Ralph Talks Tough

[Earthquake Enyart]

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20050510/1063220.asp

Will guys like Snyder and Jerry Jones kill the golden goose?

Can you imagine what an "uncapped" year would be like?

[Pride]

Good article... thanks...

Get em ralph!

If this were to happen... this could turn the NFL into MLB, and have 3-4 teams who compete every year, and noone else even has a chance! In a game that only has 16 games... and every game counts... you need paridy (sp?) to put butts in the seats... if you KNOW you team is going to lose, would you really want to attend?

[Earthquake Enyart]

I'm kinda torn here.

If guys like Snyder and Jones are more aggressive, and as a result make more money, why should they have to share it with the Bidwells of the world who just sit and count their money?

[Jan Reimers]

Ralph is a Communist, but in a good way.

[Tatonka]

i actually dozed off while reading that..

[helmetguy]

It's "parity," Pride, but, yes, it was a good article.

[Mr. Miyagi]

i actually dozed off while reading that..
Don't bother even considering getting your MBA or starting a business then.

[Dicknoze69]

I'm kinda torn here.

If guys like Snyder and Jones are more aggressive, and as a result make more money, why should they have to share it with the Bidwells of the world who just sit and count their money?

I agree about the Bidwells, but what about the teams like the Bills? The teams that do everything they can, but just don't have the market size to take full advantage of it like the Pats, Redskins, and Cowboys do.

There's always going to be small-market teams, but the NFL isn't like the normal business world, where you would just crush the small guys. Teams like the Pats need teams like the Bills around to even have a season.

So instead of having small-market weaklings on your schedule, I think financial near-parity is best for everyone.

[Earthquake Enyart]

I agree about the Bidwells, but what about the teams like the Bills? The teams that do everything they can, but just don't have the market size to take full advantage of it like the Pats, Redskins, and Cowboys do.

There's always going to be small-market teams, but the NFL isn't like the normal business world, where you would just crush the small guys. Teams like the Pats need teams like the Bills around to even have a season.

So instead of having small-market weaklings on your schedule, I think financial near-parity is best for everyone.
Is it really, though?

Ralph makes a good point when he says that some of the highest ratings have involved "small market" teams, so there isn't the big TV revenue disparity that there is in baseball.

The rub is that some guys are good at pushing the limits and making more money. Some teams have great stadium deals. Some have sold various rights to companies to make more money. The union wants some of this "other" money.

Why should Ralph get a cut of this extra money and still have a stadium named after himself? Ralph should also be trying to maximize his income and should cut a deal with the county to sell naming rights. Lord knows the county could use the money.

[Tatonka]

Don't bother even considering getting your MBA or starting a business then.

i like working for the man..

[Dicknoze69]

Is it really, though?

Ralph makes a good point when he says that some of the highest ratings have involved "small market" teams, so there isn't the big TV revenue disparity that there is in baseball.

The rub is that some guys are good at pushing the limits and making more money. Some teams have great stadium deals. Some have sold various rights to companies to make more money. The union wants some of this "other" money.

Why should Ralph get a cut of this extra money and still have a stadium named after himself? Ralph should also be trying to maximize his income and should cut a deal with the county to sell naming rights. Lord knows the county could use the money.

I agree about Ralph. Lord knows I'd be selling everything I could if I owned the Bills, except for the actual team. I think he should sell naming rights and so forth, but I doubt he'd get nearly as much as other teams, mostly because of the area that the Bills are located in.

[jamze132]

If Ralph kicks the bucket in the next 3-4 years and there is no salary cap, I don't think Buffalo will have a team anymore. How does the "Los Angeles Bills of Anaheim" sound? I for one would commit ritual suicide if I couldn't watch the BUFFALO BILLS!

[LifetimeBillsFan]

If Ralph kicks the bucket in the next 3-4 years and there is no salary cap, I don't think Buffalo will have a team anymore. How does the "Los Angeles Bills of Anaheim" sound? I for one would commit ritual suicide if I couldn't watch the BUFFALO BILLS!
This is my greatest fear about the team.

I understand the position of a J.Jones that he shouldn't have to share revenues with the Bidwell and Brown types who cut corners and do little to promote their teams--and he has a point. The part of what Ralph said that interested me was his idea that something could be written into the agreement that would prevent the smaller market teams from failing to do everything that they can to maximize their revenues ("I don't have any problem with that at all," Wilson said. "In the CBA, there should be some qualifiers so that doesn't happen."). If the owners could come up with some way to see to it that every team is putting the same effort into maximizing it's income, that might be the solution to the problem. Otherwise, small market teams like Buffalo, Green Bay and others may not survive and the NFL would definitely be worse off without these franchises being where they are.

[Earthquake Enyart]

This is my greatest fear about the team.

I understand the position of a J.Jones that he shouldn't have to share revenues with the Bidwell and Brown types who cut corners and do little to promote their teams--and he has a point. The part of what Ralph said that interested me was his idea that something could be written into the agreement that would prevent the smaller market teams from failing to do everything that they can to maximize their revenues ("I don't have any problem with that at all," Wilson said. "In the CBA, there should be some qualifiers so that doesn't happen."). If the owners could come up with some way to see to it that every team is putting the same effort into maximizing it's income, that might be the solution to the problem. Otherwise, small market teams like Buffalo, Green Bay and others may not survive and the NFL would definitely be worse off without these franchises being where they are.
That's a big if.

The easy way out in the new labor contract is to raise the percentage of the "football" income that the NFLPA gets now. Then it's every team for itself in the non-football revenue world. Ralph is worried that the percentage will be raised to a point where he runs into cash flow problems with signing bonuses.

If small market teams can't or won't generate enough non-football revenue, do they truly deserve to compete? Is Ralph truly doing all he can to generate all the revenue he can?