A poll released earlier today on CNBC shows that neither the NFL owners nor the NFL Players Association is finding a sympathetic audience from the public.
↵CNBC's Darren Rovell reports that 65 percent of fans who participated in the online survey do not agree with either side in the current NFL labor dispute. The current collective bargaining agreement expires March 3. Without a new one in place, owners are expected to lock players out, effectively putting the 2011 season in jeopardy until an agreement is reached.
↵What fans think has not, seemingly, meant much throughout the process. One of the sticking points is ownership's desire for an 18-game regular season. Only 27 percent of fans who participated in a recent survey about that said they wanted to see the NFL add two more more regular season game to its current 16-game schedule.
↵The CNBC survey regarding public opinion was conducted by Optimum/OMD. That company's CEO realizes that while the numbers in the survey are interesting, the NFL: and NFLPA won't care.
↵"You’d like to think that the fans would make a difference, but the reality is when you talk about the issues, like the 18-game season, what the fans say doesn’t really mean much," McGovern said.
↵That might be just about all the NFL and NFLPA agree on right now.
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