NFL owners still arguing over revenue sharing
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John Czarnecki / FOXSports.com
Posted: 21 minutes ago



For months now, several of the big-moneyed NFL owners have been balking at the many different revenue-sharing plans brought up.

Imagine Patriots owner Robert Kraft being asked to write a separate check for $25 million while an owner at the bottom of the local revenue-income barrel like Bill Bidwill writing one for a measly $3 million — and you get the idea of how difficult it has been to reach any agreement.


But the NFL Players Association won't settle with the NFL and sign a collective bargaining extension without a slice of what every team earns locally — revenue currently not shared like the television and ticket income — with the players.

However, influential Steelers owner Dan Rooney and Jacksonville owner Wayne Weaver have proposed a plan in which every team would contribute 34 percent of their local revenues that would be dumped into a pool and then distributed equally among the 32 teams and from there onto the players.

Consequently, if the Washington Redskins are earning close to $100 million in local revenue, owner Daniel Snyder would have to write a check for $34 million. Well, right now he is choking on that number. Ditto for Kraft and Jerry Jones of the Cowboys and Bob McNair of the Houston Texans.

Snyder claims he needs every local penny to pay for the debt service on his loan to purchase the Redskins and also on money borrowed to improve his stadium.

Currently, a majority of owners are in favor of cutting owners like Snyder who have improved their stadiums some form of a rebate. However, there hasn't been much sympathy for any owner — like McNair — earning a rebate for the debt service he incurred toward purchasing the expansion Texans. The players association reportedly is in favor of helping owners who spent millions toward improved or new stadiums, but are unwilling to budge on the purchase price of the franchise.

Consequently, fans can understand this is a very complicated business battle being waged by the 32 teams. The richest teams are never going to like a high number — 34 percent — being paid to the players when some teams like the Bengals, Cardinals and Chargers simply don't generate a lot of local revenue.

However, the revenue stream will change in Arizona with the completion of a new stadium. The Chargers are hopeful of a new stadium, too, but way down the road.

Of course, it's unlikely that the Bengals and Mike Brown will ever market their franchise like Jones does in Dallas. This upsets Jones, but there's little he or the league can do about owners who are making a comfortable living as it is off of their football franchise.

But of the dozens of proposals made in the last few months on meetings, the Rooney-Weaver plan seems to have caught some steam. The clubs are meeting again next week in Detroit on money matters and eventually some local-revenue income deal is going to be brokered.


Notes and thoughts

There are four teams still talking trade with Buffalo for running back Travis Henry and none of them are the Houston Texans, a team that I incorrectly mentioned in the past.


Former USC DT Manuel Wright figures to be a third- or fourth-round selection in the July 14 supplemental draft.

There remains a good possibility that Terrell Owens will be a no-show for the first few weeks of training camp because the Eagles don't seem inclined to renegotiate his contract.


It will be interesting to see where Troy Brown lines up in New England minicamps. Cornerback or receiver?


Dolphins coach Nick Saban made a very good hire in ex-Saints GM Randy Mueller as Miami's general manager. Owner Wayne Huizenga needed a PR-face for the team, too, with the retirement of Eddie Jones. Mueller can handle that role as well.