Lockouts

Now that we have 2 major sports involved with work stoppages, I think it's a good time to go back and look at the past and see how all that we are going through is just window dressing. All of the groundwork was laid down in the 60's and 70's ... and finally the concrete was poured back in the 80's. The court battles fought back then were for real, while those being waged today are merely spitting-in-your-face contests. God bless the courts who came back and said basically "we're a big fan ... and we're gonna blow that spit right back into your own face".

When Curt Flood opened the gates to free agency in the courts, everything changed. Today, as we speak, ALL the power, ALL the laws, and ALL the rights belong to the players. I love the drafts, both NBA and NFL. They've become more of an annual ritual in my household than the championship games, because my teams are seldom in the championships, but almost always high in the drafts. So guess what .... drafts are illegal unless they are bargained for.


What if Mike Greenburg of ESPN Radio was drafted out of college by the Sacramento Tribune? Mike had no interested into going to the print side of sports reporting, but was told, "if you are going to be a sports reporter or work in sports media, you HAVE to go work for the Sacramento Tribune, or not at all." And he would have to sign a four year contract to boot. And at the end of those fours years, he still might not be free because of something called "restricted free agency". And don't forget the franchise tag.

Any retrictions on free agency are illegal. The only way they can be changed is to be bargained AWAY by the players.

The franchise tag is illegal. Again, the only way it can legally exist is to be bargained for in the CBA.

We have 3 major sports with 3 very different CBA's. Baseball's is the best for the players, basketball's is second, and the NFL's was already the worst, and the owners are trying to get it even more lop-sided in their favor. The life expectancy for a baseball or basketball player is years and years beyond that of a football player, yet the 2 bb's get guaranteed contracts, higher average salaries, and much longer careers. Not to mention much much better free agency situations.

I know progress is being made, but it is time for football players to really take a step back before agreeing with anything, and look at what rights they are giving away. The football owners have forgotten what all they lost in the courts, the players better not forget. The basketball players have it much simpler. The league already has its salary caps, rookie wage scales, and the rights to trade players, while the players have virtual unrestricted free agency and guaranteed contracts. So for them the only fight is for the "%" sign.