Twitter: Stephen Jones on the Fan Tweetcap - 10/24/14

[skinsscalper]

You have a ton of people there every day, you could fill a stadium with 100k people weekly.

The NFL has been on record that they will NEVER put a team in Las Vegas.

 

[FLCowboyFan]

Who is Jack Crawford? Has he even played for us?

I also found this interesting....I wonder what he meant by it?
"Stephen Jones says finding a pass rusher can be very difficult. There almost have to be chemistry issues."

 

[Galian Beast]

The NFL has been on record that they will NEVER put a team in Las Vegas.

Things change all the time. There is a lot of money to be had in having a team in Vegas, and money talks.

 

[skinsscalper]

Things change all the time. There is a lot of money to be had in having a team in Vegas, and money talks.

 

[Galian Beast]

Who is Jack Crawford? Has he even played for us?

I also found this interesting....I wonder what he meant by it?
"Stephen Jones says finding a pass rusher can be very difficult. There almost have to be chemistry issues."

You can't just expect to bring in a guy and hope that he meshes with the rest of the linemen in the exact same way that he did on his previous team, or that he will mesh with the scheme in the exact same way. It's also hard to get someone who another team values as much as you do.

It quickly becomes a matter of is it worth the investment. So like he said, the stars would have to line up perfectly.

 

[FLCowboyFan]

You can't just expect to bring in a guy and hope that he meshes with the rest of the linemen in the exact same way that he did on his previous team, or that he will mesh with the scheme in the exact same way. It's also hard to get someone who another team values as much as you do.

It quickly becomes a matter of is it worth the investment. So like he said, the stars would have to line up perfectly.

Thanks for the clarification. That is what I was thinking but Charles Haley had his brain chemicals off and he was a great rusher.....ok...just kidding ;-)

 

[Galian Beast]

So in order to support an NFL team and all the competitive balances that are required how do you expect to find 100,000 people who are that invested in the game to pay top dollar? And I mean top dollar because you have competitive balances you have to adjust for. Taxes, schedule, practice days lost on flights, personal travel for players, health risk for extended periods in the air, cost of second homes and currency exchange.

(Currency exchange means if you are paid in pounds you want guarantees to translated value in US dollars since you are a US citizen and claim primary residence in the US. You don't want to get paid in British Sterling only to find your 15th and 16th paycheck in your contract is devalued because the pound is devalued. At least this is what I would demand if I was agent acting on behalf of my US born player who tells me when he retires he will be living in the US.)

All competitive imbalances have to be borne by someone. The owner, the fans or typically the paying customer.

Do you really have an argument to prove that the game of American football truly resides in the psyche of the British citizens as much more than a curiosity?

I think you've presented a lot of weak arguments.

- The city of London alone has 8 million people, that's more than LA. People tend to root for their home teams, and that sparks interest. And the NFL International series has shown that people show up without even having a team to have interest in.
-The taxes can be handled by the league and adjusted in terms of salary cap.
- You're over exaggerating the distance. It's no different from an east coast team who plays a west coast team or vice versa. All of the complaints you're talking about, players in numerous leagues already deal with.
- I don't think you understand how currency works...

 

[MapleLeaf]

I think you've presented a lot of weak arguments.

- The city of London alone has 8 million people, that's more than LA. People tend to root for their home teams, and that sparks interest. And the NFL International series has shown that people show up without even having a team to have interest in.
-The taxes can be handled by the league and adjusted in terms of salary cap.
- You're over exaggerating the distance. It's no different from an east coast team who plays a west coast team or vice versa. All of the complaints you're talking about, players in numerous leagues already deal with.
- I don't think you understand how currency works...

A few games does not translate into season's tickets. If they did why doesn't Toronto have the north east franchise?

There is no single instance of a cap being used to offset local or national taxes.

Unnh, there is a reason why the Raiders are not in the same division as the Giants. Also you clearly have not done the London to LA run lately. It is about 13 hours in the air. When you factor time in the airport check out at 15 hours. Factor in team gear, support staff and what is it now for the team? 30 hours there and back?

Yeah I want to own that franchise. Twice a month I have to cross the ocean. Also I want to be that owner in that division. two times a year I have to cross the ocean for a divisional rivalry.

Tell me what league has to deal with this? I don't know of one at all.

I lived in London, Berlin, Rome and Fukuoka Japan for a dozen years. I sent money back to Canada so my parent's could pay off my student loans. Currency mattered to me when I exchanged sterling for CND. It did then and it still does now. Possibly even more so if I am a NFL player expecting only a three year life span in the league.

This is mirrored in the difficulty the Canadian teams have in being competitive for star players in the NHL. All Canadian players want to sign with US teams because of the currency and tax advantages. In MLB there was always a complaint by the Expos and Blue Jays about how expensive it was to operate their franchises when competing against the US dollar.

Last, friends of mine who played European hockey leagues lived in the cycle of managing their money and getting it back to Canada for citizenship and tax purposes.

It matters to those who are watching their money and in at least two leagues there have been examples of how it has affected the behavior of players.

 

[Galian Beast]

A few games does not translate into season's tickets. If they did why doesn't Toronto have the north east franchise?

There is no single instance of a cap being used to offset local or national taxes.

Unnh, there is a reason why the Raiders are not in the same division as the Giants. Also you clearly have not done the London to LA run lately. It is about 13 hours in the air. When you factor time in the airport check out at 15 hours. Factor in team gear, support staff and what is it now for the team? 30 hours there and back?

Yeah I want to own that franchise. Twice a month I have to cross the ocean. Also I want to be that owner in that division. two times a year I have to cross the ocean for a divisional rivalry.

Tell me what league has to deal with this? I don't know of one at all.

I lived in London, Berlin, Rome and Fukuoka Japan for a dozen years. I sent money back to Canada so my parent's could pay off my student loans. Currency mattered to me when I exchanged sterling for CND. It did then and it still does now. Possibly even more so if I am a NFL player expecting only a three year life span in the league.

This is mirrored in the difficulty the Canadian teams have in being competitive for star players in the NHL. All Canadian players want to sign with US teams because of the currency and tax advantages. In MLB there was always a complaint by the Expos and Blue Jays about how expensive it was to operate their franchises when competing against the US dollar.

Last, friends of mine who played European hockey leagues lived in the cycle of managing their money and getting it back to Canada for citizenship and tax purposes.

It matters to those who are watching their money and in at least two leagues there have been examples of how it has affected the behavior of players.

A few games? They've put up 80k a game since 2007...

No league has a salary cap like the NFL, and the NFL is not an international league...

Who is saying a London team would be in the same division as Oakland?

The travel time between the Patriots and Dolphins compared to the Patriots and London isn't significant. If the Jaguars were in the AFC East and took the place of the Dolphins, they would play the Jets, Patriots, and Bills. The travel time would be minimized.

Most leagues aren't trying to expand internationally.

First, you wouldn't necessarily have to pay a player in the local currency. Second you can easily adjust the cap for different tax codes.

Living in a foreign country brings challenges and advantages that are different from playing in the United States. Many players will welcome this, as the potential money there will be significantly more than small markets in the United States.

 

[Galian Beast]

Another thing the NFL can do is schedule back to back home and away games, so a team could stay stateside two weeks in a row, and then stay home two weeks in a row.

There are many things you can do to make it work easier.

The reality is there is a future here, and the NFL is going to expand internationally. The globalization of football is going to happen.

 

[Galian Beast]

Also, it's not just about greed. It's good for the sport. The NBA has been able to bring a lot more talent in because of the globalization of basketball.