While Gaining One, We Lost Another...

With the NFL lockout over and the games back in action, you would assume that America's sports world is on the up and up. But, the NBA lockout has cast its shadow on the sports industry and it appears to have a bigger hill to climb. The NFL lockout was for the most part geared on how the league should split the big money pie  of roughly $9million dollars in revenue. Whereas the NBA lockout is catered to figure out how to help generate revenue for nearly half of the leagues teams who suffer from financial loss. For example, take the Cavaliers who as recently as two years ago were generating high profit within a small market, of course with the help of LeBron James. But with the small market comes small interest for free agents, ie King James's departure to the sunny side of South Beach Florida, and other free agents who do not see any potential to better their chances to win a championship or market themselves effectively. There are other key differences that will affect the NBA lockout differently both financially and socially.

The biggest difference problem that can slow down the NBA lockout progression that the NFL did not have to worry about is the competition and opportunity the players have from other leagues such as overseas. Playing over seas has become one of the biggest targets for most players in the NBA. The best thing about playing overseas is the foreign owners and managements understanding of the NBA lockout and their cooperation with its progression. This gives players more options and the ability to leave their commitment from the teams overseas if and when the lockout ends. This can just be a band aid for players in order to stay in shape and relevant, but for the league, this can pose many problems. Injuries, contract leverage, and the foreign competition to keep the players overseas by paying more are all key factors that the NBA will have to deal with once the lockout ends. These factors will have many financial implications that are going to give players a bigger sense of entitlement if their demands within the lockout are not met.

Socially, the NBA has never really had a positive reputation from the players or the fans so with the lockout in full affect, this will only cast a darker shadow on their image. Commissioner David Stern has taken heat from players, fans, and even coaches for his dictatorship decisions and punishments. Today, while only a few weeks removed from the NFL lockout, the NFL has put up big bucks in marketing and fan appreciation campaigns in order to gain back the love and respect of its fans. There will be a similar course of action for the NBA once, or if, their lockout ends. And with a slogan like "The NBA Cares", there will be a whole lot of making up to do in order to prove how much.

To Be...Or Not to Be Over...

With the National Football League's recent end to a long 112 day lockout, comes more questions and concerns from fans, players, and the media. Is it really over? What was it all about? Who won? And will anything change? All these questions are legitimate questions that honestly may take a few months to get answered. Lets look at things from the fans side first. After months of big word reports and no signs of progress, can they really feel like they've accomplished anything? Their salaries don't change, their workloads stay the same, and the biggest change this may have on their financial lives are ticket prices possibly going up or down just to help compensate for the loss of ticket sales throughout the lockout. Many would agree that the NFL fan are losers in this whole ordeal and have gained nothing from the lockout. Gregg Rosenthal of NBC Sports Talk said it best in regards to the idea of the fans losing in this process, "The more you love the game, the more these last five months have been difficult to swallow." So for fans, the only thing that won't change is the promise that for the next ten years, a collective bargaining agreement will be in place to keep football out of a courtroom, but rather in between the white lines.
The players on the other hand have a different perspective. There has been many different views to the new collective bargaining agreement to which some em brass it, while others see no big changes. For example, a few rule changes have been implemented to help protect players from devastating injuries, but many players feel its also interfering with the nature of the game. Another big concern from many players is the power that the Commissioner Roger Goodell holds over disciplining the players. This was one issue that most players wanted to see changed within the new agreement but they're going to have to chalk this problem up as a loss and deal with Commissioner Goodell as the sole decision maker in player disciplinary sentencing. All of these concerns and ideas are legitimate and to some players, the new agreement can look half done.
As for the media, well lets just say they may have had the best time during the lockout. With social media's role in sports, it was like taking candy from a baby with all the great story leads from the lockout. Players, owners, and representatives from both sides fueled much of the lockout controversy by giving the media much to work with, both good and bad. There were more legal incidents, trash talking, and even whining. It is safe to say that the media came out as a definite winner because of all the material generated from the lockout, but it seems to only be the beginning of the other issues surrounding the aftermath of the new collective bargaining agreement. 


Rosenthal, G. (2011, July 25). Winners, losers from the nfl lockout. Retrieved from http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/07/25/winners-losers-from-the-nfl-lockout/