WP: "Layoffs vs Payoffs" - Sally Jenkins hates on the Skins some more

[Rypien1191]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/03/AR2009030303270.html

A Question of Layoffs vs. Payoffs

As long as the Washington Redskins go by the motto "why pay less?" it will be difficult to defend them. Spreadsheets to them apparently mean table linens. Obviously, my own bookkeeping is not to be trusted, because just a few weeks ago, I assumed the team was distressed. Otherwise, why would it have laid off so many people? Turns out I made an accounting error.

It's baffling: One day a team lays off dozens of employees in the legal, marketing, information technology, public relations, game-day operations, television and even the cheerleading staffs. Then, suddenly, it shells out huge sums for free agents. In one 24-hour spending binge, the Redskins extended $182 million in contracts to just three players, including that whopping $100 million over seven years to defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, while offering a bust like Jason Taylor a $500,000 bonus just to work out.

Can someone help me with the math?

What to make of this combination of layoffs and big spending? Is it a question of lousy addition -- or just an outrage?

Click link for rest of article.

[NBC89]

something tells me from this person's name that i shouldn't care the least bit about what she has to say

[Riggo-toni]

Please, we may not like it, but it's a fair article.

[jthor99]

First off, Sally Jenkins ASSUMES lay-offs were because of the economic state of this country, which she really has no facts to back up.

Again, I will say and continue to say the economic state this country is in will not effect any big market teams in the NFL.

Jerry Jones, Daniel Snyders of the world make MILLIONS no matter if you and I are scraping just to get by.

[BAFGA]

First off, Sally Jenkins ASSUMES lay-offs were because of the economic state of this country, which she really has no facts to back up.

Again, I will say and continue to say the economic state this country is in will not effect any big market teams in the NFL.

Jerry Jones, Daniel Snyders of the world make MILLIONS no matter if you and I are scraping just to get by.

It took me 2 seconds to pull up This report saying otherwise. It says that season ticket revenue is not where it needs to be. That to me says it's the economy. What else could it mean?

Jerry and Snyder were depending on club and suite revenue, but that isn't there right now.

[jthor99]

It took me 2 seconds to pull up This report saying otherwise. It says that season ticket revenue is not where it needs to be. That to me says it's the economy. What else could it mean?

Jerry and Snyder were depending on club and suite revenue, but that isn't there right now.

Of course that's the reason they are going to use.

When you "let go" of people in any company you can makeup any type of action you'd like in the reasoning. It's not as if they have to prove it to them.

You and I both know the each home game will be packed 90,000 plus.

The Redskins are the 2nd most revenue team in the National Football League. Roger Goodell just took at 11M Dollar pay cut, and didn't blink an eye. The National Football league is a multi multi million dollar industry

Jerry Jones just built a billion dollar stadium, and you and Sally Jenkins are trying to convince me that these guys are hurting from the economic state the country is in?

Give me a break

[1972FAN]

didn't read it, Shes a nobody,, who cares

[the12thSkin]

who the hell is sally jenkins

[steve09ru]

For the last time (and I wish people would finally realize this)...the salaries of players and the salaries of workers are NOT the same or come from the same account. :doh:

[NewCliche21]

Of course that's the reason they are going to use.

When you "let go" of people in any company you can makeup any type of action you'd like in the reasoning. It's not as if they have to prove it to them.

You and I both know the each home game will be packed 90,000 plus.

The Redskins are the 2nd most revenue team in the National Football League. Roger Goodell just took at 11M Dollar pay cut, and didn't blink an eye. The National Football league is a multi multi million dollar industry

Jerry Jones just built a billion dollar stadium, and you and Sally Jenkins are trying to convince me that these guys are hurting from the economic state the country is in?

Give me a break

Uhhh, I don't think that we've had a full game at that stadium since it was built.

Anyway, those people shouldn't have been fired unless they were doing a piss-poor job. That's not just Redskins-specific, and Dan isn't hurting for money.

[Mark The Homer]

It's the relationship to ordinary people that seems missing here, the average citizen who really foots the bill and pays the freight, from buying $7 beers to paying $40 to park.

Everybody knows it's $8 for beer and $35 to park. Okay, maybe $40 in the cash lot. Obvious glaring errors that any attending fan can catch discount the other points of her article.

Still, she does have a point. As Parcells has said: in general, the odds of a FA working out and becoming a success is 50%.

Therefore, isn't every successful FA actually worth double what he is paid? And the Redskins are already on the high end of that spectrum, which has been par for the course during the Snyder era.

