NFLPA seeking to ban scouting combine, cites training costs
The NFLPA is looking to ban the annual scouting combine that precedes the draft. Sources cite the cost of training falling squarely on agents as the source of frustration.
Either the NFL covers the training costs associated with its annual scouting combine, or get rid of it. That is the stance the is being taken by the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) regarding the event. Reports suggest that the union is looking to ban the combine should the league not comply with their demands.
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Bleacher Report’s Adam Lefkoe and Jason Cole discuss the topic to further detail in the following video.
The issue mainly stems from players’ agents no longer wanting to supply the costs for training, which can get as expensive as $20-30,000 per athlete. The argument put forth by the NFLPA also cites the profit made by the league on broadcasting the annual event on national television.
It should also be of note that the agents are not looking to eliminate their contribution altogether, but rather are seeking help on the part of the NFL in subsidizing the costs regarding training, housing, and nutrition associated with the pre-draft festivities.
As the video notes, it is unlikely that anything will actually come of this. Even if talks ensue between the two parties in question, it is doubtful that the combine will go away. The players value it way too much as a final chance to showcase themselves as superior to their eventual draft class peers.
The annual combine has taken place in Indianapolis every year since 1987. Since 2008, Lucas Oil Stadium has been the venue of choice. The NFL Network, which has exclusive rights to the event, has been broadcasting the footage every year since 2004. In 2013, The Nielson Company reported that the channel received 7.25 million viewers for the four-day event.
H/T Bleacher Report
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