Two of the most popular sports in the United States are currently locked out from playing. While there they have not started the season, there is a huge threat of games not being played. A lockout is very different from a strike. In a lockout, the owners of the teams have banned the players from being able to play. A strike occurs when the players refuse to play because of disputes with the owners. The NBA and NFL lockouts are caused by two completely different reasons, and the only way to find out when they will be over is to know the cause.
Many NBA officials have seen the lockout coming for over two years. The league is structured in a way that makes it hard for the teams in the smaller cities to be able to make money. 22 teams in the league lost money after last season. The NBA owners are looking to completely restructure the league to make it easier to make money. Before this can happen, the players have to agree to any changes. To make more money, the owners want to lower salaries and limit the amount of money each team can spend. The league currently has a salary cap, but is not enforce. The salary cap is supposed to be $57 million for each team, but the Dallas Mavericks won the championship with a payroll of over $80 million. The restructuring will enforce the cap, and include other changes to help the owners. The players will have a hard time agreeing to a pay cut, so there may be a long time without any pro basketball games being played.
The NFL is currently the most popular sport in the country, and is making billions of dollars every year. There is a revenue sharing program in the league that splits the profits equally between the teams. The owners then give their players a payment based on how much revenue was received. The lockout in the NFL is caused by a dispute between the players and owners over how the revenue is divided. Each of them would like to receive more money than they are getting, and have refused to settle. The lockout should be settled in enough time to have a full season because both sides know how much money they will lose if they do not come to an agreement. The most probable ending will see the players lowering their demands and settling with the owners. The owners have much more money and can afford to miss a season. Most of the players do not have enough money to go a whole year with no salary. This is why the lockout should be over soon, and they will get back to playing football.
