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Raiders requiring all employees, including
Trask, to start selling new season tickets |
The Raiders have opted to "bolster the sales staff" rather than "slashing salaries or trimming jobs" during the ongoing lockout, according to a front-page piece by Jarrett Bell of USA TODAY. The Raiders are requiring every employee, including "secretaries, equipment managers, coaches and executives," to "sell new season tickets worth 10% of what they earn during the lockout." Raiders Chief Exec Amy Trask is among those who "must sell tickets." The program, entitled "The 2011 Plan," runs "counter to the NFL trend during a lockout in its 10th week." Roughly one-third of NFL teams, "in addition to the league headquarters and other entities, have reduced costs with salary cuts or furloughs" (
USA TODAY, 5/18). Trask: "I understand some clubs are taking different approaches. (But) a strong argument can be made that every team should be doing (this) all the time." Bell notes "not every team has the tickets to sell like the Raiders, who averaged an NFL-low attendance of 46,431 for home games last season." Trask acknowledged that some employees "might not be thrilled about 'The 2011 Plan,'" but she suspected that the "percentage of intimidated staffers is low" (
USA TODAY, 5/18).
STANDING FIRM: In Cleveland, Tony Grossi reported the Browns are "holding firm to not institute any cuts at present." Sources said that while the Browns are "downsizing the security department," they "have not demanded paycuts, furloughs or other cost-cutting measures." NFL Coaches Association Exec Dir Larry Kennan said the Browns are not going to cut coaches' salaries "until they feel they have to." Kennan: "With the Browns, it might be six months before they take any money from their coaches" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 5/15). Meanwhile, in Boston, Greg Bedard noted the Bills, Dolphins and Jets "have cut the pay of team employees or forced them to take unpaid vacation during the lockout, but the Patriots are not expected to follow suit." The policy of Owner Robert Kraft and President Jonathan Kraft "likely has much to do with that, but the Patriots also have more varied business interests than other teams, including the Revolution, events in and around Gillette Stadium, and the Kraft Group" (BOSTON GLOBE, 5/15).
