Sally Jenkins has the best piece yet on why the NFL's upcoming calamitous labor dispute is mostly, if not all, the owners' fault:
I'm not sure why NFL players and fans should pay the estate taxes for Daniel Snyder's children, along with the little Bidwills and Maras. That's one way to think of the current NFL labor dispute. The owners are worried that $9 billion isn't enough revenue growth, and their heirs might someday have to fly commercial. So they're demanding that everybody pony up... Because when you peel away the headachy legal terms and expose their real position, it can be summed up very simply: They believe they are entitled to make money every year, even in the midst of disastrous recessions. They think they are owed a living.I'll say it again: the NFL owners have both the most successful and money-making league of the Big Four, and they also have the most owner-friendly economic system. The reason there's about to be a labor dispute is because they want even more money and a more owner-friendly system. Posted by Stephen Silver at February 20, 2011 09:13 PM