faba Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 7 teams have had furloughs or cuts By BARRY WILNER, AP 2 hours ago Loading... Share No Thanks Must Read?Thank YouYes 6Share | Email Story Discuss Print NEW YORK (AP) — Commissioner Roger Goodell and Jeff Pash, the NFL's lead labor negotiator, have slashed their salaries to $1 each during the owners' lockout of the players. Those are the heftiest pay cuts hitting pro football, but hardly the only ones. League employees have had their salaries trimmed by 12 percent since April - those reductions will increase if there's no labor deal by August - and seven teams have instituted pay cuts or furloughs since the lockout began March 12. Those seven are Miami, Buffalo, the New York Jets, Kansas City, Detroit, Tampa Bay and Arizona, The Associated Press found in interviews around the league. In all, the number of affected employees who work for either the clubs or the league is likely more than 100. Two teams, the Falcons and 49ers, would not comment when asked if they made any cuts, citing privacy issues. Information about several other clubs came from people with knowledge of the cuts or furloughs who spoke on condition of anonymity because the moves had not been announced by the team. Several team owners, particularly John Mara of the Giants, Vikings owner Zygi Wilf, and Jim Irsay of the Colts, have been adamant about avoiding such reductions. ``I try to stay focused in the now. I just don't anticipate that sort of thing,'' Irsay said. ``My feeling is I'm interested in good morale around here. I look at someone who's making $40,000, $50,000 a year, who has rent to pay, and I don't see it for me as an owner to be asking them for anything.'' Buffalo has asked for a lot. The Bills made across-the-board cuts to all salaried employees in March ranging between 20 and 25 percent. ``We have made prudent preparations for the possibilities of a work stoppage,'' Bills CEO Russ Brandon said then. ``We have, for some time, been very upfront and transparent with our staff so that they, too, could make prudent preparations. We have built a program that focuses on shared sacrifice. Every employee in the organization will be affected. As you move up the organization chart, the sacrifice increases in absolute and percentage terms, as it should. ``We plan no layoffs as a result of the situation at this time. Our hope is that our advanced planning will allow us to avoid them in the future as well.'' But in May the team also suspended payments into the employees' pension and 401K plans for the duration of the lockout. Lions employees have taken two-week furloughs, a person familiar with the moves told the AP. ``Any decisions we make, the impact will start with me,'' said team president Tom Lewand, adding the names of coach Jim Schwartz and general manager Martin Mayhew. ``Unfortunately, it is affecting the entire organization, starting with us.'' The Cardinals had a companywide weeklong furlough during the last week of May. All the coaches have in their contracts pay reductions in the event of a work stoppage. The Jets have been requiring their dozens of non-contracted employees to take a one-week unpaid furlough every month since the lockout began. Contracted employees in football operations, including general manager Mike Tannenbaum, coach Rex Ryan and assistant coaches, took 25 percent pay cuts. And the Jets implemented other cost-cutting measures, such as scaling back team events - they canceled their ``Taste of the NFL'' benefit and their annual golf outing. Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland, coach Tony Sparano and his assistant coaches received a pay cut on June 1. In May, the Dolphins cut salaries of support staff 10 to 20 percent. The percentage was larger for higher-paid employees, and all employees were told they'll return to full pay when the lockout ends. CEO Mike Dee blamed lagging ticket sales resulting from the lockout. Owner Stephen Ross said employees will either receive back pay when the lockout ends or get time off to compensate for the reduced pay. Across the state, the Buccaneers closed their offices during Memorial Day week, saying employees would be reimbursed in full for lost wages from the one-week furlough if the labor situation is resolved and no regular-season games are lost. All Chiefs employees, including GM Scott Pioli and coach Todd Haley, have taken a pay reduction during the lockout. The extent of the reduction depends on the level of job, with top executives taking the biggest hit. The cuts will be phased in over eight months and will average about 10 percent, with nobody reduced more than 20 percent. If the NFL plays a full season, everybody will be fully reimbursed for lost wages. The Packers have a plan to hold back salaries for management level and higher employees, but it hasn't been applied. It would only go into effect if a game or games are missed. The Saints have avoided any cuts or furloughs in part because their revenue stream from ticket sales never has been better. They recently billed season ticket holders for the second half of their amount due, perhaps to maintain enough cash flow to delay resorting to salary reductions. The Louisiana Superdome is sold out again for next season, and because of redesigned and upgraded field level seating, capacity has increased from 70,000 to 73,000. Prices for many of those new seats went up, creating more income for the team. Oakland has come up with its own way of potentially avoiding cuts: The Raiders implemented a plan that allows employees to keep their full pay if they sell a certain number of season tickets. ``Certainly some teams are taking one approach: How do we decrease expenses during a work stoppage?'' Raiders CEO Amy Trask said. ``We