HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?

The NHL has decided to lop off the first two weeks of the 2012-13 schedule: which includes 85 games across the board of teams. This is after killing off the pre-season and will cost the league in general about $100 Million!

This is all due to the $3 billion in annual revenue that is to be divided among the players and owners. Killing off the first two weeks of the season has a huge impact on the sponsors, the broadcasting media and the workers in the arenas that service these games. Everyone is impacted.

The last contract the players were getting about 57% of the income and now the owners want them to take less, under 47%. Of course the players will not agree to a cut. This is the third lock-out since the 1994-1995 season that there is a lockout.

In the two weeks affecting the game, the players will lose from October 11 to the 24^th pay that if he makes say $1 million annually, will lose $77,000! That is a lot of money for the players who don’t feel it from the obscene contracts the players had.

If the players can demand that much money and the owners feel that that is undeserved, then blame the owners for allowing these crazy contracts to begin with. If the players feel so crucial to the success of the game, then why doesn’t the support staff of the league get more money too? Without the support of the common man, the janitorial services, the people that maintain the arenas, the ticket sellers etc., the game isn’t played either. How about a little revenue sharing with the low-paid guys and gals that make hockey possible on a professional basis?

It is always about the players, how they are paid and treated, and never anybody else. To me, if you don’t like the fact that an owner is making money on a sport, then get the hell out of it or buy your own team and make money.

Donald Fehr, Executive Director of the Player’s Association said: 

”If the owners truly cared about the game and the fans, they would lift the lockout and allow the season to begin on time.”

The owners don’t care about the fans is a lot of bologna, of course the owners care, that is the source of revenue! If the players cared, they might consider more reasonable salary demands and profit sharing.

That’s all I wrote, folks!