Raindog wrote:
My point is that the seccess of NFL football is at an all-time high. One of the reasons is that teams are much more on an even playing field than say, MLB Baseball or European soccar, both of which have teams that spend freely to aquire the talent and in essence "buy" a team. You can't do that with a salary cap and revenue sharing allows cities that don't have tons of people that can spend their money as freely because of a lower average income of the average city.
YOu mentioned perenal losers like Arizona. What about Indianapolis? They are 29th in terms of the team's income and yet with the proper use of managing the team's available finances, they have put together a team that has been consistently and now highly compeitive. I don't think anyone would see Indianapolis, the city, as a market that's capable of drawing in large amounts of revenue.
If your team cannot generate income due to a slower market with people who are not as wealthty as the Washintonian area, Philly and so on... they are at a sizable disadvange and beome perenial losers. Casual fans become disinterested when they believe their team has no chance to compete.
I'm not suggesting that there shouldn't be a salary cap. That is a given, however, on the revenue sharing issue, I side with the better businessmen and the facts show that location and geography are not viable excuses for poor revenue. Take this for instance.
Big Market Teams In Lower Tier of Revenue
Atlanta Falcons = 28th (has been perenial playoff team recently)
San Francisco = 26th
New York Jets = 21st
Small Market Teams in Upper Level
Cleveland Browns = 7th
Carolina = 8th
Tampa Bay = 9th
Baltimore = 11th
- Cleveland hasn't made the playoffs in over a decade and they are still 7th in overall revenue. Not only that, but they are a new franchise.
- Baltimore is not only a new franchise, but it shares the beltway with the highest grossing team in sports, The Redskins.
- Carolina is also a newer franchise in a Charlotte market that didn't support the Hornets
- San Fran has a storied history, yet is terrible in revenue despite being in a large market.
- New York Jets are not far removed from the playoffs, and are in the largest market, New York.
Who is greedy? Daniel Snyder who has turned this franchise into a 1.2 billion dollar business in part by investing his own revenue and reputation in endeavors to market the franchise. Or the owner of the 49ers who is notorious for doing things like charging his own players for Gatorade? Having pay vending machines in player lounge areas and not spending anything in free agency?
Now you expect Daniel to share with that franchise, or the Bengals franchise, when they leave a lot to be desired in terms of business acumen? Bengals won't even do a stadium naming deal.
Greed is not the desire to keep what you earn, greed in my opinion is the desire to reap where you haven't sown. That is what many of these owners do. They spend more time golfing and puffing cigars in Switzerland than they do grinding business deals year round. Danny is buying up radio stations. What does that have to do with Football? Well it will allow him to get broadcast revenue for his team and also gain radio advertisement deals. It will also minimize his own advertising costs in D.C. because he can control the programming and image of the Redskins. Why should the Bengals or Cardinals reap where they haven't sown?
Take this for instance if you are still not convinced.
The Indianpolis Colts, a perennial championship contender ranks 24th in total value and revenue according to Forbes. The Indiana Pacers rank 14th in their respective sport. Similar markets, but different results due in large part to marketing. The Colts are more successful than the Pacers, yet the Pacers are better positioned in relation to their competitiors.
The Arizona Cardinals are ranked 31 in total revenue in the NFL, yet the Phoenix Suns rank 7th.
I only make this point to show that a "slow market" as you call it is not at all determinative of team value and/or revenue. It's a cycle dependent upon a confluence of variables: owners willingness to invest in the on-field product, and owner's creativity and aggressiveness in investing outside of the football field. Dan and Jerry Jones, Bob Kraft have mastered that art. Other owners take a very different approach and view the team more as an investment that is a part of their overall financial plan.