The seven-day mediation session between the NFL and NFL Players Association showed that the two sides were intensely committed to working out their differences.
The one common complaint, though? Not a single NFL owner showed up for the meetings.
Now, we might know why. Some teams will have enough money to withstand a two-year work stoppage, according to CNN, which cited data from rating agency Standard and Poor’s. Because the owners can sleep on their giant beds of money and light their fireplaces with green portraits of Benjamin Franklin, they don’t necessarily have the same urgency to meet the demands of the NFLPA.
The NFL will still generate revenue from its television deals in 2011, and some of the league’s richest owners, including Robert Kraft from the Patriots and Jerry Jones from the Cowboys, shouldn’t have a problem staying afloat if the lockout looms much longer than expected.
The current collective-bargaining agreement expires at the end of the week, and there’s still no telling which direction this episode will turn. At this point, a new agreement seems extremely unlikely, but many believe the two sides will reach a tentative extension.
While swarms in the NFL will be stressing over this week’s deadline, the owners have nothing but time.
