The Future of the NFL

By Milt Thompson


The City of Indianapolis and the National Football League have enjoyed a remarkable relationship. Indianapolis is the annual host of the NFL combines where more than 300 prospective draftees are tested by all NFL teams. The NFL Players Association also conducts one of it's agents meetings in conjunction with the Combines. Of course the success of the Indianapolis Colts over the past decade has been integral to the city winning the bid to host the 2012 Superbowl following the 2011 season.

The NFL and the Players union have had an acrimonious past but have worked together under its current collective bargaining agreement to create the best and most commercially viable professional sports enterprise in the United States today. Unfortunately, the current collective bargaining agreement ends after the 2011 Superbowl that will be held in Dallas Texas after the 2010 season. Pursuant to that agreement, that if a new deal is not made, the 2010 season will operate without the existing salary cap per team which will create some interesting consequences with respect to player free agency and team management's ability to field competitive teams when larger market teams may use more resources to sign their own, or other team's unprotected players.

The well managed teams from a capped perspective will have an advantage because they have staggered the labor force in such a way that primary players are unable or unlikely to move. The Colt's seem to be in that position and appear roster ready to compete for another Superbowl run next season. Here is where the fun or pain begins. The negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement are at am impasse. If the NFL and the Player's union cannot reach a new deal, the 2011 season could be in jeopardy of a player lockout, and a subsequent blow to the organizing effort of the 2012 superbowl here in Indianapolis. The union is unwilling to fore go salary gains based on television revenue, and the NFL is interested in changing the current business model to direct more equity amongst competing interests from its small and large market teams. Although this is a simplified citation of the differences, suffice it to say that the real issues are about money and who gets the lion's share. The irony here, is that the place where both the NFL and Players unite, Indianapolis, could be the place that has the most to lose from their current intransigent positions. Please let cooler heads prevail and don't kill the goose with the preverbial golden egg and consider all those who stand to loose from a preventable work stoppage.