Area expert weighs in on NFL lockout

DE PERE - Saint Norbert College sports economist Kevin Quinn thinks next year’s Super Bowl could be a green one; and not because he necessarily predicts the Packers will be playing in it.

“We might be seeing a St. Patrick’s Day Super Bowl next year,” said Quinn.

Quinn, who has studied the business of sports for about 12 years, thinks a pushed-back season is a possibility if NFL owners lock out the players Thursday night. That, he says, is likely.

“I think the overwhelming likelihood is that the two sides will not come to an agreement,” said Quinn.

It could be something of a staring contest from that point on. Quinn thinks, however, it will be the players who blink first.

“I think in the end, the players just don't own as many cards as the owners do,” said Quinn. “The owners are much more likely to remain liquid during this impasse than the players are.”

As federal mediation between the two sides continues in Washington, D.C., the next big question is: Will the NFL Players Association decertify? That would essentially dissolve their union, making it illegal for owners to lock them out.

“The NFL is trying to say, if they decertify now, that's just a sham,” said Quinn. “They'll recertify again later, so they should not be allowed to call themselves 'a not-union' during that time. I think frankly this looks like it's heading to the courts.”

There are certainly a lot of issues being debated right now, including a possible rookie wage scale and a proposed 18-game schedule. Quinn says there is one thing at the core of these debates: money.

“There is this pot of 9 billion dollars,” said Quinn. Every year that's created because we love football so much. Then we're squabbling over how we're going to divide that up. How much goes to the players, how much goes to the owners. It's very much like two children fighting over the last piece of pie.”

The current collective bargaining agreement between NFL owners and players is set to expire Thursday night at midnight.