Trouble ahead for the NFL?
By: Larry Fitzgerald
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Originally posted 08/04/2010
This is an uncapped season for the National Football League, and the question is how will it impact the 2010 season and beyond. All 32 teams will be affected, but how? It appears to me the owners are united and are determined to change the system as it exists today. I believe that injuries this year will have a greater effect on the success and failure of teams. When you cut corners, you sacrifice your depth. When you operate outside of a successful, proven system that has generated billions, you are asking for trouble.
“I don’t know if trouble’s ahead,” said Cris Carter, ex-Vikings great and ESPN’s Countdown host. “But if you’re a young guy in the league right now, you could go 20 months at the end of December without getting a check. You could be locked out in 2011; that means your last check came in 2010 in December. You don’t get a check full through the season. So you won’t get a check until 2012 in September. I think that’s 20 months — that’s a long time without making no bread.”
That is the worst possible case, like what happened in 1987, if the NFL owners go through with their threat. NFL owners think they deserve more; everybody is making so much money right now.
All the new NFL stadiums in recent years: Dallas, Philadelphia, New York, New England, Denver, Seattle, Arizona, Tampa, Chicago, Green Bay, Detroit, Cincinnati, Baltimore. Fans across the country need to remind the NFL owners that they don’t own those stadiums. The communities in those cities built those stadiums with tax dollars.
The NFL players fought to get the current system in collective bargaining that they have, and they will certainly have to fight to keep it. In recent years, for the life of me, I cannot understand why former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue has been portrayed by some unfairly in the media and owners’ camps as the scapegoat for this current system. The owners want to change a system they agreed to. What’s so wrong with this system? The rookie wage scale needs to be changed — unproven players out of college signing for $50 million guaranteed? That’s wrong.
But why is Tagliabue being punished by the owners? He should be in the Hall of Fame: The NFL game grew greater financially in popularity among all age groups under his leadership as commissioner than at any other time in history. There were no teams valued over a billion dollars before he became commissioner; now there are five. The NFL also flew past Major League Baseball in popularity while he was commissioner; baseball is not even close to football in popularity now.
Arizona Cardinals
are a mystery?
The Arizona Cardinals, like the Vikings, were a playoff team the last two years — both teams lost playoff games at New Orleans to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Saints. But unlike the Vikings, the Cardinals have lost a lot of talent in the off season. Star quarterback Kurt Warner retired, veteran linebacker Karlos Dansby signed with Miami, and cornerback Antrell Rolle also left in unrestricted free agency. Matt Leinart takes over finally at quarterback after seeing much of what he accomplished in college at USC tarnished by scandal.
How good will the Cardinals be in 2010? ESPN’s Cris Carter says, “There are too many unknowns right now! You can’t say that they won’t, but they have so many questions that aren’t answered. Like can Matt Leinart really produce on a team that loves to throw the ball? Or do they have to switch and be more balanced?
“Anquan Bolden — who’s going to fill that void and get those reps? They are used to playing without Anquan because he’s been hurt the last couple of years…
“Running back Beanie Wells — can he be a dominant every-down player in the National Football League? These are questions that have to be answered, and those are part of the mysteries for the Cardinals in 2010.”
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 .
