Bye, bye NFL...

It seems we'll likely lose the NFL tonight at midnight:


(CNN) -- Football fans faced a day of uncertainty Thursday as negotiations between NFL owners and the players union approached a midnight deadline on a new collective bargaining agreement.


A range of scenarios were possible in the final hours of talks, with the most likely outcome being the one fans dislike the most.


Without a last-minute agreement or an extension of the deadline, the NFL Players Association is expected to decertify on Thursday afternoon -- meaning it would stop being the collective bargaining agent for the players.


By decertifying, the union would clear the way for the players to file an antitrust lawsuit if the owners lock out the players as soon as Friday, after the current contract expires.


All of that would mean the first NFL work stoppage since 1987 and the likelihood of months of labor and legal maneuvering for football fans already confused about how a $9 billion industry lacks enough money to satisfy everyone.


But here's the really beautiful part, to me--the owners want to take  more money for themselves, away from the players AND have the players do more work, work harder and  run the risk of getting hurt more, by extending the in-season by 2 games:


Currently, the owners take about $1 billion off the top of league revenue, and the players get 60 percent of the rest. For a new contract, the owners want to double their take off the top to $2 billion, with the players continuing to get 60 percent of the rest. The NFL generated $9.3 billion in revenue in 2010.


Other issues include a proposal by the owners to increase the regular season schedule to 18 games from the current 16. The overall number of games per season, including exhibition games, would remain at the current 20.


I mean, come on--if you're an NFL owner, that is freakin' beautiful.  


It reminds me of the bully when we were kids who threatened to take his ball home if we didn't do things his way.


Only this bully has millions and millions of dollars.


And wants lots more.


Link to original post:  http://www.cnn.com/2011/SPORT/football/03/03/nfl.talks/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+rss/cnn_topstories+(RSS:+Top+Stories)