($)9 Billion Problems

Poor NFL. What are they going to do with their $9billion?

The NFL is the most popular sport in the country. It's the king of all sports. So why would the owners voluntarily shut down such a lucrative business?

With the profits increasing each year, the owners want more. Yet, with short careers and a shockingly short life-expectancy (55 years), the players want improved post-football benefits... not to mention more money in general.

An even shorter answer is this - greed. It seems crazy that the owners would voluntarily shut down when they're making money hand-over-fist. The owners are committed to fighting for their share. The players are about to file an anti-trust lawsuit. Whoever loses in court will then appeal. And the cycle could result in a lost season.

It's never a good thing when Sportscenter clips take place in an office and not the playing field.

The NHL faced a similar dilemma in 2004. The owners decided to sacrifice the 04-05 season to make their point. The players lost. The fans lost. But most of all, the league lost. Six years later, the NHL still struggles to find a foothold in the sporting landscape. In perhaps the biggest blow, ESPN stopped broadcasting NHL games. Despite a rousing return to the front page during the winter Olympics, hockey remains slightly more popular than soccer - a far cry from the Gretzky years.

Yet, the NFL owners know football is king. Americans are addicted to fantasy football, the draft, the Sunday tailgates. The owners feel they can cancel an entire season, and the fans will come crawling back, like heroine junkies dying for a fix. And I fear they're right. The league could survive a lost season. There would be a backlash from a certain percentage of fans, but the NFL would soldier on as the #1 sport in America.

But only for a time.

My guess is that the lockout would scar the fans in a way that would affect the league slowly over time. There will be small signs of the decline at first... perhaps the Super Bowl ratings will be slightly lower. Fewer teams will sell out. Yet, the proud NFL would refuse to budge on standard practices. Advertising rates would remain absurdly high, as would ticket prices. Advertisers and fans would slowly walk away. The league would suffer. And, like all kings before them, the NFL would die. Not literally, of course, but it would lose it's crown. Perhaps baseball would take over. Perhaps college football. Perhaps MMA. Perhaps Dancing with the Stars. Perhaps something not even on the air yet.

What the NFL owners fail to realize is that fans today are not lemmings. They enjoy the NFL product for the moment, but they don't want to be taken for granted. If a successful business is put to rest for the sole purpose of more money, the fans will feel manipulated. They'll come back at first because it's routine. But the scar would remain. Look no further than the NBA to see a possible scenario. Fans of the NBA suffered through an almost-lost season in 98-99, and the league slowly morphed from a team-game to a focus on individual stars. This empowered the players to the extent that they now dictate where and when they play. Fan animosity is high, and attendance is down.

Next season (if there is one), Peyton Manning and Tom Brady will be 35 and 34, respectively. They're the face of the league. Will we start to look on those guys as the Magic and Bird of the NFL? The popular players during the league's heyday? Who will take over when they retire? Who will represent the league when they retire? (If the league is smart, it'll be this guy.)

Of course, all this negativity can be avoided. If the league and players settle on how best to split up their $9billion, all will be fine. The fans will get their draft and fantasy football. The players will get their benefits. And the owners will get that 2nd yacht. Yet, the chances of this happening are about as good as the Lions winning the Super Bowl.