Now that the New Orleans Saints are Super Bowl Champions, it confirms that the NFL has the best game going. Imagine a game with 106.5 million viewers and that's just in the United States. It was the most watched TV program in history; now that's powerful.
This is on the heels of the NFC and AFC Championship games being the most watched since 1982. More fans watched the NFL on FOX, NBC, CBS and ESPN than any NFL season since 1990.
That's why it would be absolutely crazy for the NFL owners and players to have a work stoppage. But get ready stranger things have happened.
2011 may be the last season for the Minnesota Vikings in Minnesota, and after March 5 of 2010 the NFL is headed to an uncapped season. What does it mean? It could mean a lot of things. One thing is certain: Business will not be business as usual.
While covering my 30th Super Bowl XLIV last week, I had conversations with both NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith. Both men are good, hard-working, smart, dedicated, passionate people and want what's best for the game.
This is going to be both Goodell's and Smith's first rodeo. By that I mean this is their first contract negotiation, and with huge implications. The last two deals in collective bargaining were done by previous commissioner Paul Tagliabue and the late Gene Upshaw.
Goodell's contract was just extended by the owners through 2015. He deserves it he's policed the game, and it's thriving, primarily because he also listens to the players' concerns.
So far no mud has been slung, but that 32-0 vote by the owners to have the 2010 season be uncapped sends a message that indicates the owners have had enough.
The owners want the Supreme Court to view them as a single entity, a nonprofit business under the shield of the NFL.
And frankly it might be a smokescreen, because the NFL game in any form is obviously not in any danger. There were signs during Super Bowl week in South Florida that both the owners and players are tightening their belts.
The NFL gave away no Super Bowl XLIV hats at the annual invitation, only Super Bowl pre-game brunch. And no champagne glasses to the invitation-only Super Bowl post-game party.
However, they gave away hats to their high-roller guests at the exclusive Super Bowl Tailgate Party. No Super Bowl game-day seat cushions or clipboards. The NFL players did not have a Super Bowl PA party and concert.
Was it just a sign of the times, or savings millions for expected rainy days? When you've covered 30 of these, you take notes and recognize changes.
The owners want the players to take an 18-percent pay cut. The NFL has had a salary cap since 1993. The cap was something the owners wanted, Smith said at an NFLPA news conference during Super Bowl week. I think it's virtually impossible to go back to a cap system if we go to an uncapped year.
The players know they are unique entertainers. They, the players, know that their game, the NFL, is number one by a wide margin over Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association, two leagues that play far more games, 162 and 82 games each season, and their players have guaranteed contracts.
Few if any contracts are guaranteed in the NFL, only signing and roster bonuses. And unlike entertainers like old blue eyes Frank Sinatra, Prince and The Who, NFL players can't perform for 40 and 50 years.
The average career of an NFL player is just three years, because they play a violent game. The fans, I believe, will decide this impasse. They love the game, and the players play the game. And the game of football is unique to the United States.
They, the players, also respect the owners as successful and powerful businessmen. Guaranteed contracts really don't exist in the NFL, as I said.
Yes, some of the bonuses are huge for rookies drafted in the first round and for veteran free agents who achieve success. But not everybody among the players in the NFL gets paid big money. If that's the perception, it's not reality.
March 5 starts the 2010 free agency period in the NFL. If players that are unsigned are restricted by no movement or competition, that's not a good sign for business.
<i>Larry Fitzgerald can be heard weekday mornings on KMOJ Radio 89.9 FM at 8:20 am, and on WDGY-AM 740 Monday & Saturday mornings at 7:50 am and Fridays at 3:50 pm; he also commentates on sports 7-8 pm on Almanac (TPT channel 2). Larry welcomes reader responses to lfitzgerald@spokesman-recorder.com , or visit www.Larry-Fitzgerald.com.<i/>
