Actually, Goodell doesn't get it

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell miused the time between the end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs to send out a letter concerning the state of the league's labor negotiations. Or at least that's what he claimed it was. Actually, it was another pro-owner, anti-player missive designed to create irritation in the fans over those "greedy football players." In the letter, Goodell wrote:

"The NFL is great because fans care deeply about it. Economic conditions, however, have changed dramatically inside and outside the NFL since 2006 when we negotiated the last CBA. A 10 percent unemployment rate hurts us all. Fans have limited budgets and rightly want the most for their money. I get it."

No, Roger, you don't get it. If you got it, you would be demanding that owners lower ticket prices, reduce the cost of concessions at games, etc., and not demanding that players work harder for no additional pay (the 18-game season) and, in the cases of first-year players, work harder for less money (a rookie wage scale).

Until Goodell does get it, I hope the players don't cave to public pressure to sign a Collective Bargaining Agreement that doesn't force some concessions on the owners.