[JeepRyder]

Sally Jenkins is an idiot. I wish the Post would lay her off. She sucks. I dont think I have ever read a positive article by her on the redskins. She must not have made the cheerleader squad one year or something.

[Califan007 The Constipated]

For the last time (and I wish people would finally realize this)...the salaries of players and the salaries of workers are NOT the same or come from the same account. :doh:

It's a lot like the mentality that says "We pay our athletes millions of dollars a year, but only pay our teachers $30 thousand a year!!"...just an oversimplified way of looking at the reality of economics, an easy way for the masses to pretend they understand exactly how economics works.

[jthor99]

Uhhh, I don't think that we've had a full game at that stadium since it was built.

Anyway, those people shouldn't have been fired unless they were doing a piss-poor job. That's not just Redskins-specific, and Dan isn't hurting for money.

Sorry 88,604? But, what's your point. You made my specfic point in that Dan Snyder isn't hurting because of the economic state the country is in.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/attendance

[McD5]

For the last time (and I wish people would finally realize this)...the salaries of players and the salaries of workers are NOT the same or come from the same account. :doh:

They come from the exact same account, Snyder.

[SonOfWashington]

Adn when you combine layoffs and payoffs you get playoffs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Raub]

She disappointed me. I expected this article from her much sooner. Predictable.

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

For the last time (and I wish people would finally realize this)...the salaries of players and the salaries of workers are NOT the same or come from the same account. :doh:

True enough, but it's still relative.

Particularly if you happen to be one of the folks laid off and your now seeing the type of contract ONE man is getting, from the very same organisation that put you on the bread line to cut costs.

I think I may just be a tad bitter too if I were among their number.

Hail.

[NoVaSkins21]

I don't like the way the Skins' FO conducts its player acquisitions, but Sally Jenkins always seems to come out with these sort of articles every time the Skins make major news.

[Paulie Walnuts]

For the last time (and I wish people would finally realize this)...the salaries of players and the salaries of workers are NOT the same or come from the same account. :doh:

This argument doesn't hold water. Its all money from one organization.

Think of it this way....

Lets say you work somewhere and they just let you, and 20 other people go because sales weren't where they wanted them to be.

A month later, the company just purchases a 100 million private jet with all the bells and whistles, but the company justified it by saying "the employee money and the private jet money weren't from the same account"........

How do you think thats going to make you feel?

The skins aren't the only team who laid off people. They aren't alone in this by any means. But to justify it because the money doesn't come from the same place just flat out doesn't work.

[jthor99]

This argument doesn't hold water. Its all money from one organization.

Think of it this way....

Lets say you work somewhere and they just let you, and 20 other people go because sales weren't where they wanted them to be.

A month later, the company just purchases a 100 million private jet with all the bells and whistles, but the company justified it by saying "the employee money and the private jet money weren't from the same account"........

How do you think thats going to make you feel?

The skins aren't the only team who laid off people. They aren't alone in this by any means. But to justify it because the money doesn't come from the same place just flat out doesn't work.

Why doesn't it?

Are the Redskins supposed to make these now unemployed workers warm and fuzzy inside after they tell them they don't have a job?

How it that supposed to make them feel? Seriously? If people simply made business decisions on feeling then nothing would get accomplished

What your missing is the Redskins aren't like "other" teams. The Redskins are the 2nd most profitable team in the NFL, which the NFL is multi-multi million dollar juggernaut.

Your right there not alone in this. Teams like the Cardinals, Lions, small market teams are alone in this.

[SkinInsite]

If the Redskins make the Superbowl I don't care if they fire all their employees.

If all the big money signings fail I'm going to blame Vinny/Danny and I still don't care they fired these people.

[Califan007 The Constipated]

This argument doesn't hold water. Its all money from one organization.

Think of it this way....

Lets say you work somewhere and they just let you, and 20 other people go because sales weren't where they wanted them to be.

A month later, the company just purchases a 100 million private jet with all the bells and whistles, but the company justified it by saying "the employee money and the private jet money weren't from the same account"........

How do you think thats going to make you feel?

The skins aren't the only team who laid off people. They aren't alone in this by any means. But to justify it because the money doesn't come from the same place just flat out doesn't work.

I don't think it was meant that way...

Imagine Microsoft laying off people. Bill Gates is worth, what...eleventy billion dollars or something? lol...Now imagine after laying off the number of people that Microsoft lays off, a week later it's announced that a new CEO has been hired for $30 million a year, $10 million more a year than the old CEO...and that his first priority is to put more financial resources into their tech development department to start cranking out products to compete with the iPods and iPhones out there.

