Dear Roger Goodell....
 

Here is a list of things myself and the talking heads here at Sports-Boards.net have come up with that will help the best run league in sports, run even better, more efficiently and provide more entertainment value.




#1

Full-time refs, not only could we have younger guys with better eyesight, but in the offseason when the regulars are off doing there 9-5, the full-refs could be attending offseason training 3-5 days a week, putting them light years ahead of the schlubs we have right now.

#2

All replay should be reviewed by an official in the booth. There is no point to the added delay of having the ref come off the field, look through the various camera shots, and then come back on the field. The replay ref would only be responsible for replay review. It would be a nice way to reward refs who can no longer keep up on the field by giving them a cushy desk job while still utilizing their experience.

does anybody remember when the refs went on strike?

they brought in college and high school guys and they did a better job.

and without replay.

Worst

Strike

Ever

#3

In the grand scheme of things, Chad Johnson wearing a black or orange chinstrap doesn't matter. Leave enforcement of the niggly little details to the teams, and worry about the bigger things, like making sure ex-NFL players aren't eating out of garbage cans.

REP.

REP again.

Anti-Rep.

That's the responsibility of the players union. Direct the comment to Fehr rather than Goodell.

Further demerits for putting that comment with a suggestion for eliminating the fashion police....which employs former players.

http://www.sports-boards.net/forums/...ies/tongue.png

So the player's union is preventing the league from doing the right thing for ex-players?

Former players aren't covered by the union.

The Union negotiates retirement benefits, but only to a point - as it benefits CURRENT players. Old-time-players had nothing, and the union had no reason to negotiate on their behalf - as they weren't paying any dues.

Mid 70's is when the Union finally had some bargaining position.

I'll agree with the last half of the last sentence for the older guys who didn't have the opportunity to earn an outrageous salery like many of these guys are now.

League minimum is what 350-450K a year? And, it's been about that for quite a while now. As far as I'm concerned anyone who retired from the NFL from about maybe 1989 to now, IMO should have no reason to be eating out of a garbage can. Those folks should have been smart enough to stash some of that money they got in a savings account or some bonds or mutual funds or in their mattresses at the very least. A dirty accountant might be a good exception to the rule, but not that good as you should be able to have some control over your finances and be checking up on them.

If I ever hear about a guy like Jerry Rice (purely for demonstration purposes) come to some sort of hearing like we have today in congress about how he can't afford health care and this and that, I'd laugh him out of the room.

Of course, I still question some of these older players (especially ones who didn't have their career shortened by a fluke injury or the like) not being able to stick some of the money they made away and let it work for them.

If there's one thing the league and NFLPA could do better is set up some sort of class or service designed to help the players make educated decisions about dealing with their money. Things like how to deal with a check that's more than a couple hundred a week. What sort of options are out there for investment. With that kind of money, it's easy to lose track of where it's all going with purchases, investments, and donations.

I would as well.

Players from a couple of decades ago did not earn the bling that players make today. I feel no sympathy for a guy who pisses away is fortune living the high life instead of preparing for life after football.

I'm more concerned with the NFL taking care (medically) of the players from yester year. They helped make the league what it is today.

#4

Formally release the reasons for suspensions (e.g. pot, roids, and etc) so the public can humiliate the player in addition to the league enforced penalties

I can't fully disagree with that as healthcare wasn't a big concern back then. However, the salaries they made back then were still quite a bit better than the average Joe out there. Players were still making around double what a normal person was making back then. It still comes down to fiscal responsibility, IMO.

Even if they were making double what a working person was making, they only got that income for a handful of years. I believe the average NFL career is around 3 years. It's hard to get a meaningful retirement funded in that short of a time.

Health insurance for those players at a minimum. They have doctors on team staff, it would not be ridiculous to add one more to take care of basic office visits and screening, and physical therapy after major joint replacements, recovery from organ surgery, etc. The NFL can afford self insurance for these guys, theres not that many and they have assets in place.

Yeah, I suppose. I see where you're coming from. I guess it's a lot shorter than I thought. I guess when you factor in all the Johnny-come-latelies who make the roster for a year or two and then can't latch on anywhere else it puts things in perspective.

What then would qualify a former player for pension benefits and extended healthcare benefits?

#5 Do not allow black outs in a teams area. If the team is worth paying to see, people will do so. If a team is routinely going to get their collective ass's kicked allow the fan to enjoy it from home.

#6 Get rid of the exclusive deal with DirecTV for Sunday Ticket.

Take a guy like Willie Wood who's practically a cripple. His pension doesn't even come close to paying for medical insurance. The NFL should definitely be paying for his medical care. It would be such a small amount of money to the NFL and would make a world of difference to the ex-players.

That could be tough to negotiate.