right? Bologna! Peyton Manning makes more money from his off the field endorsements than for the touchdowns he throws, same with the rest. If the wealthiest of the players want to help the retired players they certainly can and they should. Coaches too, and the owners as well.

I heard the other day that the NFLPA, now decertified, has asked the upcoming top 25 draftees to snub their draft day invitation. That's pretty interesting. Let me see if I got this right...The NFL players, the same ones trying to negotiate money away from rookies, are asking them to also give up one of the coolest moments in a football players life. Meanwhile, we the fans, with only the draft to look forward to, will miss out on the reaction, the joy or agony, that makes the event great. Thanks!

Though I'm sure this is far more complex, I find it hard to find any sympathy for either side. Seems to me, everyone involved could have a reality check. How much money is enough? The fact that some grown men may not manage their money well or their lifestyle is not the problem of the employer. The guys making the minimum are doing fine too, I mean they can afford excellent insurance, a house, a car and if it all ends tomorrow they should have socked a bit away. Enough to tide them over til they start a real estate co. or an auto dealership back in their college town. The free agent that gets cut gets a head start in life that not most 22 year olds get...

The whole thing is beyond ridiculous. Both sides should be ashamed, JMO.

it's as ridiculous as the owners "negotiating" while making sure they get $4 billion dollars if it doesn't go their way and a lock out happens



both sides here have multiple issues



but yes, the draft thing was reported to be a false story

 

[Vercingetorix]

Wow, this thread is full of exactly the sort of knee-jerk boneheadedness that the owners are counting on. I'm pretty sure I can here Bob Kraft and Jerry Jones cackling from here.

Already billionaires from their other businesses, the NFL owners are generating enormous stacks of cash. Business has never been greater or more profitable. But when the contract comes up for renewal, the owners tell the players that they are going to have to accept a smaller cut of the pie. They don't provide a good explanation; they don't open their books to document why; they tell the players that they can accept less money or go pound sand. The players, who have lower salaries, worse job security, and far more significant health risks than the other major North American sports -- despite the fact that the NFL is far more profitable than all of them -- balk. So the owners say fine, we're richer than you and can wait it out better, GFY, and lock the players out. And Billy in his doublewide cracks a beer and *****es about how greedy the players are.

 

[JTrainDavis]

Good summary Verc, however, the players should kindly ask the rank and file to shut the f up unless authorized to speak on the matter. Idiots being themselves can kill in a pr battle.
Posted via VolNation Mobile

 

[Vercingetorix]

Good summary Verc, however, the players should kindly ask the rank and file to shut the f up unless authorized to speak on the matter. Idiots being themselves can kill in a pr battle.
Posted via VolNation Mobile

Well yeah, but honestly I think the owners in any sports work stoppage can always count on player idiocy to help their cause. There's always a story about some guy making eight figures who can't make his child support payments, or this sort of overheated rhetoric, or something. The players are the ones under all the pressure. They're the ones in the public view; they're the ones with the thinner margins and the shorter window of earnings potential; they're the ones with everything at stake. All the owners have to do is sit tight and wait for the players to crack.

 

[JTrainDavis]

Starving them out like the NHL did.
Posted via VolNation Mobile

 

[TrueOrange]

Wow, this thread is full of exactly the sort of knee-jerk boneheadedness that the owners are counting on. I'm pretty sure I can here Bob Kraft and Jerry Jones cackling from here.

Already billionaires from their other businesses, the NFL owners are generating enormous stacks of cash. Business has never been greater or more profitable. But when the contract comes up for renewal, the owners tell the players that they are going to have to accept a smaller cut of the pie. They don't provide a good explanation; they don't open their books to document why; they tell the players that they can accept less money or go pound sand. The players, who have lower salaries, worse job security, and far more significant health risks than the other major North American sports -- despite the fact that the NFL is far more profitable than all of them -- balk. So the owners say fine, we're richer than you and can wait it out better, GFY, and lock the players out. And Billy in his doublewide cracks a beer and *****es about how greedy the players are.

well said :good!:

 

[vol66]

it's as ridiculous as the owners "negotiating" while making sure they get $4 billion dollars if it doesn't go their way and a lock out happens



both sides here have multiple issues



but yes, the draft thing was reported to be a false story

I think my post said "both sides should be ashamed" which is just a stronger way of saying "both sides here have multiple issues" right?

