Latest Buzz Suggests NFL is at Risk of Repeating MLB's Huge Mistake in Revenue Talks With Players

While the NFL and its players' union haven't made any hard and fast decisions about how (or if) the season will be played this year, rumors are circulating that the league is considering a move sure to generate controversy. Per reports from NFL Media, the owners seek to cut players' base salaries to account for lost ticket revenue.

Getting deja vu? That's probably because it's not so different from the ridiculous plan that the MLB and its owners tried to implement less than a week ago. They attempted to decimate players' salaries, especially the top-paid athletes, and immediately received backlash from the MLBPA, agents, and the players themselves. It was so bad that it ran the risk of throwing the entire 2020 MLB season into doubt.

Roger Goodell and Co. cannot afford to make the same mistake.

We're begging you, NFL, please don't go down this road. If we've learned anything from the different ways pro leagues have handled these negotiations during the coronavirus pandemic, it's that the owners need the players on their side, especially the big names forced to make grand sacrifices under proposed salary give-back rules.

Fans are already far too sick of hearing billionaires squabble about salary cuts during a time of such economic instability in the United States. Obviously, we want our favorite players to get paid and for the two sides to reach an agreement that permits real games to be played, but not if it requires a level of ugliness that has threatened to derail the baseball discuss.

These are important issues that the NFL needs to sort out delicately and in good faith before the fall rolls around, and we really hope they learn from the mistakes and successes of some of our other major sports leagues. Don't mess football up for all of us, people!