Decertification

[blackcatgrowl]

I can understand the position the players are taking with the first two "Gross Facts." But when they get to the issue of players going bankrupt or unemployed after leaving the league, they completely lose me.

These are men who were provided with at a minimum of three years of college at major institutions. They are the ones who, for the most part, chose to pursue degrees in sports science, or communication. If the issue of bankruptcy is such a problem, then they should choose to go for a degree in Accounting or Financial Management. And as for unemployment, without even touching on the state of unemployment as whole in the US, if they were to get a degree in a real field, I would imagine that their unemployment rank would probably be somewhere well below the 9-12% range that the rest of America faces.

It's always someone else's fault you know.

[JGib23]

Interesting post I read on the page above....

Just consider these gross facts:

Gross Fact 1: Even though their players endure the worst working conditions of any major pro athlete — shortest career spans and non-guaranteed contracts — the owners are asking them for a reported extra $325 million cut of the revenue. The players are wondering, why change anything?

Gross Fact 2: Even though their players' bodies are decimated by a 16-game schedule, the owners are asking them to increase to an 18-game schedule in three years. The players are wondering, are they really trying to kill us?

Gross Fact 3: Even though a study showed that 78% of NFL players are either bankrupt, divorced or unemployed within two years after the end of their career, the owners are still woefully inadequate in their contributions to the health of former players. The broken-down players are forced to shuffle and stagger into Super Bowl news conferences to plead for the owners to fulfill their moral obligation.

These "FACTS" are gross!

#1- Worst working conditions according to who? Is there any type of evidence to support this claim? If the working conditions are so bad, why didn't the NFLPA address this? The NFLPA by their own admission wanted to keep the now expired CBA in tact as it was. Either the working conditions are acceptable or they are not, the amount of revenue the NFL owners are asking for is irrelevant to this point- I don't think OSHA cares what the wages are when they investigate a workplace for unsafe work conditions...... Non-Guaranteed contracts, again collectively bargained and the NFLPA was happy to keep in tact, while contracts aren't guaranteed the signing bonuses/ performance bonuses are.. Sam Bradford rec'd 50M guaranteed as the first pick in the draft last year. Even 7th round picks last year received between 26-69k (some of which will never play a down in the NFL).. Gross Point Failure.

#2- The Players currently are contracted for 20 games (4 + 16), the proposal would have been for 20 games as well (2 + 18) The addition of the two games (and elimination of two preseason games) would not be immediate and would have required the NFLPA's blessing , and the players would receive concessions such as limitations to offseason workouts and training camp practices and a new formula allowing them to qualify for certain benefits with fewer seasons played than in the past.... Again, Gross Point Failure.

#3- The most comical of all... First of all, please provide a source to substantiate these numbers, I'm guessing there is no source beyond the hot air someone blew from their ass while making this number up.....but, even if the number was 100%, why does it matter (or should it matter) to the owners? What concern is it to the owners if the player cheats on his wife and it ends in divorce? More than half of all marriages end in divorce in America regardless of if they were in the NFL or not..(50% percent of first marriages, 67% of second and 74% of third marriages end in divorce, according to Jennifer Baker of the Forest Institute of Professional Psychology in Springfield, Missouri)... Bankruptcy? Again why is this a concern for the owner? If the player blows his money, who is to blame? Unemployed? Still not a concern for the owners.....10% of all Americans are unemployed so, this is not an NFL only phenomenon... These former players are no different then any other people in the world- it's not free to live, you have to work to survive. Gross Point Failure #3