| 03 June 2010
There's only 1 question for the congregation this week, and it deals with NFL labor issues. Joshua, aka DetFan79 of Roar of the Lions, gets this week's question from the NetRat.
What would you like to see in the new collective bargaining agreement?
I have had more than my fill of strikes, lockouts, scabs and bad faith negotiating in all of pro sports. When millionaires are battling with billionaires over more cash than Scrooge McDuck, Tony Stark, Montgomery Burns and Hank Scorpio have combined, there is no winner in the eyes of a fan. Just a bunch of greedy SOBs.
So I just want to see the 2 sides come to an agreement, no matter how hard it may be, whatever compromises must be made. I don't want to go through 2011 without the NFL. I'm getting the shakes just thinking about it.
But to answer the question, for any good to come out of a new collective bargaining agreement, lockout or not, there has to be a cap on rookie salaries.
When teams are unable to trade high draft picks due to the massive salary implications, there's something seriously wrong with the status quo. When unproven 21 year old kids are signing contracts worth more than $50 million, there's something seriously wrong with the status quo. When Jamarcus Russell and Ryan Leaf are financially set for life, despite their being monstrous busts, there's something wrong with the status quo.
There's nothing wrong with getting paid some serious jack as an NFL draft pick. There's everything wrong in rookies being the high paid players on the roster, even though they've never played a down in the NFL.
I also want to see retired NFL players, the men who helped make the league the juggernaut it is today, made financially stable and taken care of medically. There's too many horror stories of retired players, especially those who played before the day of million dollar contracts, having miserable lives due to disabling, long term injuries. They are left unable to work, or even worse, mentally unstable after taking years of physical abuse.
Tragic stories like Mike Webster's (The Steelers All-Pro center who suffered brain damage and died at 50 years of age) should be a cautionary tale. The NFL makes BILLIONS yearly. There's no good reason retired and disabled players don't receive a bigger piece of the money pie.
If you have a Lions question you'd like to see answered, you can email the congregation at lionscongregation@yahoo.com.
As always, to read the rest of the Lions blogosphere answering DetFan79's questions, head over to Roar of the Lions every Friday!
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