Since taking over as executive director of the NFLPA, DeMaurice Smith has been campaigning for NFL teams to open up their books to
cheap jerseys the public. The league objects to that contention on many levels, making it just one of many topics the two sides disagree on as they work toward a new collective bargaining agreement.
However, one club's finances are very much a part of the public domain.
The publically-owned Green Bay Packers revealed their ledgers Wednesday afternoon. Their annual report was sent out to shareholders this week, a yearly occasion that has taken on unprecedented significance as this labor situation grows more fractious. NFL owners contend that the numbers are sobering, and the latest indication that the current model for paying players is broken. Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy -- an integral member of the league's CBA negotiating team -- said that with players costs still skyrocketing and profits well down from previous years, the current system is "unsustainable."
The financial disclosure was just the latest event to illuminate the gulf between the NFL and NFLPA. Union officials quickly took to
RANDY MOSS jersey Twitter Wednesday afternoon to frame the numbers as they see them. There does not seem to be a solution in sight as we prepare to open 2010 training camps in a matter of weeks.
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"It really highlights the concerns that we've had (with the CBA)," Murphy said, "and we saw it last year. It's obviously not a good
Amani Toomer jersey situation when you've got player costs going at a rate twice of that of your revenue. I think it identifies the issue and the problem and why we need to have some changes. Since the current agreement has been in place [2006], the incremental revenue we've earned [$132M], 94 percent of that has gone to the players."
Make no mistake, every owner, team president, union rep and NFLPA official was watching closely as these numbers came out. Though the Packers have iconic status, and can't serve as a representation of the financial landscape for
2010 super bowl jerseys every NFL team, it's the one prism all sides have to assess the economics of the game. While Murphy remains upbeat about the future of this venerable Green Bay institution, the dollar signs in his estimation are grim in certain areas, player costs in particular.
Green Bay's fiscal year numbers reflect activity from April 1, 2009 through March 31, 2010, and thus incorporates the bulk of their spending for the upcoming season in free agency (and the team's bevy of contract extensions to
cheap authentic nfl jerseys current players in particular). The team's revenues were $258 million, their highest ever and $10 million more than the previous year. Yet the club, in essence, made no more money than it did the previous year, according to team officials.