The NFL owners and NFL Players Association are still at odds over negotiations as they near the end of the current collective bargaining agreement. While it's easy to focus on the owners and the players themselves, they won't be the only ones losing out if there's a lockout next season.
Think about the vendors who thrive off only one game a week to make income, or the dry cleaner who washes all of the players jerseys. It could even affect the school district and public services, msnbc.com reports.
"The way things are set up in Foxborough, Mass., revenue from the Patriots' stadium pays for big-ticket items such as school buses, school computers, highway trucks and fire engines," Foxborough's finance director Randy Scollins said. "The town's capital budget – the line item that would be hit — already has been "starved out" for several years, skimping on all but the school buses."
Other vendors who are partially dependent on games such as bars, restaurants, hotels and gas stations will take a huge hit as well. The numbers may not as large as the $9 billion in revenue the NFL and players pull each year, but these businesses depend on the business that the NFL games drive in.
"It's like a snowstorm," said Stephen Fuller, economist and director of George Mason University's Center for Regional Analysis. "The grocery store sells out, and the restaurants are closed. … There's a redistribution effect."
