Don't You HATE Hearing of Salary Caps, Mega-Contracts, Franchise Players--Retch...

[Charles Fischer]

In part of my effort to remove all politics from my life, (which is another reason why I stomp on it here so quickly) I now tune into a local sports radio station when driving, and of course they have a national radio show on.  The discussion at this time of the year is NFL trades, or cuts, or bonuses or salary caps or who is a franchise player or how this team could have got such-and-such player for only 20 million.

 

It makes me want to hurl. 

 

Now I admit I do not know the details of how teams fit the dollars and players together, and I also admit that I don't care.  It is like the arcane scholarship math; you have to know the openings left from last year, the early entrants, the transfers and yet the upcoming developments that only the coaches know.  You know....I don't want to hear that stuff.

 

And yet many fans eat that stuff up.  Do you?

 

[David Marsh]

Salary caps for fans are an interesting exercise of gamification of management. You have to like the logistics and finances of how programs operate and who they can add to their rosters. 

 

I'm not an NFL fan though I'll usually watch a few games a year if there are Ducks involved that I want to see... Herbert is making me into a Chargers fan and I am really hoping Mariota finds a home as a starter so I can watch him again. 

 

For most fans, me included, the financial side of things is pretty boring. I find it usually leads to disappointment more often than not as a team cannot acquire a player because of the salary cap. 

 

Now I get why the salary cap is there from a fairness perspective. 

 

Fans usually only care about salary cap shenanigans if they are playing a campaign sports game... Madden or NBA 2k-whatever (it's been well over a decade since I last played one). Where it does get interesting to manage the salary cap. Though I doubt anyone is listening to the pundits about the best way to do this to apply it to a game. 

 

I am also of the opinion that NFL teams should have a larger roster for the health of the players. If the rosters were bigger there could be more player substitutions and rotations throughout the game. Leading to fewer hits and better post-game recovery. I do know that I am probably in the firm minority in this opinion... And it doesn't really relate to your topic Charles. 

[30Duck]

 I find it interesting so far as it determines where a particular player will play, I've become inured to the salaries themselves. The NBA in particular has so many rules, restrictions, conditions that must be followed, that trading a player (s) is incredibly complicated.

 

We also have the relatively new concern of players creating "Super Teams". This originated when Lebron James made the "Decision" to "take his talents to South Beach". Ultimately, James, Wade and Bosch didn't win, "not 2, not 3, not, 4" championships, they only won two.

 

Golden State put their dynasty together the old fashioned way, they drafted Curry, Thompson, Green, and appeared in 5 straight Finals, winning 3, they went 2-1 after Kevin Durant joined as a free agent. We'll see what Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden can do in Brooklyn. 

[Haywarduck]

I am not sure which one makes me more ill, the billionaires who need a salary cap to make sure they don't spend too much money, or the players who feel disrespected because they weren't offered $20 million a year.

 

I am with you, just serve me the sausage, that was made in a USDA inspected plant. Don't tell me about, or show me how the sausage was made.

[Drake]

The newest collective bargaining agreement requires 47 to 48% of “football related revenue” be allocated to the players.  Total team revenues range between $360 to $900 million depending on the team. Total annual revenues probably just shy of $15 billion. 
 

Therefore, the contracts being paid are inline with the revenues generated.
 

The billionaire club that owns the franchises probably had $4 to $6 billion in lost revenues due to COVID restrictions. It was estimated that the Cowboys would lose $500 million per home game last year.
 

The numbers are big, but the people that pays those $20 million contracts have big wallets. 

Edited March 5, 2021 by Drake

[Charles Fischer]

6 minutes ago, Haywarduck said:

I am not sure which one makes me more ill, the billionaires who need a salary cap to make sure they don't spend too much money, or the players who feel disrespected because they weren't offered $20 million a year.

 

This is why I love this community; with all the talented people here--somebody can always summarize my feelings and write it better than I can, which I appreciate.  Hayward....that sentence is PERFECT.

 

Which is he....professional sports owner, coach or player?

[David Marsh]

21 minutes ago, Haywarduck said:

I am not sure which one makes me more ill, the billionaires who need a salary cap to make sure they don't spend too much money, or the players who feel disrespected because they weren't offered $20 million a year.

 

Then to make matters even more vomit inducing .. those stadiums are usually built with large sums of money that are raised from the local communities via taxes and other donations. Then you get teams like the Chargers and the Raiders (and the Rams? less sure on them) who want new stadiums and they opt to move to a city that is more willing to build them a shiny new stadium rather than stay in a community that has supported them for years.

 

Professional sports are a quagmire of their own. We love them, hate them, and at times just don't know what to do with them.

 

College teams have their own set of problems... though at least I know my Ducks won't be moving away.

[Haywarduck]

The NBA has crossed the threshold for me on being able to look beyond the ugly scene of owner, player entitlement. The owners hold cities hostage with arena demands, and players think they are all to do, because they dunked a basketball, while too many can't make a free throw.

 

I can't watch professional basketball, but used to be an avid fan. I don't know if it is just a sign of me getting older, I am getting older, but not old, by the way. I will say if Dr. J, or the Big O was playing in Portland tonight, I would be there in a heart beat. 

