As players make more, owners do, too
Much has been said this week — some accurate, plenty not — about the many millions that players will earn as a result of the flurry of free-agent contracts. One point has not been made.
For every dollar that goes to the players, the owners pocket a dollar, too. Also, the players have no equity. The owners hold all of it.
Starting in 2011, labor and management agreed to what's roughly a 50-50 split of all revenue. So if free agents who signed this week have gotten $1.7 billion in new contracts, there will be a corresponding $1.7 billion that goes to the 32 owners.
Of course, only part of the $1.7 billion will actually be paid. All that matters in player contracts is the amount that's fully guaranteed at signing. The instant reporting regarding new deals usually don't mention the full guarantee, because it's always lower than the total guarantee, which includes injury guarantees that can be avoided if the player is healthy when he's released.
The NFL's one-way contracts, where players are bound to the full term but teams aren't, get torn up all the time. Those millions go back into the system, to be paid (or not paid) to other players.
Through it all, the owners are getting half of the money that comes from the gate, the networks, sponsorships, and all other revenue streams combined. And the owners continue to own businesses that keep going up and up and up in value. Which means that the current business model, which entails splitting the cash with the players, is working extremely well for those who own the businesses.
So, yes, it's working well for the players. The fact that the league is happy to point this out shows it's working even better for the owners.
Think of it this way. If the league's agreement to share revenue equally with players was creating financial strain on the teams, we'd be hearing about it. Owners would be complaining. At a minimum, sources would be chirping that, for example, the exorbitant player salaries are making it harder and harder for the owners to pay the various non-players who are making far less than the players.
Nothing like that is happening. No NFL team is laying off workers, even in the age of DOGE. (Which absolutely will prompt plenty of private businesses to take a page from the ongoing, indiscriminate chainsawing of payrolls that will impact families regardless of who the adults in the household voted for.)
For the NFL, business has been booming. It's still booming. And by proclaiming how well it's going for the players, even less attention will be paid to how well the champagne and superyacht crowd is doing.
The point isn't that those who own NFL teams should be making less. The point is that we shouldn't recoil with resentment at the numbers being given to the men who fuel the sport and who take far greater risks than the owners do.
Are the players "worth" it? Absolutely. Because the business model fully supports it. And because those who run the businesses are doing even better.
The problem is that we always find out what players make. We never know what the owners make.
Do we need to know the numbers? When in doubt, take a look at their toys.
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