Oh no, it is an NFL Labor situation post

I'm going to make this fairly quick because I am still pumped about the NFL Playoffs and the Packers-Falcons game on Saturday night and I don't want to whine too much right now.  However, I read this Forbes blog post explaining some of the realities of the Owners vs Players and had to share it.

The two biggest things you hear about are the rookie wage scale & the 18 game season, both of which are basically just ways for the Owners to divert the attention of the fans to issues that they can relate to (younger people making more than you do & MORE FOOTBALL).  The arguments being that unproven first round drafts picks don't deserve $10-50 million guaranteed before they even step on the field.  The huge money thrown around to the number one pick especially garners a lot of attention every  year.  In reality, if you look at rookie salaries as a pool very little is committed to paying them each year (read the Forbes blog).  As far as the 18 game season goes, the argument is obvious - two more regular season games is more meaningful football for the average fan.  Once again this is a simplistic view of the situation, and an obviously cash grab by the league without any concern for its players.  If you've been paying attention this season you have heard a lot about player safety, especially with regards to helmet to helmet collisions.  300 + players have been on injured reserve this season (which is about average).  That is equivalent to 6 teams.  The argument from the players is more games will mean more injuries, which is also probably simplistic as well.  The reason I am against the 18 game schedule is because while preseason games are meaningless, so are games at the end of the season that feature a 5-10 Lions team vs. a 6-9 Vikings team, and I think you will see even more of those if you add two more games with alleged "meaning."

Ok that's it for not because I don't want to get going too much here, because believe me, when I conclude this post after the Super Bowl (or maybe during the bye week, depending on how much more research I do) I guarantee I will go off.