“The NFL is too big, too important, too lucrative for this to really affect anybody,” said Bob Dorfman, an advertising executive who analyzes the endorsement potential of athletes for the Sports Marketers’ Scouting Report. “Compare it to the NBA, where losing games could really have a serious effect on fans, on sponsors, where things are maybe a little more tenuous. The overall health of the NFL, the broadcast contracts and power that the ratings have; it’s just such a strong commodity that it’s too big a juggernaut to be affected by this.”
Which is not to say the rhetoric didn’t escalate into nastiness as players and owners jockeyed over dividing their spoils. Two prominent players — Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison and Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White — accused Goodell of running a dictatorship in recent days. The league charged that the decertification of the players’ union was “a sham,” while a lawyer on the players side accused one of his NFL counterparts of lying to the public.
Fans, too, were occasionally exercised, especially when facing deadlines for paying ticket invoices.
“Why should I the fan be held accountable for my agreement with the team and have to pay my dues now when they’re not doing the same for their players?” asked Redskins season-ticket holder Ben Sydnor, who negotiated with the club to defer his payments as the lockout dragged on. “I’m sure the experience I had is somewhat similar to what a fan of the Eagles or the Cowboys had: that [the clubs are] just trying to get their money sooner so they can use it to make more money.”
Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot, issued a warning that his state could lose $40 million in tax revenues if the entire 2011 season were canceled.
College players were drafted, only to be prohibited from speaking to their new bosses, while starting wide receivers took to coaching youth soccer or riding bulls. Owners cautioned they could alienate their customers, with Robert Kraft of the New England Patriots telling reporters that the players and owners would “hurt ourselves collectively in the eyes of our fans” if the squabbling continued.
And yet as the focus likely will soon turn from revenue distribution to an expected frenzy of free agent transactions, it’s not hard to envision a quick return to business as usual.
Eugene Profit, a former NFL cornerback and the founder of Silver Spring’s Profit Investment Management, delayed the payments for his firm’s suite at FedEx Field during the labor uncertainty. But now?
“I’ll be more than happy to write the check,” he said Thursday. “If the season goes off without a hitch, I think the fans forget it. The fans are ready to watch football.”
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