Will there be another lockout?
(Taken From: http://tinyurl.com/bwbk8uy)
The NHL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is set to expire September 15, 2012. The last time this happened, we endured a full year without hockey. Basically, this topic can literally cause grown men to cry. Life without hockey is bad, and I would rather watch to awful teams than to not watch hockey at all. What are some of the issues at stake? Let’s take a look…
THE PLAYERS SHARE
NHL revenues have increased a ton since the lockout. This year it will top over $ 3.0 Billion. Currently, the players receive 57 percent of NHL revenues. To compare, NFL players get 49 percent and in the NBA it’s 50 percent. Both the NFL and NBA had recent labor disputes and the NBA played a reduced season this year. What the owners would like is to see the players’ share decrease, probably somewhere in the 50% range.
Revenue Sharing
As mentioned earlier, the league is bringing in a lot more money than it did pre-lockout. Revenue sharing is supposed to help teams that don’t bring in a lot of money to be more competitive by receiving money from the higher-income teams. Teams that do well may not want to contribute as much or at all with teams that are struggling. Why give money to a team that could eventually contend for a Cup later on?
It is a shame that there are a lot of people who are greedy in this world. I am talking about both owners and players. Here in Buffalo during the Golisano ownership years, his main concern was the bottom line and not necessarily putting the best product on the ice. When the Sabres did not re-sign Drury and/or Briere a few years ago, it had to do with the bottom line. With millions at stake, hopefully both sides can come to an agreement and there will not be a lockout. Because life without hockey is bad, real bad.
Bob Duggan
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