looked at this from the opposite approach. Let's all work together as an organization, every single department, to increase our ticket revenues.'' The Raiders were last in the NFL last year in attendance, averaging just over 46,400 fans per home game. So, to avoid a pay cut, employees must sell season tickets worth 10 percent of their salary during the lockout. The cheapest Raiders season tickets go for $260 per year, with the most expensive non-club seats at $960 annually. ``This is a program that's constructive and productive,'' Trask said. ``We're working as a staff to build something together, so when we come out on the other side of this work stoppage we're going to be bigger and better and stronger for it because we have sold more season tickets.'' Now will there be games at which to use them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T0mShane Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Give them a break, Frank. They're all small market teams with limited revenue streams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faba Posted June 13, 2011 Author Share Posted June 13, 2011 Give them a break, Frank. They're all small market teams with limited revenue streams. Yeah not the group of 7 the Jets should want to be associated with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slats Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Clearly Woody bit off more than he can chew with his share of Giants Stadium II. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleedin Green Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Not that I disagree that the pay-cuts / furloughs suck, but there are people who will literally never be happy no matter what the Jets do. Keep in mind the number of times we've heard people throw fits about the Jets having sent out bills for the first half of their season ticket costs, meanwhile this article talks about how the Saints avoided such cuts by already charging their fans for the entirety of the season tickets. For all of the bitching and moaning about what an evil, awful person Woody is or the Jets as a whole are, why do I have a feeling nobody would be feeling all warm inside knowing no Jets employees were losing any money as they just got billed for the rest of their season tickets. Of course that doesn't mean these teams all couldn't afford to charge the fans nothing AND pay their employees every last cent, but the bottom line is this is a business they are running and there's pretty much zero incentive for them to do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetman_67 Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Im just glad the Seahawks and Sounders FC are the same company. If my fiance had to take furloughs, we would be in trouble. If things arent settled by November, we are in trouble here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyHector Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 the bottom line is this is a business they are running You misspelled "ruining". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatriotReign37 Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Scott Pioli is like Ebeneezer Scrooge. I heard he gave out Subway sandwich coupons as Christmas bonuses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleedin Green Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 You misspelled "ruining". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoping4ASuperBowl Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Scott Pioli is like Ebeneezer Scrooge. I heard he gave out Subway sandwich coupons as Christmas bonuses. Better than getting a jelly of the month club membership. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garb Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Clearly Woody bit off more than he can chew with his share of Giants Stadium II. They want to minimize their "losses" - and let's be real, "loss" is subjective. Most of these people are rich beyond your dreams. I always find it interesting when companies - in an effort to minimize loss, or max whatever profits they may have made (and in an effort to appease shareholders, trustees, etc) always shoot the little guy. $65k a year Joe Schmoe gets the boot, but 85 year old Shareholder Duke still get's his quarterly check of $50K for doing pretty much nothing. I was "scolded" by accounting the other day for approving a $25 discount. I made my case...but the bottom line is that these accounting buffoons take this crap personally. So, Account Mgr Buffoon - who maybe makes $80K tops - is b*tching about $25 when all she is doing is protecting the assets of a private company that makes money, hand over fist, and who awarded the five top dogs here a million dollar (each) bonus last year. Meanwhile, her bonus was a staff reduction and a 2% bonus minus taxes. Monkey arse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitonti Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Clearly Woody bit off more than he can chew with his share of Giants Stadium II. the seahawks are owned by Paul Allen, who is worth 14Billion dollars. he basically paid cash for his new stadium. Im not an expert on Woody but I wonder, what exactly is his fortune based on and what are his revenue streams other than the Jets? I know there are 10 billionaires in the NFL and Woody isn't one of em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoping4ASuperBowl Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 the seahawks are owned by Paul Allen, who is worth 14Billion dollars. he basically paid cash for his new stadium. Im not an expert on Woody but I wonder, what exactly is his fortune based on and what are his revenue streams other than the Jets? I know there are 10 billionaires in the NFL and Woody isn't one of em. umm, Johnson and Johnson? