Owners just never cease to amaze me

[Eagle60]

These guys lock out the players jeopardizing the whole season, yet most of them still want to get paid. Unbelievable.


Eagles announce deferment option on payment for season tickets
POSTED: April 21, 2011 By Jeff McLane

In light of the NFL lockout, the Eagles announced to their season-ticket holders on Wednesday a deferment option on the second payment on ticket plans for the coming season.

The Eagles are one of a handful of teams to give their fans this choice. Many teams have already collected full payment for next season, including Dallas, Pittsburgh, and New England.
The New York Giants announced last month that they won't require their season- ticket holders to pay anything until there is a resolution between the owners and players. The Giants gave their fans the option to defer payment or pay in full by May 1.

The New York Jets, like the Eagles, already received 50 percent of the amount but said they wouldn't ask for the rest until training camp dates were announced. The Panthers asked for 10 percent up front and said they would defer the remainder until a new collective bargaining agreement is in place.

"In light of that the work stoppage is ongoing and continuing and now that we've had a chance to kind of look at things through that prism, this seems to be fair and seems to provide flexibility," said Don Smolenski, chief operating officer for the Eagles. "We've had fans who have asked, and it makes sense. It's the right thing to do."

The Eagles sent out a notice Wednesday afternoon via e-mail and regular mail informing ticket holders of the plan. In the electronic version, a link to a page gives two options - pay now or defer payment until June 7 or until there is an official announcement that the 2011 season will happen.

To choose deferment, ticket holders must provide credit card information so the Eagles will have enough time to process the orders if the lockout drags close to or into the season.

"We have to process the payment, print the tickets, distribute the tickets. All that takes time," Smolenski said. "And not knowing how this will all shake out or when it will shake out, we could be in a situation where we have to move quickly."

Invoices for season tickets were mailed out in January with the first payment due by March 8. Smolenski said the Eagles received "virtually 100 percent" of the first installment. Thirty-five percent paid in full.

Three days later the players' union decertified, and the owners locked out the players, essentially shutting down the league. The Eagles informed their season-ticket holders then that they would refund their payment in full - plus any accrued interest - if any games were lost to the lockout.

"And now we're offering this deferral option," Smolenski said. "I think it's among the fan-friendliest."

[Blitz]

I don't see what they're doing wrong. It's business as usual. If no games are played fans will get their money back. It's the price people pay for season tickets.

BTW they locked out the players after the Union decertified.

[Eagle60]

I don't see what they're doing wrong. It's business as usual. If no games are played fans will get their money back. It's the price people pay for season tickets.

BTW they locked out the players after the Union decertified.

Right Blitz, like the owners never intended to lock them out.

[BIGPHILLY]

Um. Nobody put a gun to the fans heads to buy tickets. You don't like the free market offering of the NFL teams - don't buy the tickets. You have a choice.

[stocknowledge]

Yes, E60, I don't see what is so bad about this. If they don't play, the fans won't have to pay. They are just setting up the system for receiving payment in case they actually have a season.

[Blitz]

Right Blitz, like the owners never intended to lock them out.

True but the players never negotiated in good faith. They knew they were going to let the courts handle it. Now if the players had negotiated in good faith and the owners still locked them out I would agree 100% with the players.

[Eagle60]

True but the players never negotiated in good faith. They knew they were going to let the courts handle it. Now if the players had negotiated in good faith and the owners still locked them out I would agree 100% with the players.

You speak as though all this came about just of late. The owners planned the whole scenario over a year ago. They voted out of the peaceful coexistence. They don't want to share revenue. There is more than enough money to go around, but the guys on top want the players to make up the difference. The guys in NY make more than a lot of small countries, but they want it all in their own pockets. I'm tired of hearing how great the Maras are. Maybe the old man was, but the kids are just greedy fucks.

[Blitz]

You speak as though all this came about just of late. The owners planned the whole scenario over a year ago. They voted out of the peaceful coexistence. They don't want to share revenue. There is more than enough money to go around, but the guys on top want the players to make up the difference. The guys in NY make more than a lot of small countries, but they want it all in their own pockets. I'm tired of hearing how great the Maras are. Maybe the old man was, but the kids are just greedy fucks.