 

As for the owners, since when did they become bigger than the game. I suppose no sport is worse than the NFL with Jerry Jones, but at least they have the Packers.  

 

Basically I try to focus on the competition on the field and never listen to the radio shows Charles mentioned. I suppose the uniforms, pads and helmets of football help me get past the look at me attitude of most pro athletes.

 

What is a franchise player anyway? Actually don't tell me, it will just make me sick!

[30Duck]

1 minute ago, Haywarduck said:

I can't watch professional basketball

 

I'm with you here, 100% At best an NBA game is white noise while I fold laundry now, if i watch at all it is the last 4 minutes of the 4th quarter. I have come to actually dislike the 3 point shot. It was created in the ABA to be a novelty. Defense has been practically eliminated from the NBA, in today's game. Along with football, safety concerns must be taken in to consideration. But NBA games are now shooting 3's and uncontested lay-ins. 

[David Marsh]

22 minutes ago, 30Duck said:

Defense has been practically eliminated from the NBA, in today's game. Along with football, safety concerns must be taken in to consideration. But NBA games are now shooting 3's and uncontested lay-ins. 

I'm sure it helps sells tickets... but scores over 120 points on a regular basis is INSANE! I remember when it was a high scoring game when the game reached a hundred points, and that wasn't that long ago... in the 2000's! Key match-ups really seem more like who can put up more 3s rather than a competitive back and forth of offense and defense.

 

I also find the NBA incredibly boring to watch due to the length of the season and then the length of the playoff. Best of 7 sounds nice... but after a long season we know who the statistically the best teams are. Major upsets are unheard of as winning 4 games in a series of 7 is difficult, especially when the top seeds have already proven they are the best through a long schedule. There are no Cinderella teams in the NBA playoffs because they have to win too many games and a prolonged slip up from a statistically top team isn't going to happen.

 

Ughh... the NBA is a stat machine and that's about it these days. The individual games can be interesting but the overall narrative for a season is pretty boring. Each team's playoff results for the most part resemble their season. The only games of any potential interest are the finals (Conference and Finals) as those four teams might actually be able to cause an upset... but even then it turns out that more often than not, the statistically best teams win.

[geoquack]

Yes.   Players make a lot of money.  Owners make a lot of money.  End of discussion.

[BigDucksFan]

8 minutes ago, geoquack said:

Yes.   Players make a lot of money.  Owners make a lot of money.  End of discussion.

It's not that way in college sports because in college the owners make a lot of money and the players don't make any at all. What is wrong with this picture ??

[Charles Fischer]

16 minutes ago, BigDucksFan said:

It's not that way in college sports because in college the owners make a lot of money and the players don't make any at all. What is wrong with this picture ??

 

Really?  Just where does all the money go? WHO is the owner?  It is not the Athletic Director, as he is on salary and is paid from these proceeds as the entire athletic department is.

It is not the coaches as they come and go and like the AD, are paid from the proceeds.

 

Isn't the owner the university?  Does all this money go to the university to build more departments?  No.

Where does the rest of the money go?  It is used for the entire athletic department budget.

Where does the "rest" of the money flow to?   To fund all the scholarships and costs of 19 sports at Oregon.

 

What about all the profit?  There is NO PROFIT, and in fact much of the money now is coming from private donors, such as the raises to Coaches Cristobal and Kelly.  This year it is estimated the AD has a 60 million dollar deficit, and yet the sports must still go on.  All excess funds earned from Mens Football and Basketball goes to pay for all the other sports.

 

That is why the star quarterback gets the same scholarship that a Womens Basketball player gets, (a sport that bleeds money) and no more.  Football is the reason that we have a No. 20 Volleyball program, a No. 6 Softball program and a No. 1 Mens Indoor Track Team.  It is the most equitable system out there, and is due to the laws in place.

 

Show me a system that funds all those sports and helps all those students get degrees by the thousands across the US that is better than what we currently have.  You cannot.

 

[Haywarduck]

The NCAA only keeps 4% on the $1 + billion of revenue, fair? I suppose they are doing a better job than lavish Larry was doing for the Pac-12, but with the new rules going into effect the revenue is no longer going to be the boondoggle of money it was in the past.

 

The endorsement deals some athletes are going to make in the near future is going to start effecting the bottomline of this bottomless pit of revenue for the NCAA and some universities. Will this be an advantage to the University of Oregon which knows how to take advantage of marketing opportunities, or the bigger institutions? The Covid-19 hit is a short term loss, the athletes hit to revenue has just begun.

 

Pretty soon the '7 for 7' t-shirt money is going to go straight to Seven Mcgee and not to the university. Things are beginning to change beyond the transfer portal Bill Walton equated to Tinder portal. The games are just beginning.

[Charles Fischer]

I don't have a problem with players selling their image and making money from that, as that revenue source is minor compared to the entire budget coming from a full Autzen stadium.  To me, it is a reasonable compromise to preserve the current system to retain all the scholarships available to Olympic sports, especially for women.