Big League Blues

When Rush Limbaugh was unceremoniously dumped in his efforts to secure a share of the St. Louis Rams, he may have been little more than collateral damage in a brewing collision between NFL owners and the NFL Players Association. After the union raised objections, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell squashed Limbaugh like a water bug. Given the potential conflict between NFL management and labor, Rush was a public relations disaster Goodell could hardly afford.

The collective bargaining agreement is due to expire at the end of the 2009-10 season, and all signs are that an era of labor/management partnership is not at hand. As Sports Illustrated senior writer Peter King wrote in late October, "It's going to get ugly. There's better than a 50 percent chance, I believe, of some work stoppage in 2011, as incredibly golden-goose-killing as that sounds."

The negotiations will occur in the context of a new study showing that retired NFL players suffer from Alzheimer's disease and the early onset of dementia at five times the national rate--nineteen times for men under 50. Congressional hearings on football head injuries were held on October 28. Both Goodell and NFLPA president DeMaurice Smith will be pressed to address this during the upcoming negotiations.

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