What the public doesn't know about the union ref negotiations

[RAMFANRAIDERHATER]

Once upon a time car companies and air lines had a pile of cash too and they caved to demands not unlike these. Both have gone bankrupt and are weighed down by pension plans for people who haven't worked in 30 years.

You can add GM to that list....

Nevemind, you said car companies. My bad.

[Rambunctious]

The operative question is... how much can the league expect the replacement refs to cost them?

Will they impact ticket sales?
Will they impact TV ratings?

The moment the league answers one of those questions with a "yes," $3.3 million will be a drop in the bucket.

The sad thing is I think TV ratings may go up because it's like watching a train wreck. Everyone wants to see it and be the first to tweet about it.

Ticket sales may also go up this year, except for the Browns, because most teams have either hope or a big name that sales tickets.

I'm not sure what else will sway the Commish.

[BIG-BLUE]

The sad thing is I think TV ratings may go up because it's like watching a train wreck. Everyone wants to see it and be the first to tweet about it.

Ticket sales may also go up this year, except for the Browns, because most teams have either hope or a big name that sales tickets.

I'm not sure what else will sway the Commish.

This is so sad but true.
Until we as fans empty the stadiums, shut off the tv's & quit buying the merchandise, the NFL will continue to do as they please.
So with that I will not be attending this years Bash, Direct TV will be terminated & all merchandise will be thrown out until the NFL settles the strike.......Yea right

[gap]

It's too late for me to back out on my trip, but I will do everything I can to sue the NFL for my losses if the RAMS lose the game because of controversial calls by the officials. If every Packer fan was to sue the NFL for what they spent on that game last night, the NFL would take notice.


gap

[VegasRam]

I don't like Obama, and I don't like unions. (I also don't like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity , Chris Matthews, Bill Maher, Sarah Palin, Nancy Pelosi, or my esteemed Senator Harry Reid).

But if the 3.2 mil number is accurate, that's 100 K per team, which is 5K a week per Owner over a season.

Probably the cost of a luxury box.

It's nothing short of incredible to me that the NFL is taking this stance. AV's right - **** the details and all the ********, just get the "real refs" back.

They're not going to though. Now it's about face, and as we all know, we're still going to watch.

[Curly Horns]

I don't like Obama, and I don't like unions.

Nowadays that seems to be the sentiment from alot of people that live in the "UNITED States of America"

[berg8309]

To be more accurate when it comes to NFL money, 3.3 Mil is more like a drop in a pool rather then a bucket.

Sorry, not buying it. No matter what industry, 3.3mil is not pocket change by any stretch. Not to mention the refs make 6 figures for a job that allows them the time to have a second career if they want.

NFL is getting too much flak when the refs deserve some too. They are letting it happen so they can be paid similar to referees in other sports where it is actually a full time job.

[Haste]

Sorry, not buying it. No matter what industry, 3.3mil is not pocket change by any stretch. Not to mention the refs make 6 figures for a job that allows them the time to have a second career if they want.

NFL is getting too much flak when the refs deserve some too. They are letting it happen so they can be paid similar to referees in other sports where it is actually a full time job.

It is pocket change when it has clearly been shown since preseason that the refs cannot simply be replaced by other refs from lower levels. They have more advanced skills that only they can offer, and should get the money. And 3.3 Mil is pocket change when new TV deals, or free agency contracts are raising every year.

If anything, they could make the ref's Ref team's practices or something throughout the week to "practice" themselves.

[Rambos]

It is pocket change when it has clearly been shown since preseason that the refs cannot simply be replaced by other refs from lower levels. They have more advanced skills that only they can offer, and should get the money. And 3.3 Mil is pocket change when new TV deals, or free agency contracts are raising every year.

If anything, they could make the ref's Ref team's practices or something throughout the week to "practice" themselves.

You got that right...

From Forbes

NFL's profitability has never been stronger. National television revenue from CBS ( CBS - news - people ), NBC, ESPN and Fox increased $1.3 million per team to $95.8 million for each of the league's 32 franchises. NFL teams got a big boost when the league settled its long-running dispute with Comcast ( CMCSA - news - people ) last May concerning broadcasting the NFL Network. The 10-year deal pushed each team's take from its nonnetwork media contracts to $45.8 million, up $9.3 million (revenues from DirecTV ( DTV - news - people ) are the biggest component of this). Aggregate league revenue rose 5.8% to $8 billion.

[Yodude]

Sorry, not buying it. No matter what industry, 3.3mil is not pocket change by any stretch. Not to mention the refs make 6 figures for a job that allows them the time to have a second career if they want.

NFL is getting too much flak when the refs deserve some too. They are letting it happen so they can be paid similar to referees in other sports where it is actually a full time job.

For you and I, or a small business for that matter, you are right...it is not pocket change.

For the NFL??? Not even pocket change.....it's pocket LINT!

[VegasRam]

I don't like Obama, and I don't like unions. (I also don't like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity , Chris Matthews, Bill Maher, Sarah Palin, Nancy Pelosi, or my esteemed Senator Harry Reid).

But if the 3.2 mil number is accurate, that's 100 K per team, which is 5K a week per Owner over a season.

Probably the cost of a luxury box.

It's nothing short of incredible to me that the NFL is taking this stance. AV's right - **** the details and all the ********, just get the "real refs" back.

They're not going to though. Now it's about face, and as we all know, we're still going to watch.

Glad to be wrong on this.

[clarasDK]

There are 121 refs on nfl level on this planet. Off course they should be paid for their skills. As the last weeks show very cleary being a nfl takes lots of trainning but also special skills. So like the players the ref are elite, the top of what they do. That kind of workers cost money lots of money. Thats the case everywhere. And when you cannot be replaced easily you can make even more money.

But I sure hope that this can be settled soon, the game monday night was a joke and a disgrace.

[RamFan_Til_I_Die]

There are 121 refs on nfl level on this planet. Off course they should be paid for their skills. As the last weeks show very cleary being a nfl takes lots of trainning but also special skills. So like the players the ref are elite, the top of what they do. That kind of workers cost money lots of money. Thats the case everywhere. And when you cannot be replaced easily you can make even more money.

But I sure hope that this can be settled soon, the game monday night was a joke and a disgrace.

These guys make over $2000/hour, yes two thousand, and that's not good enough? I have to sympathy for those guys at all. I just wish the replacements weren't doing so bad, so the whining cry babies could miss the whole year. They have it GOOD, and have nothing to be complaining about, IMO.

[Rambos]

These guys make over $2000/hour, yes two thousand, and that's not good enough? I have to sympathy for those guys at all. I just wish the replacements weren't doing so bad, so the whining cry babies could miss the whole year. They have it GOOD, and have nothing to be complaining about, IMO.

It's good work if you can get it that's Av money...LOL... how did you come up with that hourly rate?

[berg8309]

These guys make over $2000/hour, yes two thousand, and that's not good enough? I have to sympathy for those guys at all. I just wish the replacements weren't doing so bad, so the whining cry babies could miss the whole year. They have it GOOD, and have nothing to be complaining about, IMO.

At $2,000 an hour, not counting pre-season games, or playoff games, and assuming the refs get a "bye" week and therefore only work 16 weeks of the year, they would make approximately $1,152,000.00 per year. That is probably 10x what they make, and we know they work more than 16 weeks. That is based on a 36 hour work week, which I just saw today in an article as the number of hours they work. So I mean, they still get paid really well on an hourly basis, but they aren't making over 2k an hour.