The Big Three Sports
lead to more balance in competition, leading subsequently into an increase in popularity from the public. This increase in popularity from the public would result in more ticket and merchandise sales, which would lead to bigger money deals from the networks and such. Therefore, the opinions on the best interest of the league are split and therefore, the league remains stagnant, with more and more teams becoming financially disparaged while other clubs get ridiculously wealthy. Not to mention that, also stated by Will, “Out of 224 postseason games since the 1994 strike, 219 have been won by teams in the top two payroll quartiles. All World Series games since the strike have been won by teams in the top quartile” (www.cjonline.com).
More recently, as of August 2003 in an article from bigleaguers.com (the official MLBPA web-site), the MLB owners declared three areas in need of change: “a worldwide amateur draft, significantly increased revenue sharing, and what they characterized as a ‘competitive balance’ tax” (www.bigleagures.com). The MLBPA has agreed to see the owners on these issues that would prevent labor hostility through the 2005 season if the owners decide to settle on the deal and secure it. This would ensure baseballs’ avoidance of another messy labor strike that would lead to decreased interest in the game and in overall revenue.
So in general, player/management relations are on opposite ends of the spectrum regarding the best interest of their business, but are working together to find a middle ground and ensure the stability of the sport.
Finally, the player/management relationship of the NFL seems to be the one that has remained more consistently stable and healthy. Unlike the other two sports, it seems as if the NFL takes more caution in its business dealings, which has led to healthy relations between the two groups. Taken from the NFL.com web site, in January of 2001, the NFL teams approved a revenue-sharing plan that would work for the benefit of every team as they decided to distribute the gate receipts equally among the visiting teams. Again from the NFL.com web site, the CBA of 1993 was extended six years in 2001 and a fourth extension was agreed upon in 2002, taking the agreement through the 2007 season.
Maybe more important than the passing of extended CBA agreements and revenue sharing tactics is the NFL’s impression of itself collectively, owners and players/coaches. In a Business Week online magazine article written by Tom Lowry, Gene Upshaw, the executive director of the NFLPA stated, “I don't see this as us vs. the owners, but instead it’s us vs. all the other entertainment choices out there: the movies, music, theater” ( Lowry 2). This is a very healthy view on the status of player/management relations as it lends itself to bi-partisan politics, in which the best interest of the collective is stressed over the best interest of the individual. Another quote, from the owner perspective, impresses the same idea when Art Modell, the owner of the Baltimore Ravens [next page]