NFL Strike Fears-Owner Wilson

While the teams are expanding, fears grow for smaller teams. With larger stadiums, larger parking lots, more TV time, and no revenue sharing from the sales of tickets and concessions, some smaller teams fear they will no longer be able to compete.

But just as a turnover can quickly change the outcome of a game, so too can steady growth in the National Football League change Buffalo's ability to compete against larger market rivals. In the past 10 years, 13 new arenas have been built in the NFL and four more are planned.

As far as team owner Ralph Wilson is concerned, each time a new brick gets set in place, another gets knocked out of the foundation that the flourishing league was built on — revenue sharing.

While all 32 teams continue to split ticket and television revenues, they do not share money generated from things like luxury seating, naming rights, parking and concession sales.

This non-shared pot of gold, which grows larger whenever a new stadium gets built, is now the source of a growing rift between the NFL's smallest teams and its largest, a rift that could result in the league's first strike since 1987, Wilson has warned.

There is a way to prevent this from happening. What they need to do is come up with a plan of action with which the owners could all agree upon. However, some of the bigger teams refuse to come together for the sake of the smaller teams. Apparently, they don't remember the pain of the wrath other teams are suffering 'till this day, because the fans don't give a rip what you earn. We only know you keep raising our tickets and giving us less. You do not want to go down this road. We'll wait and see. Until then, have a good day. [read more]