NFL lockout could cost $5bn 29/11/2010 |
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The executive director of the National Football League (NFL) players’ union believes a player lockout next season is a “near certainty” – and that it would cost the US economy an estimated $5bn in lost wages, taxes and other revenue if the entire season was cancelled.
DeMaurice Smith said if NFL owners lock out players in order to get concessions in a labour dispute, it would be devastating to local communities as America struggles with a 9.6 per cent unemployment rate.
“The magnitude of the loss would be at the very least about $160m to $170m per team-city,” Smith said. “That is a conservative estimate of the economic impact.”
However, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello challenged Smith’s comments, saying the numbers came from union projections rather than a government agency, investment bank or noted economist.
“It is a series of numbers pulled from thin air in a misguided attempt to inject politics into the collective bargaining process,” Aiello added. “There is a fair deal to be done and soon if the union will bargain with the same fervour it displays in creating economic fairy tales.”
NFL owners voted unanimously in May 2008 to opt out of their labour contract with the players at the end of this season – two years early. The players were satisfied with the agreement and wanted to complete the contract.
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