NFL Owners: "32 Republicans That Vote Socialist"

In many ways the National Football League is an ultra-capitalistic sports league that clearly maximizes profit for its owners at the expense of its battle-worn player-employees. Players that perform well can make millions. Yet under-performers can be cut at almost any time throughout the season. NFL players couldn't really benefit from free agency until 1993. And the NFL's greed sometimes annoys its customers too, who suffer from local TV blackouts if their teams that can't sell out stadiums. And what's more egregious than having taxpayers put up the cash for those expense stadiums in the first place?

Nevertheless, at the end of the day, the NFL is simply a beast that seemingly can't go wrong in the eyes of its fans and the communities it serves. Pro-football has successfully weathered every recession. Its TV contracts alone are worth $20 billion through 2013. According to Forbes, 19 of the 24 most valuable sports teams on the planet reside in the NFL.

Paradoxically, one of the main reasons the NFL remains a cash cow is its own form of sports socialism.
By sharing equally the revenue from TV deals and ticket sales, not to mention instituting a hard salary cap for players, the league has maintained its "any given Sunday" mystique. Any team from any sized market seems to have a shot on game day. That's why former Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens owner Art Modell claimed that the NFL Owners were "32 republicans who vote socialist."
So what are chances that these "republican-socialists" will lock out their own players during the 2011 season because the players are taking too big a slice of the pie (currently locked at 60% of revenues)? Stay tuned.