• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, March 14, 2011

What a remarkable dynamic this NFL labor mess has wrought compared to the baseball strike in 1994. Back then, Americans seemed to pillory the players more than the owners, figuring how dare they be so greedy in wanting so much to play a kids' game. Now with football, the owners may be the greater bête noire.

The NFL-owning billionaires appear to be awash in cash and simply want more. And, unlike with baseball, fans are starting to understand that even with an excellent salary, playing in the NFL is not two-hand touch in the backyard. There is a major risk in getting concussions and suffering from long-term brain damage.

As evidence mounts about how brutal the game can be, it bears revisiting the imbroglio last fall when the NFL once again exercised its seeming free reign when it comes to the TV broadcasts of its games. Toyota was airing a nice campaign about how researchers at Wake Forest are using its safety technology to look for ways to develop better football helmets that could cut down on head injuries.

Not wanting attention on the plague affecting it, the NFL stiff-armed Toyota into altering the ad and eliminating shots of helmet-to-helmet contact. Toyota gave in.

Especially after its own safety issues, Toyota should have stood stronger. The automaker spends so much on the NFL - backing the halftime show on NBC, etc. - let the league tell it to take its millions of dollars elsewhere. Would it really?

Marketers, however, believe advertising on NFL programming has become too important for them to risk alienating the league and losing the opportunity. (The networks have to love that.) From a business standpoint, the marketers are probably right to recoil. NFL games are effectively DVR-proof with huge, passionate audiences that can't be found elsewhere.

Other sports aren't the NFL, but it is still a good time to be one. It is hard to say they don't hold the upper hand when it comes to content-hungry networks and marketers eager to associate with them. Even in the depths of the steroid allegations, did any cut ties with Major League Baseball? Have any pulled their names off the scoreboards of college football teams after scandals?

The Toyota road is the one well-traveled. More than a decade ago, John Hancock CEO Dave D'Allesandro surprisingly launched some barbs against Olympic lords for the bribery scandal involving the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City. And his company reportedly halted Olympic advertising negotiations with NBC, not wanting to be linked with a sullied brand.

In the end, D'Allesandro's company stayed on as an Olympic sponsor.

The NHL, of course, has the least leverage among the four major sports ... in the U.S. That's different in Canada, where it's the NHL from Newfoundland to Vancouver.

Which is why it was refreshing last week when two sponsors protested how the NHL is dealing with its own mounting head-injury issues. Players are being popped in the head with massive power at increasing rates, leading to concussions becoming commonplace. The league's main draw Sidney Crosby has been out since suffering one well over two months ago.

And Canada has been abuzz since Boston Bruin Zdeno Chara delivered a frightening hit to Montreal's Max Pacioretty last week that left Pacioretty with a concussion, broken vertebra and leaving the ice on a stretcher headed to the hospital. The NHL did not fine or suspend Chara, causing an uproar and questions about whether it has, well, its head in the sand.

Montreal, in particular, has been enraged. And both Air Canada and rail operator VIA Rail - which are based there -- sent letters to the NHL expressing frustration with the league's inability to prevent dangerous head hits.

In the case of Air Canada, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said: "Air Canada is a valued league partner and the NHL continues to work to ensure the safety of all our players. It is of the utmost importance for everyone associated with the league that we do so."

Actually, that's false. Bettman basically told the airline to go fly a kite, suggesting if it is unsatisfied with its sponsorship, it could go elsewhere. And teams that fly Air Canada charters could use another carrier if unsatisfied.

Bettman's harshness was refreshing for its honesty as it showed the power sports leagues know they wield in marketing. Air Canada pretty much needs the NHL more than the league needs it. And VIA Rail said it was just expressing some concern, not threatening to yank its dollars.