Giant step taken in the return of the NFL to LA...

Do you think the lockout is a done deal, or will cooler heads prevail?

 

Greed will end up solving the thing. The owners opted out of the contract last year meaning as of now, there will be no games after next year. Thing is, preparations are already afoot planning for the lockout on both sides. NFL wants a contract more favorable to them. If something isn't in place by the start of free-agency at end of the season - you will really see how serious teams are.

 

God willing, these assholes will lock the players out. It'd be the biggest fuck-up in the history of American sports. They've already got the golden goose and a socialistic (yes, I said it) financial system in place that allows owners to print gobs of money. Yet they want more? Fuck them.

 

C'mon, you can do way better than that.

 

I saw that quote fix coming all the way up Hacienda Blvd.

 

Seconded. The fact that there's no team in LA seems to bother only a few people at NFL headquarters.

 

The NFL functions as if it is one entity, which is why the use of the term socialism is a bit misleading. It is also one of the reasons the league has been so successful. Your overall point is an excellent one. It would be a huge mistake for the NFL to lock the players out. I think the owners are just so used to the players caving, they assume it will happen again.

The thing is, the owners are not afraid of the uncapped year because so many other little rules kick in to keep salaries from getting too far out of control, not to mention the most balanced revenue sharing set-up in major pro sports. I just wonder how many players just see the uncapped year without fully understanding all of the restrictions that will come with it, which include an additional transition tag and a longer period of time before players can become free agents.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d80864e15&template=with-video&confirm=true

I wouldn't want to mess with the system, either, but the league sees the economic problems in this country and TV contracts that could be renegotiated in 2011, so I understand better why they are risking it than I did when this first came up a few months ago.

 

As for two teams in 1 stadium in LA, I think it could work; especially if the two followed the Jets/Giants methodology. The first team (I'd put money on the Jags) would be marketed to the working class folk who live in the Inland Empire and northern OC, eastern LA -- much like the Jets fan base is more working-class.

The second team (the Chargers) would be targeted at the corporate types in downtown, Century City and the Westside.

Keep in mind that on a Sunday, the City of Industry is just 30 minutes away from Brentwood, and even less from Irvine.

I also wouldn't be surprised to see the NFL give the stadium a multi-year (5 in a row? Every other year for a decade?) Super Bowl deal.

 

Aren't you getting ahead of yourself a bit with talk of two teams in LA? The league has gotten along just fine with none.

 

One team per market is enough. Probably even in New York New Jersey. Now happy are the Jets playing in GIANTS Stadium after 25 years? And why does this arrangement continue? The Jets must be paying some cheap rent.

 

You're joking.

 

Gang members need a place to hang out once Doyyer season ends.