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garb Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 the seahawks are owned by Paul Allen, who is worth 14Billion dollars. he basically paid cash for his new stadium. Im not an expert on Woody but I wonder, what exactly is his fortune based on and what are his revenue streams other than the Jets? I know there are 10 billionaires in the NFL and Woody isn't one of em. I thought Johnson's net worth was about 3.5 Billion? He has his little hobby, some investment firm he founded, and he has that family money he taps into...you know, Johnson & Johnson, which would be the biggest pharma co in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faba Posted June 14, 2011 Author Share Posted June 14, 2011 Yes the football franchise is a business that you want to run efficiently. But any of these owners it is a ancillary operation to what they really have as their main business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonEJet Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 the seahawks are owned by Paul Allen, who is worth 14Billion dollars. he basically paid cash for his new stadium. Im not an expert on Woody but I wonder, what exactly is his fortune based on and what are his revenue streams other than the Jets? I know there are 10 billionaires in the NFL and Woody isn't one of em. he sure is http://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-businessmen/richest-billionaires/woody-johnson-net-worth/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirlancemehlot Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Not that I disagree that the pay-cuts / furloughs suck, but there are people who will literally never be happy no matter what the Jets do. Keep in mind the number of times we've heard people throw fits about the Jets having sent out bills for the first half of their season ticket costs, meanwhile this article talks about how the Saints avoided such cuts by already charging their fans for the entirety of the season tickets. For all of the bitching and moaning about what an evil, awful person Woody is or the Jets as a whole are, why do I have a feeling nobody would be feeling all warm inside knowing no Jets employees were losing any money as they just got billed for the rest of their season tickets. Of course that doesn't mean these teams all couldn't afford to charge the fans nothing AND pay their employees every last cent, but the bottom line is this is a business they are running and there's pretty much zero incentive for them to do that. Mr. Mara and the New York Giants say Hi. That's an owner who gives a sh*t about his employees and their families. Incentive enough for him, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetman_67 Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 the seahawks are owned by Paul Allen, who is worth 14Billion dollars. he basically paid cash for his new stadium. Im not an expert on Woody but I wonder, what exactly is his fortune based on and what are his revenue streams other than the Jets? I know there are 10 billionaires in the NFL and Woody isn't one of em. Paul Allen owns 3 professional sports teams. The Seahawks, The Sounders Fc (with a small group of minority owners including Drew Carrey) and the Portland Trail Blazers. Not one employee of the Seahawks has been laid off or taken a furlough. Paul actually cares about the employees of his teams and treats them just like he does the employees of Vulcan. Oh Yeah, he is making sure his employees are still working while he is busy running his businesses and fighting cancer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitonti Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 he sure is http://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-businessmen/richest-billionaires/woody-johnson-net-worth/ dead link? Woody comes from a very rich family. But he himself is not a billionaire. He's not in the Forbes 400 and he's not on the list of the 1000 richest people in the world. http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/02/football-billionaires-jones-kraft-snyder-business-billionaires-football-values-09-wealth.html http://blogs.forbes.com/monteburke/2011/01/11/the-elite-eight-the-nfl-owners-vying-for-the-super-bowl/ ** Like i said I don't know what he's worth but it's safe to say it's not a cool Bil. Only 10 or so NFL owners are billionaires and woody isn't one of em. Tisch is btw. Woody certainly isn't broke but people conflate Johnson & Johnson with Woody, he hasn't been a part of J&J ever. His family sold their share long ago. these days... woody's most valuable asset is probably the Jets. compared to other owners he's asset heavy and cash poor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitonti Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Yes the football franchise is a business that you want to run efficiently. But any of these owners it is a ancillary operation to what they really have as their main business. for some of these owners that is true... and it's how it used to be... but these days alot of owners, their biggest revenue stream is their team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatriotReign37 Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 umm, Johnson and Johnson? KY jelly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitonti Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 umm, Johnson and Johnson? just to reiterate people think because his name is Johnson that he's getting that money his family sold their shares decades ago. He never worked for J&J and they hold no stake in the business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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