Fuzzy Math
Posted 11:57 PM ET | Comments 0
I will be the first to admit that I do not have the slightest details necessary to account for the inflow and outflow of money from the owners perspective. I am sure they employ a staff of many to crunch these numbers on a daily basis. That being said, lets do a little math.
I am going to use round numbers here so hang in there with me. The point is not the specific numbers but at what point the owners start to lose money.
Lets assume the NHL revenue for the the current year would be 3 Billion. The argument is how those funds are divided between players and owners, if I understand this correctly.
One percent of 3 billion dollars is 30 million. Divide that up among 30 owners and we are talking 1 million dollars per owner per percent gained in the new contract. Lets just say they want and additional 5 percent, 5 million per owner. At what point do the owners start losing more money than they are trying to gain?
Using the same numbers/logic, each owner is taking away the same size piece of the pie. Starting with 3 billion, each team earns about 100 million in annual revenue. (I know that is not the case, but I am trying to make this simple). Dividing that between 82 games we come up with about 1.2 million in revenue per game. If the math is even somewhat close, that is about 3-4 missed games before the owners lose more than they will gain.
Please feel free to correct my math or logic if it is flawed, as I said I am no expert. But the point is not the numbers. No matter how you slice it, it would not be long into the season before these business men lose money. In addition, with the threat of players going over seas possibly for the season, the bad feelings from the fan base, it is almost certain that no matter how good they come out of the CBA negotiations, the owners will lose money, at least in the short term.
Players are taking less money in other leagues just to play. It does not appear to be all about money for them. I do agree that they have already given and have a right to say we are not bending this time because they gave so much last time.
I guess the whole point here is that this is not about money for either side. It is not to far removed from politics. We do this because we can, regardless of what the fans (voters) wish.
The big disappointment for me as a fan is the clear lack of respect professional sports in general has for its fans. I once believed this was not so true of Hockey. Ticket prices were reasonable, the sport was accessible to fans of all ages. Not so anymore. It is all about the business. The continuity between seasons is lost. We do not get to see our teams grow and improve (hopefully). Anything that happens this season will now be accompanied with an asterisks. Not a full season, who knows what would have happened since our star player stayed in KHL for the season. These phrases and many more will simply take the joy out of any of the season that is salvaged.
Unless... it gets cleared up fast. I do not see why this would drag out. The NHL is at risk of losing a lot more over the long term than the argued percentage would justify. The players are not unreasonable and don't have anything to stand behind besides stubbornness born from the last CBA (again well earned).
Lets get it together, all groups involved. This doesn't make sense logically, emotionally, financially or even a ego-centric conquering business man perspective. If this goes into the season at all everyone loses!
I am going to use round numbers here so hang in there with me. The point is not the specific numbers but at what point the owners start to lose money.
Lets assume the NHL revenue for the the current year would be 3 Billion. The argument is how those funds are divided between players and owners, if I understand this correctly.
One percent of 3 billion dollars is 30 million. Divide that up among 30 owners and we are talking 1 million dollars per owner per percent gained in the new contract. Lets just say they want and additional 5 percent, 5 million per owner. At what point do the owners start losing more money than they are trying to gain?
Using the same numbers/logic, each owner is taking away the same size piece of the pie. Starting with 3 billion, each team earns about 100 million in annual revenue. (I know that is not the case, but I am trying to make this simple). Dividing that between 82 games we come up with about 1.2 million in revenue per game. If the math is even somewhat close, that is about 3-4 missed games before the owners lose more than they will gain.
Please feel free to correct my math or logic if it is flawed, as I said I am no expert. But the point is not the numbers. No matter how you slice it, it would not be long into the season before these business men lose money. In addition, with the threat of players going over seas possibly for the season, the bad feelings from the fan base, it is almost certain that no matter how good they come out of the CBA negotiations, the owners will lose money, at least in the short term.
Players are taking less money in other leagues just to play. It does not appear to be all about money for them. I do agree that they have already given and have a right to say we are not bending this time because they gave so much last time.
I guess the whole point here is that this is not about money for either side. It is not to far removed from politics. We do this because we can, regardless of what the fans (voters) wish.
The big disappointment for me as a fan is the clear lack of respect professional sports in general has for its fans. I once believed this was not so true of Hockey. Ticket prices were reasonable, the sport was accessible to fans of all ages. Not so anymore. It is all about the business. The continuity between seasons is lost. We do not get to see our teams grow and improve (hopefully). Anything that happens this season will now be accompanied with an asterisks. Not a full season, who knows what would have happened since our star player stayed in KHL for the season. These phrases and many more will simply take the joy out of any of the season that is salvaged.
Unless... it gets cleared up fast. I do not see why this would drag out. The NHL is at risk of losing a lot more over the long term than the argued percentage would justify. The players are not unreasonable and don't have anything to stand behind besides stubbornness born from the last CBA (again well earned).
Lets get it together, all groups involved. This doesn't make sense logically, emotionally, financially or even a ego-centric conquering business man perspective. If this goes into the season at all everyone loses!