As for the false story...just because the leadership of what was and will become again the NFLPA said they never did it, or were never planning it doesn't mean they didn't infact threaten it. They leaked it on purpose and when everyone reacted in a negative manner they back tracked as fast as they could.

 

[TrueOrange]

sorry, i misread. orange pearl kind of went on a saying "it's both their faults" but then going on a tear rant about it solely being the players' fault, so my mind was still a bit in that mindset when I read yours


for the draft thing.....my thoughts on it are that at this point it can only be speculation, and really we have to treat it as such.


... i mean like, the same way as if we were to hear mumblings that the owners were going to have this year's draft picks escorted out by security as soon as they got up to the podium

 

[vol66]

sorry, i misread. orange pearl kind of went on a saying "it's both their faults" but then going on a tear rant about it solely being the players' fault, so my mind was still a bit in that mindset when I read yours


for the draft thing.....my thoughts on it are that at this point it can only be speculation, and really we have to treat it as such.


... i mean like, the same way as if we were to hear mumblings that the owners were going to have this year's draft picks escorted out by security as soon as they got up to the podium

Well, I guess it's speculation, but last night the Commish felt the need to address it.

Just to be clear, my beef is this: The NFLPA has decertified, which means they no longer represent the players as a whole. The upside is that individual players and former players can individually file suit against the NFL. Fine. No problem. BUT, why does the NFLPA feel they can even comment on the draft. They don't represent college players. Because there is a lock out, once drafted, they can't sign a contract. Until they are employees of the NFL they can't be represented by the union. It's a ploy, a tactic and it's wrong.

 

[Vercingetorix]

Well, I guess it's speculation, but last night the Commish felt the need to address it.

Just to be clear, my beef is this: The NFLPA has decertified, which means they no longer represent the players as a whole. The upside is that individual players and former players can individually file suit against the NFL. Fine. No problem. BUT, why does the NFLPA feel they can even comment on the draft. They don't represent college players. Because there is a lock out, once drafted, they can't sign a contract. Until they are employees of the NFL they can't be represented by the union. It's a ploy, a tactic and it's wrong.

Everything is a ploy. Goodell taking a $1 salary is a ploy. The Giants telling their season ticket holders that they don't have to pay anything until there's a resolution is a ploy. Everything that happens from now until the players cave is just posturing on both sides.

 

[BiggestFanOnHere]

They've forgotten where the real football is YouTube - Who Cares About A Lockout?

 

[VolsNSkinsFan]

NFLLabor.com NFL players in Rwanda: ?We are arguing over billions of dollars?they have real issues, suffering here?

Nine NFL players are in Africa helping to outfit the people of Rwanda with hearing aids, according to a recent ESPN.com story by Steve Terrill.

In Rwanda, Derrick Morgan (Titans), Gerald McCoy (Bucs), Roy Williams (Bengals), Tommie Harris (former Bear), Vernon Davis (49ers), Vontae Davis (Dolphins), Larry Fitzgerald (Cardinals), Bryant McKinnie (Vikings) and Adrian Peterson (Vikings) took part in a mission to provide hearing aids and other assistance.”

 

[VolsNSkinsFan]

"The Most Interesting Man in the NFL" gets an internship at a Private Equity Firm and fills his time day trading

New England Patriots punter Zoltan Mesko kicks off his next career in business - ESPN Boston

"It's kind of like I'm the rookie again here," said the 25-year-old Mesko, who was hired as an intern through an alumni connection at his alma mater, Michigan. "I'm kind of staying quiet in the meetings, but maybe if I can do this for a few years in the offseason, I can start to contribute a lot more. Right now, just like my rookie season, I'm learning."

His day begins with a 5:30 wake-up call and he's in the gym by 6:15 for cardio work and weightlifting. By 8:30, Mesko arrives at his desk in business casual attire and is ready for whatever the day brings. On Mondays, for example, he sits in a board meeting. Other times, he's researching one of the hundreds of companies that Graham Partners might acquire, which includes phone calls to gather relevant information.

Mesko speaks the lingo with confidence, using terms such as "leverage buyout models," "IOI" (indication of interest) and "letter of intent," the latter of which has a different meaning than the athletic letter of intent he signed at Michigan coming out of Twinsburg High School in Ohio.