The NFL lockout brings to mind unpleasant memories of the NHL lockout, which ran from September 2004 to July 2005.
For nearly 10 months, the NHL and NHL Players Association engaged in a nasty labor war that ultimately cost the league the entire 2004-05 season.
Team owners, led by league commissioner Gary Bettman, were determined to implement what they called "cost certainty," claiming player salaries had to be brought under control to help teams that were struggling financially and competitively and also to make the game more affordable for fans.
The NHL achieved its goal when the lockout finally ended with the ratification of the current collective bargaining agreement. It had a salary cap tied to revenues, which also included capping bonuses and rookie salaries, plus a maximum salary rate that couldn't exceed more than 20 percent of payroll going toward one player.
It also achieved a 24 percent rollback of existing players' salaries, resulting in the average salary dropping from $1.83 million in 2003-04 to $1.46 million in 2005-06.
The lockout also left the NHLPA in disarray, crushing its leadership and costing then-executive director Bob Goodenow his job. It took several years and two failed attempts for the players to find a suitable replacement.
But nearly six years later, most of the NHL's supposed "gains" over the players really haven't done much to address the issues that led to the lockout in the first place.
The salary cap has increased every season, rising from $39.5 million in 2005-06 to $59.4 million in 2010-11 — and it is predicted to rise to $62 million for next season.
It took only three seasons for the average salary to rise to exceed the 2003-04 amount, climbing to $1.906 million in 2007-08 and $2.4 million in 2010, according to Forbes magazine.
The rise in league revenues was responsible for the salary increases, a good portion of which was tied to the rise in value of the Canadian dollar, resulting in the six Canadian franchises accounting for over one-third of revenues each year.
Cost certainty has done nothing to help struggling franchises become more competitive. Imposing a salary cap didn't significantly improve the Atlanta Thrashers, Florida Panthers, Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Islanders, Phoenix Coyotes and Nashville Predators.
In 2006, the Carolina Hurricanes won their first Stanley Cup, but the cap hasn't helped them regain that championship form.
The Tampa Bay Lightning, the defending Stanley Cup champions when the lockout ended in 2005, saw their championship roster gutted by the very salary cap that was supposed to help them.
And it certainly hasn't done anything to save teams from the threat of relocation, as fans of the Coyotes and Thrashers can attest, nor has it done anything to prevent once-dominant clubs like the Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues from ownership woes and mediocrity.
Canadian teams like Edmonton, Ottawa and Calgary that appeared in danger of losing their teams 10 years ago were saved by the increasing value of the Canadian dollar, not the salary cap.
Cost certainty also didn't make the game more affordable for NHL fans.
In 2003-04, the fan cost index, which calculates the cost of a family of four to attend an NHL game based on the cost of regular priced tickets, concessions and parking, was $253.65 and the average ticket price was $43.67.
With the new CBA, the fan cost index dropped to $247.32 in 2005-06 but has steadily risen since, clocking in at $313.68 for 2010-11 with the average ticket price now $54.25.
As for the NHLPA, it finally addressed its leadership woes by hiring former MLB player union head Donald Fehr as its executive director, leaving more than a few observers concerned the league could face another lengthy work stoppage when this CBA expires in September 2012.
Little wonder most NHL fans are left questioning the league's rationale for staging a season-killing labor war with its players.
The NFL lockout has taken a completely different turn so far with the NFLPA decertifying in order to launch an anti-trust lawsuit against the league. Meanwhile, lawyers representing the players are seeking an injunction to lift the lockout.
Both sides have the luxury of time as the 2011 season doesn't begin until September. That should hopefully allow them to find common ground to work out a new collective bargaining agreement rather than have it drag on, potentially killing the season and alienating even more fans.
If the NFL owners and players can take away anything from the NHL lockout, it's that a protracted work stoppage could ultimately result in a CBA that does little to resolve its issues. It would be in their best interests to work out an agreement that will prove mutually beneficial over the long term.
