NFL Lockout 2011: A New Era for Players and Owners

Wow! That's my reaction to the new revenue proposal that is reportedly on the NFL bargaining table.

As a former minority owner, GM and attorney for the Philadelphia Eagles during the 1982 lockout, this proposal is so simple it seems too good to be true. When was the last time you saw owners of professional sports teams and players sitting down together, working on a fair, game-changing deal?

Right now there is a lockout in place which was imposed by the NFL on behalf of team owners (32 of them) which is equivalent to the consequences of a strike; no training, no contact with players, no nothing. However, owners and player representatives are talking and have put some new revenue-sharing proposals on the table.

The current revenue-sharing plan calls for a single pot—and that pot is pure gold—because all revenue goes in this pot. If this plan becomes a reality, the contentious revenue-sharing agreements of the last five years will be history.

In prior years, the collective bargaining agreement permitted the owners to take the first billion dollars, plus other "credits," off the top—before any revenue was shared between owners and players. This created a great deal of animosity because the players felt like they were being played. The owners were looking for additional credits as recently as a month ago.

It appears that both sides finally got real for the first time.

Once the group of 12 (NFL commissioner Roger Goodel, NFLPA representative DeMaurice Smith, five owners and five player reps) began to meet in early June, the idea of dividing revenue one way for players—and another way for owners—was discarded and replaced by a simple formula that puts all revenue into one huge multibillion-dollar pot; shared by 48 percent going to the players and 52 percent to the owners.

Having a dozen representative voices, ideas and suggestions seems to have been the best medicine for evenhandedness, a fresh approach and a working compromise.

As one of a legion of die-hard fans, I hope this is the beginning of a new era in the NFL; one that keeps the action on the field—not in the courtroom, one that recognizes the value of compromise over chaos and one that preserves football as a game worthy of our passion.

Learn more about my views on the NFL and business through my book, Briefcase Essentials. 

Susan Tose Spencer is an award-winning author, entrepreneur, successful business owner and is the only female GM in the history of the NFL. She currently owns a meat trading company, hosts a radio show (Business Buzz) on Women’s Radio, is a guest lecturer at UNLV’s School of Entrepreneurship and is a blogger (www.briefcaseessentials.com/blog).