I call BS on the NFL

[MaxDepth]

El Linko

NEW YORK -- The recession has hit the NFL.

The league said Tuesday it is cutting more than 10 percent of its headquarters staff in response to the downturn in the nation's economy.

The cuts were announced in a memo to league staff by commissioner Roger Goodell. The league is eliminating about 150 of its staff of 1,100 in New York, NFL Films in New Jersey and production facilities in Los Angeles.

Goodell said these were difficult and painful steps, but necessary in the current economic environment.

The NFL has been symbolic of the wealth surrounding professional sports, but it now joins the NBA, Major League Baseball and NASCAR in announcing layoffs.

Lemme see...you are firing 150 people because...
- there are less teams than last year?
- league memberships aren't being paid?
- fewer people are buying licensed NFL material?

- the big boss had to decide a new penthouse for mistress #4, or payroll for the 150?


:frown:

 

[mchammer187]

ad revenue way down

ticket sales down maybe a factor too

 

[Delita]

They probably aren't getting in some of the revenues from merchandise.

 

[TallBill]

1100 people at the HQ? Most of that must be marketing related.

 

[alchemize]

I'd be OK with this if they decided to pay for competent refs instead of the part time good ole boys club they have now.

 

[AstroManLuca]

Indeed. The NFL is doing just fine. The economic downturn is just a great excuse for companies to justify firing people they don't feel like paying (which, in turn, makes the downturn worse because more people are unemployed).

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Originally posted by: TallBill
1100 people at the HQ? Most of that must be marketing related.

probably about 1000 of them

 

[Insomniator]

Now its bad for companies to cut waste?

Doesn't matter what condition a company is in, expendable people should be gotten rid of.

Or they could just keep hiring and hiring and paying and paying and end up like some other companies in the news these days.

 

[Vehemence]

Should fire more imo

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: mchammer187
ad revenue way down

ticket sales down maybe a factor too

there was a good article that mentioned that not just ad revenue is way down (not just for NFL), ticket sales is down, people arent buying T-shirts, hats or beer at games as much anymore.

 

[GenHoth]

I hope they start firing at the top

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

Maybe it's the people that designed the new logo.

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: mchammer187
ad revenue way down

ticket sales down maybe a factor too

there was a good article that mentioned that not just ad revenue is way down (not just for NFL), ticket sales is down, people arent buying T-shirts, hats or beer at games as much anymore.

Well that falls under... Duh. Don't know about you but I am not sepending hundreds of dollars to just get into the game then have to pay more to drink/eat.

If owners put fans first then this would not be a problem. The problem is a owner pays 1 player XX million a year then other teams do the same and the cost is just passed to the fans. I have not been to a Football game since I was a young child, and I can't even remember that.

 

[mesthead21]

I also wonder how this is going to the affect the new stadiums being built (giants and cowboys) the PSL's are already ridiculous, I can only imagine what a normal ticket would cost

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: mchammer187
ad revenue way down

ticket sales down maybe a factor too

there was a good article that mentioned that not just ad revenue is way down (not just for NFL), ticket sales is down, people arent buying T-shirts, hats or beer at games as much anymore.

If an NFL fails to sellout all 8 home games for 3 straight seasons they should be forced to disband.

 

[MaxDepth]

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: mchammer187
ad revenue way down

ticket sales down maybe a factor too

there was a good article that mentioned that not just ad revenue is way down (not just for NFL), ticket sales is down, people arent buying T-shirts, hats or beer at games as much anymore.

Most of that is shared by the teams and the NFL. Yes, the NFL home office may be bloated from excessive hiring. However, to blame the economy for something that is basically showing more profit than last year (the revenues are adjusted on expected growth, not just growth) they should come out and admit, "hey, we made some hiring decisions we shouldn't have, but there you are..."

But to blame it on the economy...that's just BS.

 

[ja1484]

Originally posted by: AstroManLuca
Indeed. The NFL is doing just fine. The economic downturn is just a great excuse for companies to justify firing people they don't feel like paying (which, in turn, makes the downturn worse because more people are unemployed).

Um, since when did companies need an excuse to fire people they didn't feel like paying? Contracts notwithstanding, most of the US is at-will employment by law...

 

[summit]

just keep fining plax and pacman

 

[DayLaPaul]

It's pretty simple. Every department needs to meet their financial goals. If goals aren't being met, sometimes there are cutbacks. That's not to say that the NFL as a whole isn't doing well, but when your specific department's job is to sell tickets or merchandise and you aren't meeting your goals, something's gotta give.