Raiders give option: Sell tickets to avoid salary cutbacks

Faced with the prospect of slashing salaries or trimming jobs, the Oakland Raiders have opted for an alternative measure affecting team employees during the NFL lockout.

Bolster the sales staff.

The Raiders who had the NFL's lowest attendance last season are requiring every employee to sell new season tickets worth 10% of what they earn during the lockout. That includes secretaries, equipment managers, coaches and executives.

"They understand the club is dealing with some issues," Chief Executive Amy Trask says. "We're asking them to help as part of the solution."

Called "The 2011 Plan," the Raiders' incentive program runs counter to the NFL trend during a lockout in its 10th week. The plan was revealed to the staff March 11, the night the lockout began. Roughly one-third of NFL teams, in addition to the league headquarters and other entities, have reduced costs with salary cuts or furloughs.

Last week, the Miami Dolphins slashed staff salaries by 10% to 20%. Next week, the Arizona Cardinals are to begin a one-week, company-wide furlough.

Raiders staffers, meanwhile, are blitzing neighbors and community events alike albeit in a tough sales climate muddied by the threat that the lockout will extend into the season. Season tickets range from $260 to about $2,000 with a stadium club membership.

"Rather than a confiscatory approach, this is constructive and productive," Trask says.

Sports franchise consultant Marc Ganis says the plan is "creative and smart." Although the team won't reveal 2010 season ticket or current sales, Ganis suspects the team ranks near the bottom of the NFL with a season ticket base of fewer than 30,000. " They're incentivizing the staff," says Ganis, president of Sportscorp. "I'd think the people in Miami wish they could sell tickets rather than having their salaries cut."

Trask, the highest-ranking front office member after team owner Al Davis, must sell tickets, too.

What happens to those who don't hit their sales target? "We'll work with them," Trask says, including getting seasoned sales staff to help. "The goal is for everyone to succeed."