By now anyone who follows NFL football knows that the replacement referees – likely through little fault of their own – have become an unmitigated disaster for the game. We also know the players are not going to join the referees by striking, but that the players are furious about the ongoing lockout. As a good social scientist, I know this is just a collective action problem waiting to be solved. The players would probably all like to do something to end the lockout, but individually there is little incentive for a single player to take an action that would subject himself to punishment without having much of a chance of ending the lockout (although see Greg Jennings Twitter feed). So I’m going to provide the focal point for solving this collective action problem. So here’s what I propose:
Starting this week, the players should all refuse to play for the first 15 minutes of the game. Not playing at all would invoke all sorts of financial penalties, and would also inconvenience all the fans who turned up for the game. But by not playing for 15 minutes, the players are just going to wreck havoc with the TV schedules. And as we know, the lockout is all about money, and so much of the money the NFL earns is from TV. If the lockout is not resolved by the following week, all players should refuse to start the game for a half an hour. Then the following week they should wait 45 minutes, etc. And if the networks try to adjust coverage accordingly, then randomize. Change the length of the delays. Do it after half-time instead of before the game. My guess is that after a week or two of this, the TV networks will put so much pressure on the league that the lockout will be over.
Anyone with a better idea feel free to leave it in the comments below…