The players gave the right to the owners to do just that. The players got a sweet deal last time and it's been known since it was signed that owners would opt out before it was up. The owners were stupid to sign it but I blame Tags and Upshaw because they pulled a buddy/buddy deal.

The players are just as greedy as the owners are so I fail to see why one side should get a pass. If they want to be known as partners maybe they should help foot the bill when it comes time to build stadiums. It's only fair that partners should split 50/50 right?

[tinopuno]

You speak as though all this came about just of late. The owners planned the whole scenario over a year ago. They voted out of the peaceful coexistence. They don't want to share revenue. There is more than enough money to go around, but the guys on top want the players to make up the difference. The guys in NY make more than a lot of small countries, but they want it all in their own pockets. I'm tired of hearing how great the Maras are. Maybe the old man was, but the kids are just greedy fucks.

I have been baffled by the intensity of the anger and derision expressed toward the players by the majority of posters on Pro Football Talk, many of whom seem content to just mouth the leagues simplistic 'talking points' while ignoring the owners'/leagues' role in this debacle. It seemed pretty obvious to me from the outset that NEITHER group was at all committed to meaningful negotiations and that each had a set strategy that they planned to employ (owners=lockout, union=desertification) barring a dramatic and unexpected concession from the other side. But the majority of posts on PFT take the unsupportable (IMHO) position that the owners were fully ready to bargain in good faith when the players ruined things by 'walking out'. It seems clear that both parties were simply going though the motions while acting out a fairly tightly scripted play.

So the question I keep asking myself is, "How can so many people be so strongly supportive of the owners...who don't typically prompt warm, fuzzy feelings...and so angry with the players, when objectively the fault for the current standoff seems pretty equally shared."

I just didn't get it. Was this possibly a racial thing? While some of the contempt for the players had a racial undertone, that didn't seem sufficient to explain the breadth and intensity of the anger toward the players and the union.

Stupid me? It has finally occurred to me that at least some of the hard to understand unilateral support for the owners/NFL and sharp criticism of the players and 'the union' is a reflection of larger political issues in our country that are currently generating heated debate.

If true, this saddens me. I've have tried very hard to remove all sources of political noise (from both sides) from my daily existence. To borrow from Faulkner, to me it's all "sound and fury signifying nothing". Sports...especially NFL Football...was my refuge from the silliness and posturing that is the daily fodder of both political parties and their ardent supporters.

WTF is left for me?

[taz]

I will never be in the court of these players, unions were born to NEGOTIATE fair and equitable contracts with employers NOT to burden the justice system. This unions plan from the begining was to take this through the legal system. Which fundementaly is wrong. The owners are doing nothing different here than thousands of business and unions have done over the past few years based in this economy and that is to negotiate a new deal.

Whether a judge says the owners have to open the league or not, the players simply are Too stupid to understand what the ramifications of that are. Maybe if they would have paid attention in their econ classes in college they would have understand what this means. The minimum salary the owners would have to pay the players is $7.25 an hour. The owners can keep as many or as little players at they want on the rosters, the owners don't even have to have games. In other words if the Eagles only want to keep 22 players they can. How does that help the players? It simply means much less employment

I will say this again, the owners are extremely smart, they are ready for ever turn in this. The great success this league has had will all go down the tubes. All the players had to do is negotiate in good faith, they never did and never will under Dumbass Smith

[dawkins20]

totally agree taz

players are the ones who have really looked like idiots the whole way through. Which was not unexpected to many of us after they hired Demaurice Smith

[Eagle60]

totally agree taz

players are the ones who have really looked like idiots the whole way through. Which was not unexpected to many of us after they hired Demaurice Smith

I agree here Dawk. I sensed trouble from the start when they hired that jerk. This is still the big guy pushing the little guy around though. I agree that these owners are very smart. What the hell, they basically have gotten the public to fund their franchises and build their stadiums. And they have even gotten bright people like yourself to take their side. It's puzzling to me.