NFL vs. NBA

For any NFL fans, this season is a treat. With more surprises this season than most of this decade (i.e. the Lions being awesome, the Packers being easily the best team in the league, and the 49ers having one of the best defenses), it's interesting to know that this season almost didn't even happen.

At the end of last season, the league was interrupted a some money-fueled lockout that was ultimately thwarted by the love of the game. Both parties (being the owners and players) made some adjustments and ended up happy on both sides; leading to this heck of a season.

Now, if you don't already know, I am a huge NBA fan and this season is essentially cancelled. The negotiations aren't remotely as easy as the NFL had it; on both sides of the negotiations, factions drew lines that they refuse to cross and thus created an endless standstill. What makes it worse, is that the "lines" that the factions have drawn aren't too far apart, it's just they are so stubborn they refuse to budge.

How was the NFL able to jump-start their season so well, when the NBA's chances at a season look so grim? Could the NBA perhaps learn something form the NFL?

The answer to the first question in my opinion, is an issue of time and money, as you'll probably hear as the basis for most arguments. The NFL had from the end of their previous season to the beginning of the next to meet and discuss the lockout. The NBA on-the-other-hand allowed the CBA to expire on June 30, and declared their lockout on July 1- and didn't meet until August 1 leaving only a couple of months to do so (mlive.com). Also, the players have millions of dollars that they potentially would have made last season that they might not next year. The NFL had something similar- but it was more of an NFL CBA rewrite than a money-free-for-all.

And to answer the second: obviously I hope that a similar circumstance can help model the NBA's lockout- but in this case I don't think it will for the reason that the NFL is simply much different than the NBA. The NFL has 11 guys on the field at a time- but can have a whopping 53 on their roster, while the NBA has 5 on the court and a max of 15 on the team. Also on average NBA players make a significant amount more than football players so they have more at stake. The lockouts are certainly in different situations but I really hope the NBA can pull it together.