On the dead CBA

Let's imagine for a moment that you work at a coffee shop. This coffee shop is making more money than it ever has before. More customers than ever are buying coffee, and the prices are the highest they've ever been. Things are going great, for the most part. I mean, occasionally someone gets burned by the coffee machine, but that's the risk of working in a coffee shop, right?

Then one day, the owner tells you that he want to cut your pay by 18%, because he's not making enough money. And not only that, he want to make your work day 12.5% longer, and reduce pay even more for new employees. Once you've calmed down, and fought off the urge to shove a venti cup up his ass, wouldn't you ask for some proof? I mean, he's claiming poverty, and that doesn't tally at all with the reality you see around you every day. The other branches in Dallas and New York just opened fancy new stores.

So you ask to see some proof that he's not making enough money. No, he says. You have to trust me. I have the right to deny you access to my accounts. Sure, you say. Of course you do; you run a private enterprise. But I also have the right to not let you cut my pay by 18%, while increasing my hours. If you want me to work more for less pay, this is a vital step in the process. I can't trust you on blind faith alone.

You have to, he says. But the accounts of that socially-owned coffee shop in Green Bay show that they're making cash hand over fist, you say. And they're in the smallest coffee market in the country.

No, he says finally. No deal. I'm locking the doors.


This is the ultimate reason why we might not have an NFL in 2011. And if we do, it will be at a price that the owners won't like, since the players will win in court.

And who loses the most, in both eventualities?

The fans.