Rush and the NFL

I will freely admit that I don't like Rush. He is a self aggrandizing buffoon that mistakes opinion with news. While some of the things he says are true, he takes those bits of truth and expands on them to add phrases like Liberal Media, Socialism, etc. to lump everything he believes is wrong into one pool. But that is just me and my opinion. He falls into my figment category since there seems to be a disconnect between his mouth and his brain.


He recently attempted to participate in a buyout of the St Louis NFL team. Good for him if he has the funding to be able to attempt such an endeavor. I wish I had a contract for the millions he is paid to provide commentary but we all chose our careers and his is more lucrative than my career.


Was his attempt at participation wrong? No, it entirely right. It is his money and we live in a world where willing sellers and buyers meet to provide a marketplace. We all participate in that marketplace by going to Food Lion versus Walmart versus Lowes Grocery We make choices on where we want to buy something and exclude others. This is particularly true of items that are in short supply, like NFL franchises. There aren't many willing sellers, so the price is high.


Were people wrong to criticize his potential ownership of the team because of his past comments? Not at all. Rush chose to be a celebrity and therefore can expect to have his comments used for and against him. Did people go overboard discussing it? Who knows what is overboard. That is the aspect of our free speech that we live with in the USA and he makes his living based upon that freedom. The Glass Houses cliche' and all that apply to him.


Why would it not be easy for him to participate in an NFL franchise? The NFL is not a regular corporation. They are club-like. The club votes on whether they want someone as a team owner, where the team may play, and so forth. NFL rules require that one participant in ownership have at least 30%. What the NFL won't agree to is corporate ownership of a team. With 9 negative votes of the 32 teams and you can't own a team. Given the stakes, and Rush's vocal tendency to irritate people, why would a prospective majority owner want Rush as an partner if it might jeopardise his ownership?

Secondly, who needs the distraction of possible fines, such as the reported $100K Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, flying overhead. Jerry commented on the players union negotiations when there was a gag order on it. It is hard to imagine Rush saying unions are bad, but not my players union, so he would run afoul of gag orders easily. While Rush would undoubtedly have to cough up the fines personally, once again, the distraction effect is not worth it.

The prospective owners also have to live with the fact that 70% of all players are minorities. While I doubt Rush would intentionally hurt his own investment, would players that disagree with the owners play to the best of their ability? Would players refuse to be traded to St. Louis or force their agents to not accept offers from St Louis? Would the new owners end up paying more for the elite players because of their partial owner Rush? All of these potential problems just complicate life for the majority owners and they have a lot more at stake than Rush.

In reality, the players would probably just complain. Players are miniature businesses. If you give them enough money, they will do their job, since that is capitalism at work. Would it cost them more to sign players, who knows?

The owners undoubtedly came to realization that while an NFL team is a fun endeavor, it is still a business. In their business, they decide whether his publicity is worth the cost and potential rejection of their buyout the team. While there aren't millions of people able to afford part ownership in a team there must be hundreds to chose from as partners and if they want into the club, they have to address the club problems with their ownership partners.

NFL participation is one of Rush's dream jobs. But sometimes we all have to face facts and money alone will not get you a seat in the club. Just ask anyone that can't get into the Everglades Club. Rush is probably feeling discriminated against and that is amusing. Rush will have to live with the consequences of his talk, just like the people he criticizes. Money can buy you lots of things, but money alone won't buy you friends, into the NFL, NBA or a slew of other endeavors. The owners know they are judged by the company they keep and having Rush as a partner is not necessarily a benefit.

If he really wants to get into professional sports, he should try sponsoring a Hockey or NASCAR team. There are Hockey teams that badly need money right now and unlike football, the fallout from his blustering commentary will not be seen in the same light and the minority employee issue is virtually non-existent, unless you count Russians, Eastern Europeans and Canadians as minorities.