Editorial: NFL agreement saves many everyday folks

Published 3:51 am Tuesday, July 26, 2011

It is good that the NFL team owners and players came together to get a deal done before the season began. Many segments of the economy rely on the NFL for business.

There are real people who needed the income.

Restaurants and bars cater to the Sunday NFL crowd. They have wait staff and cooks who benefit from the increase in business on what would otherwise be slow days.

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There are sporting goods stores that sell a lot of NFL apparel. Football jerseys and caps are often what brings people into the stores the first time, and they come back for other sports needs later. Sure, the jerseys are available even if a season was not, but who would buy an NFL jersey when the teams aren’t playing?

There are people who work for the NFL teams who are not players and owners or even coaches and administration. They are receptionists, janitors, scouts, accountants, sales staff, ticket-takers, ushers, computer staff, publicists, medical professionals and others who need to put bread on the table. There are contractors, such as laundry services, stadium management, concessions and meal providers (often from local restaurants), among others.

There are companies that, as fans know, make good money from parking. They have employees that would be without income.

Plus, there are hotels, gas stations and other merchants who benefit from NFL games.

Let’s not forget the charity work often connected to the NFL producing revenue, like player foundations and even the United Way. A stoppage would even have affected little fundraisers, like high school boosters who sell brats and burgers in the parking areas.

So, yes, we are glad the rich players and wealthy owners came to an agreement on how to divide billions of dollars. But we are glad for the sake of pretty much everyone except those players and owners.