The final days of the current collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and the NFLPA is still four years away, but it is never too early to start preparing for the future. NFLPA executive George Atallah suggested in a radio interview he thinks players should start saving up now to prepare for a possible lockout in 2021.
Looking back on the 2011 squabble between the union and the league, Atallah feels many players were not financially prepared for a lockout before a resolution on a collective bargaining agreement could finally be reached. And because players may not have felt comfortable about their financial standing at the time, they may have lost some bargaining power as a result. Saving up their money now could lead to more cards to play when push comes to shove at the bargaining table with the league sitting across from them.
“We wound up in a situation where unfortunately (savings) didn’t happen across the league as much as it could have happened,” Atallah told SiriusXM NFL Radio. “In 2009, we were faced with a major sort of signal that the owners were going to try and lock players out. We were trying to get as many players prepared as possible.”
Biggest misconception during the last NFL lockout was "all the players are millionaires". That's so not true.
— O.J. Spivey (@OJPhilly) April 25, 2017
https://twitter.com/DoraTweetting/status/866566116478472192
https://twitter.com/niq54/status/857754380027789312
With Goodell at the helm, a team in Vegas and players looking to make a buck, I smell an NFL lockout in the horizon.
— Daddy Brown Sauce (@lockhart_jesse) April 10, 2017
I can't fucking wait until the NFL lockout happens. The live sports bubble bursting is going to hit them so damn hard.
— Dagoth Urlon Musk (@maruhkati) April 27, 2017
Of course, the players with the mega deals have little to be concerned about. (Though an extended lockout can tap the resources of those who live extravagant lifestyles, as many NBA players came to realize during that league’s 2001 lockout.) It is the players working on league minimums and rookie contracts who have to be the most careful about their financial standing.
The NFL has gone the longest without a lockout or strike that has affected the regular season, with the last NFL strike taking place in 1987 (not including that bizarre referee strike a few years ago). Just one game was lost from that regular season. History would suggest the chances of a work stoppage in the NFL is probably pretty slim, but has to be accounted for by all parties involved in the negotiations.
Most players should be able to get through a work stoppage without much of a hassle, though, even if that means having to be given a room in a teammate’s mega-mansion for a week or two.
