Steve Young: NFL "Doesn't Care"

[FredFan7]

sbn.to/UhvImE

Wow.

Buzzy posted the video in the observations thread, but I thought it should get it's own billing.

[mike]

I do not think it is that the NFL "doesn't care" but rather they, rightly or wrongly, do not believe that the difference between the regular officials and the replacements is greater than the cost of what the NFLRA is demanding under the new contract. Using an example that has been mentioned in other threads, it is like Southwest Airlines locking out their pilots and replacing them with licensed pilots who have just completed 737 training (but have not actually flown a 737 in passenger service) or have enough experience on the 737 that they won't crash the plane. They will be able to get out of situations, but they may not know how to optimize the 737 for maximum fuel savings but they will fly the plane from A to B. Quite frankly I do not believe anything from either side in this matter. I think the NFL is downplaying the effect of having the replacement officials on the flow of the games and penalty enforcement, but I also think the NFLRA is not giving accurate figures on what their demands will cost and I also think they overstate their importance. You cannot just look at the value of the pensions but rather what amount of investment it will require to produce enough money to pay for the pensions if it is a Defined Benefit plan. Also, you have a lot of officials who are likely to retire in the next 5 years which will drastically drive up the NFL's costs in the short term. Using the cost over the length of the contract is not accurate because most of the costs will be in the short term when the league does not have as much time to recoup the costs before paying them out. Another thing to keep in mind is the strong job security of officials. Yes officials have been fired or downgraded for poor performance, but in many years the number of officials retained after removing those who have voluntarily retired is upwards of 99%. Also, based on calculations I have done, assuming 5 rookie officials ineligible to work the playoffs and/or are injured, an official can be in the BOTTOM 15% overall and still receive extra pay for being a playoff alternate. Either the NFLRA needs to crackdown on the number of alternates (maybe having one per game in each of the first two rounds and having all alternates except for Super Bowl coming from the same group of of 4-6 officials) or expand the number of crews so that getting a playoff assignment and the extra pay associated with that actually goes to deserving officials. Increasing the number of crews would also allow the league to return to more regional crews which would, in turn, cut down on travel expenses

I apologize for the length of this rant as I did not realize how longwinded I was until I hit "Submit"

[Brent]

My thought is that the NFL realizes that the seats will be filled and the TV money will still roll in with replacements or regulars, so the owners are digging their feet in.

[FredFan7]

Cincinnati Post: "If you want real officials, stop watching"

cin.ci/Pos5LQ

Column speaks to Young's assessment.