Recently, you may have heard of the possibility of a NFL Lockout on the news or in the paper, and wondered, "What is this all about"? Well, in order to properly understand the NFL Lockout, one must first have a basic understanding of what a Collective Bargaining Agreement, or CBA, is. In simple terms, a CBA is an agreement between an employer (the NFL in this case) and a representative body of employees (the NFLPA). The CBA between the NFL and the NFL Players Association covers everything from the health insurance benefits for the players, to the revenue split between the owners and the players.
The main issues of concern in the current CBA regard the shared revenue between the NFL and the NFLPA and the expansion from a 16 game regular season to an 18 game regular season. These two core issues are essentially what have led the NFL to a lockout, and so far, neither side has made much of an attempt to budge from their respective positions.
Recent attempts at reconciliation and cooperation have been made through federal mediation to no avail, and unfortunately it looks as though this will have to be settled in court. For the fans this means that an NFL Lockout could result in the cancellation of the 2011-2012 football season.
It is no surprise that the fans are pretty fed up with the NFL's infighting. To most it appears to be two very wealthy sides battling it out over more money with no interest in their most important asset, the fans. Many fans have taken it upon themselves to petition the NFL owners not to lockout the players, however, it seems to have had very little effect as the owners continue to push their agendas.
Now fans are taking it a step farther. The No Nonsense Fan League is a fan run organization that has recently vowed to send a physical letter to the NFL for every fan who wishes for their voice to be heard, in an unprecedented attempt to become the representative voice of the fans. Fans from all over the country are taking part in the project and "banding against the NFL Lockout". In doing so each fan receives a "Fan Bandit" wristband to wear in protest of the NFL Lockout, in addition to the letter that is being sent to the NFL on their behalf. Whether or not the fan's attempt to stop the NFL Lockout will work remains to be seen. However, one thing is for certain. The NFL fans are not going to stand by and watch their favorite sport be ruined by the very same people who already make billions of dollars each year in ticket and merchandise sales, and TV and sponsorship deals.
Find out what you can do to stop the NFL Lockout
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