After seeing the thread about why we should trust the Glazers, I thought I would present a counter point. I’m not a conspiracy nut or such, just putting together a few loose bits of information to see if fits together. My question is, are the Glazers in favor of and preparing for a lock out?
All the coaches’ contracts will expire so no salaries will have to be paid there. Grudens and Allens may extend past that, but at least a good chuck if not all of it should eliminated when they join a new team next year.
All Bucs players, so far, that should be up for contract extensions are instead being ignored in hopes the salary cap is gone next year and they get these players on the cheap for 1 more year and they don’t have to pay them anything if a lock out occurs. This may not be relevant as I don’t think any player gets anything during a lock out, but that could depend on the timing. OTA or reporting bonuses is what I am referring too. When would a lock out officially start? My understanding is it would start the moment FA would normally begin. We have seen tons of players cut prior to this date because of bonuses due just prior to it. All those players playing on RFA tenders and transition or franchise tags this next year would not be owed a dime. In fact, despite their contracts being over, it’s near certain (IMHO) that very few FA’s will move around after the lockout. There will most likely be a short time frame agreed to in which each teams has sole negotiation powers. And if the lockout goes into the season, players won’t want to wait weeks missing games and pay checks after they have already missed so many. So at least for the 1st year coming out of a lockout, the home teams should be at a great advantage over the players.
The Stadium - Rent is $3m a year, flat, never goes up. They also receive 100% the first $2m of non football revenue at the stadium and 50% of parking and concessions after $2m. A good example, when the Bulls play there, even though the Bucs organization does nothing, it gets to profit from it.
One Buc Place - To my understanding is flat out owned by the Bucs so the only expenses there would be utility and such. If a lock out were to happen, it would most likely just be shut down and locked up, not even a janitor. All those employees would most likely be “laid off†until the lock out is over. There may be loan payments due here, but I doubt they are that much.
TV contracts – Even if there is a lock out, the NFL and the teams will still get the TV money from at least CBS and Fox (The Direct TV deal expires in 2011). Although the networks will get that money back later in the form of credits, the owners still get to add dollars to their balance sheet. We are talking in the range of 1.3 Billion (yes with a B) here. That’s over $40 million per team.
Season Ticket Holders – This one I don’t know. Those who have already paid their security deposit or such, will they get that money back or will they get a “credit†towards the next season. Anyone around who was a season ticket holder during the last strike or another sports season strike? My thinking is the Bucs can sit on the money and use it for their purposes.
Local Deals – Advertising, radio and TV. The first obvious one is the Bucs won’t need to advertise so there is one less expense. The other is deals they have made with local radio or TV stations. Will they still have to pay to be the Bucs flagship station even if there are no games? Will they like CBS and Fox receive credits in the future as compensation? Is this more free money for the Glazers?
It is easy to see that the Bucs ownership will be making a LOT of money during a lockout. With the vast majority of their expenses tied up in salaries (which won’t happen during a lock out) and the vast majority of their income still ensured, a lock out could be free money for the Glazers. In reality, the only thing the glazers will lose is up to 8 home Buccaneers game.
Overall, the worst case scenario (from the Glazers perspective) would be a new CBA done before 2010 and all they get from that is a team that losses a lot of games. But with the CBA they will probably get more money anyways so no big deal. Best case, no salary cap in 2010 with minimal contracts and a 2011 full of free money.
From a financial and business standpoint, what they are doing may be the smartest move. We fans may not agree with it but 99% of fans can be bought out anyways. Worst case for us fans is no football in 2011 and a loser for a few years after that. But once the orange has been squeezed for every drop and the Glazers finally give in and either sell or built a real competitor, most fans will forget about what happened. Think back to the stadium deal. Most were opposed to it. Most forgot about it with the SB win.
Link to Stadium deal -
http://tampa.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid:293314Link to TV Contract -
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F02E3DC163FF933A15756C0A96F9C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all