Would we really feel that paying one guy $30 million a year is a wise move after laying off people making much, much less? Would we be pissed off that Microsoft is gonna invest even more money into their tech department instead of keeping their tech department budget as-is and using that money to help those laid-off workers keep their jobs?

Because to equate signing Albert Haynesworth to a company buying "big, shiney new private jets with bells and whistles" is a false comparison. One is a move made to improve the company's product, the other is a luxury that doesn't do one thing to help improve the company's health. One of the best ways to make sure the Skins remain profitable is to field a winning team. Investing into players that can realistically help the Skins do that is a smart move, and should not be shelved because 20 people in an unrelated department got laid off.

[generals01]

This argument doesn't hold water. Its all money from one organization.

Think of it this way....

Lets say you work somewhere and they just let you, and 20 other people go because sales weren't where they wanted them to be.

A month later, the company just purchases a 100 million private jet with all the bells and whistles, but the company justified it by saying "the employee money and the private jet money weren't from the same account"........

How do you think thats going to make you feel?

The skins aren't the only team who laid off people. They aren't alone in this by any means. But to justify it because the money doesn't come from the same place just flat out doesn't work.

I mean "fairness" aside this argument doesn't hold water.

How many people in the world can collapse a pocket like Albert Haynesworth?

2, maybe 3?

Supply is limited, demand is high, expect to pay the big bucks.

How many people can work in a pretty standard office?

Tons.

Honestly it sucks to be laid off, but it is irrelevant to criticize these large contracts because of recent layoffs.

Also, if the economy sucks for the foreseeable future, ticket and concession sales may drop, hurting the Redskins revenues.

One way to try a boost these ticket and concession sales is to get fans excited about the team and willing to sacrifice their money for them. How do you get fans excited? By giving them hope of a playoff run by signing the best defensive player in the world, who coincidentally, was at one of the positions the Redskins absolutely needed.

This article is stupid. People don't appreciate how rare some of these NFL players are.

[Paulie Walnuts]

I don't think it was meant that way...

Imagine Microsoft laying off people. Bill Gates is worth, what...eleventy billion dollars or something? lol...Now imagine after laying off the number of people that Microsoft lays off, a week later it's announced that a new CEO has been hired for $30 million a year, $10 million more a year than the old CEO...and that his first priority is to put more financial resources into their tech development department to start cranking out products to compete with the iPods and iPhones out there.

Would we really feel that paying one guy $30 million a year is a wise move after laying off people making much, much less? Would we be pissed off that Microsoft is gonna invest even more money into their tech department instead of keeping their tech department budget as-is and using that money to help those laid-off workers keep their jobs?

Microsoft did lay off people a month or two back. First layoff in their history. After some people looked at thier financials, there really wansn't a need to layoff people, so microsoft said they did it because they were forecasting that things "would get bad" in the future. They took a tremendous hit in the publics eye because of this.

As far as the new CEO thing goes, if a guy was brought in and announced he was going to throw some money in a new area of development , MS would have to some more hiring to advance their tech line. It would be a reorganization if you will. Something the public can swallow.

Because to equate signing Albert Haynesworth to a company buying "big, shiney new private jets with bells and whistles" is a false comparison. One is a move made to improve the company's product, the other is a luxury that doesn't do one thing to help improve the company's health. One of the best ways to make sure the Skins remain profitable is to field a winning team. Investing into players that can realistically help the Skins do that is a smart move, and should not be shelved because 20 people in an unrelated department got laid off.

I'm not naive enough to say I don't understand how the world works. Haynesworth puts butts in seats, and people who work in offices don't. But the fact remains, if Snyder had to pay him 42 million to get him under contract, instead of the 41 million, he would have done it. Simple as that. Now lets take that "extra" million, and divide it amongst the 20 employees that were let go. Thats 50 grand each. I'd guess that was probably the average salary of those 20 people give or take.

So instead of 20 people making 50 grand, now you have 20 people who are probably in the unemployment line. More people who will possibly not have enough to pay their car payments or their mortgage, thereby contributing to the current economic crisis.

CERTAINLY not Snyders fault, by no means am I blaming him, nor should he feel guilty and keep people on because they have a car payment. I'm just saying its a cycle, and it sucks.

At the very least, to terminate 20 people and then hand out 180 million, certainly looks bad, and has a horrible smell to it.