Blog contributed by Kidd Group Intern, Michael Hoesten.
To fans, the idea of a 2011 National Football League (NFL) lockout seems devastating. If the league and players cannot come to an accord on their collective bargaining agreement, which ends this season, it could mean at least one season without football. This would lead to catastrophic changes for the lives of Americans such as no fantasy football, no tailgating and potentially even PRODUCTIVE SUNDAYS!
As much of a shame as it would be for the average fan to endure this breach of entertainment, a lockout would have additional widespread effects as well, for example, sponsors like Anheuser-Busch plans to pay $1.2 billion for Bud Light to be the Official Beer of the NFL over the next six seasons. While this won’t put the most popular of American beers out of business, the NFL and its programming serve to a wide, yet culturally segmented crowd; it would be hard to find a way for that $1 billion+ to be put to better promotional use. Since the majority of events watched live, and in public places such as bars, are in fact football games, all networks that broadcast NFL games would take a large hit in advertising revenue if there were a lockout. Additionally, fantasy football and all online advertising pertaining to it, would be lost. It is estimated that the financial impact will be a loss of about $12 billion due to these immediate effects such as lost ad revenue, stadium personnel losing jobs and decreased viewers at sports bars. Even Las Vegas and the entire gambling industry will feel the major jolt of a lockout; gambling on football brings in three times more money than any other sport!
Another thing to consider is the loss of brand value for the NFL. We have seen similar lockouts result in the loss of fans, ratings and sponsorships for other leagues, most recently the NHL. Long-time season ticket holders would be outraged and need to be compensated. Fair-weather and moderate fans may lose interest if the lockout persists long enough. While the financial impact can be measured in billions of dollars in lost revenue, there is no way to tell just how far the secondary effects will extend to the NFL brand name. If the effects are anything like that experienced by the NHL, it is a possibility that National Football League will never be the same as we know it.
As the league and owners try to work a deal out, salaries, policies, and rules will surely be changed – regardless of whether a full-blown lockout ensues or not. While some of these changes can have positive or negative effects for the league, fans, owners and players, one thing is for sure; if owners decide to lock players out of even just one NFL season, there will be a plethora of unhappy parties.