Goodell Says As Many As 20% Of NFL Games May Be Blacked Out

By Daniel Kaplan, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal

Goodell Says Labor Talks With Union Proceeding Slowly

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and some of his top executives met the media late yesterday afternoon for nearly 90 minutes and said the league could have 20% of its games blacked out in local TV markets because those contests are not sold out, well off the 4% of last season. While the league said that percentage was a good figure by historical standards, it nevertheless would be the worst blackout rate since '98, the last year it was above 20% (before that year, the rate never got below 25%). And Goodell told the roughly two-dozen media members gathered in a conference room at the NFL’s N.Y. HQs that labor talks with the union were proceeding slowly, and as a result the league is likely to lose its salary cap next season. Under the current labor deal, the last year is '10, that season sheds the cap in the event no deal is reached. Asked why he thought no deal could be struck before March '10, the deadline for getting a new CBA before losing the cap, Goodell responded, “Because of the progress to date, we have a lot to do, a lot to address, and the progress to date has been minimal.” A union spokesman did not respond for comment by deadline.

MAKING THEIR CASE: The league also began for the first time to quantify publicly how they claim the CBA is not working for them. NFL Exec VP & CFO Anthony Noto said that for every dollar of new revenue generated by the league since the CBA was renewed in '06, the league has lost $0.06 and the players have reaped $0.75 (the remainder are other costs). That does not mean the league is losing money overall, as the money generated since '06 accounts for less than one third of league revenues. The union has said in the past that unless the league completely opens its financial books, it does not trust such figures. Goodell, however, said a lot of financial information has been given to the union, and described NFLPA Exec Dir DeMaurice Smith’s call for financial transparency as a “distraction.”

UNCAPPED YEAR: The league also continued to say they would be fine with losing the salary cap. Because the current system is working so poorly for them, said NFL Exec VP & General Counsel Jeff Pash, “The owners have overcome whatever concern or reluctance they may have had in the past to go into an uncapped year.” The union’s position has long been if the cap is lost, the labor group will never accept another one. And Pash addressed the union’s contention that the talks are slow because the league has not made a proposal. The league has presented concepts and information to the players, he said, and the NFL wants to approach the talks as an opportunity to solve revenue problems with the union. One revenue problem clearly is the lack of sellouts. If 20% of the league's games do not sell out, that represents 51 games, or an average of three per week (the league’s schedule is 17 weeks). One area the league is looking for more money is international. Goodell said the league could add another game to the one already contested in London, and for the first time said he could foresee a team playing in London full time.