Gregg Bingham: A Little History Lesson
A little history lesson and my jog down memory lane that others also might not have known:
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Economics 201 says that all businesses are valued on a cash flow basis thus valuations are set BASED ON SAID CASH FLOW… now let’s look at some simple FACTS:
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- In 1986, John Mecom sold the New Orleans Saints for $65 million;
- Prior to 1987, the NFLPA never had the “big bucks” to launch a big legal fight because the dues collected from the players prevented it due to meager salaries… but in 1987, the NFLPA told Topps Bubble Gum “$20 million for players’ rights (PREVIOUSLY FREE) on your bubble gum cards or up-and-comer Scoreboard Bubble Gum would…” They paid and the cash needed to launch a legal fight was now in hand;
- The NFLPA then took said $20 million and hired a huge law firm and sued the NFL owners on the legality of the draft (aka indentured AND AN OBVIOUS VIOLATION OF THE ANTITRUST LAWS OF THIS COUNTRY). You see, the owners have always lobbied the politicians and they have always obliged the owners and changed the laws for the greater good (aka redistribution of wealth). Screw the players for the “common good.” (Geez – will it ever stop? No, it won’t.)
- The NFLPA eventually won 14 consecutive lawsuits on said illegality;
- NFL owners’ lawyers advised the owners: You’d better settle because to continue could BE VERY COSTLY and you WILL lose the draft and all control of your “feeder stock” (that would be us – the players );
- Then the owners cut a deal with the players and made a HUGE increase in players’ salaries (many got several hundred % increases which have evolved to what is being enjoyed today by current players). Obviously, Upshaw never even said sorry to all of you guys who built this game and only let the active players “eat from the plate.” (Damn, retiring in 1985, I missed the big bucks! But if I had been really smart, I would have invented the Internet – LOL!);
- One example: In a matter of days, Reggie White left Philly at $400,000 a year and went to Green Bay for $3.5 million a year;
- Over the next 15 years, even while paying this HUGE money in salaries (compared to before the lawsuits) to hundreds and hundreds of players, a guy in Houston now owns the Texans which are now worth $965 million (Forbes annual estimate)! A $900 MILLION DOLLAR INCREASE, ALL WHILE PAYING SEVERAL HUNDRED PERCENT MORE IN SALARY TO PLAYERS! Imagine that!
So how did such a huge increase in value of over $900 million occur so suddenly? Go back and read the first paragraph again. The big money has ALWAYS been there!
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AND YOU HAVEN’T SEEN ANYTHING YET…
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Never forget that with 300 million Americans watching their teams on TV and the global population being 20 times that, revenues can – if the owners play their cards right – go up at least another 20 fold from today’s income basket (you know they don’t play in Japan, England and Europe etc. for grins ya know). Holy snakes, Batman! Oh and I almost forgot… I haven’t added in inflation factors yet either. Folks, we aren’t talkin’ about just a lot of money here… we’re talkin’ about a sheet load of money here!
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And as Paul Harvey used to say… Now you know the rest of the story.
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Good day
Gregg Bingham
1973 – 1984 Houston Oilers
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EDITOR’S NOTE: Fast forward to the 90′s and the NFL and NFLPA are still up to the same old tricks: business-as-usual. They go to an up-and-coming video game producer named Electronic Arts and threaten to sign deals with several other video game companies; they end up extracting hundreds of millions out of EA for an exclusive contract. But this time, they try to get cute by introducing a new twist: “Yeah, yeah – let’s con the retired players into signing something called a Group Licensing Agreement (GLA). They’ll all think we’re going to pay them something. But you guys can blur their faces and transpose their numbers and that should do the trick — we won’t have to pay them anything! We can make them eat this dog food by dressing it all up like we’re working for them! They’ll LOVE it!”
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To quote another great broadcast legend (Walter Cronkite): “And that’s the way it is.”
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Rick Sanford
August 24th, 2010 at 3:21 pm #
It’s time for the current players to help the ones who made this game great. We will soon find out what Mr. Smith and the current players will do. I hope I’m wrong but I haven’t seen any indication that it will be better. If the current players show any weakness, we will again bear the burden of getting what we’ve always gotten from the owners. Mr. Smith and these players better realize that it is time for reckoning.
Thanks, Dave, for the information you provide. Also thanks to all former players for your involvement. It’s appreciated by all. Maybe justice might actually soon prevail.
Rick Sanford
New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks
1979 – 1985
Gregg Bingham: a Little History Lesson – Dave Pear’s Blog
August 24th, 2010 at 6:45 pm #
[...] redistribution of wealth ). Screw the players for the common good. (Geez will it ever stop? …This Post var a2a_config = a2a_config || {}; a2a_localize = { Share: "Share", Save: "Save", Subscribe: [...]
Roman Gabriel
August 24th, 2010 at 7:05 pm #
Great work keeping retirees posted!! Hello Greg!
And how about our pension being underfunded!
I personally do not trust Smith! AND how about the AARP sellout!
Roman Gabriel
16 Year Vet, #18
LA Rams, Philadelphia Eagles
1962 – 1978
Reggie Harrison
August 25th, 2010 at 12:13 am #
Thanks Dave,
That info was right on time and having played against you, I hope to see you in the Hall of Fame someday. You were one of the BEST of our era.
Reggie Harrison
Pittsburgh Steelers
1974 – 1977
Gregg Bingham
September 1st, 2010 at 10:28 pm #
Ricky Sanford -
Good to hear your voice and glad you’re still kickin’!
Now that Jack Tatum has left us… that leaves only you and Gary Barbaro as the tuffest safeties who can get into my huddle… So you can’t get hurt now as there is no back up… :-)
Gregg Bingham
1973 – 1984 Houston Oilers
Gordon A. Wright
September 2nd, 2010 at 12:24 am #
Thanks, Greg, for the truth.
I believe Smith might be able to help some of the Football Laborers in and out of the NFL but someone will be thrown under the bus and out of a moving airplane. This is typically the way both the owners and the Federal Government operate.
Gordon Wright
Philadelphia Eagles & New York Jets
1967 – 1970