Packers president Mark Murphy discusses proposed 'enhanced season'

Green Bay Packers team president Mark Murphy discussed the NFL's proposal for an 18-game regular season, an idea met with skepticism from the NFL Players Association and their constituents such as Ray Lewis and Tom Brady.

Murphy conducted a conference call.

Here's a transcript of his remarks:

Mark Murphy: This (enhanced season concept) is an idea that is really gaining momentum, particularly with the owners. It is something that we have talked a lot about over the last year. In our first bargaining session last year, about a year ago, it was a topic that we talked about with the players and then, obviously, again here today.

I think the real roots of it are that as you look across the NFL and everything that we offer, we really try to provide top-quality value to our fans, whether it’s the regular season, postseason, the draft or the combine. To me, the one that stands out as being different is the preseason. There just isn’t the same value there. I know from my position with the Packers, I get a lot of complaints (about the preseason). We actually just had focus groups with a number of our season- ticket holders and club-seat holders and had a lot of complaints about the preseason games. It just isn’t the same value there that you have in the regular season. I think there is a real issue there that we need to address.

The other thing that I say having played in the league – I played and then worked for the Players Association and then I was away from the NFL for about 20 years. Coming back, one of the real eye-opening changes was the preseason. It has completely changed over the 20 years that I was away. Preseason games are treated much differently now. I think it is very clear to a lot of us that the players and the teams don’t need four games to get ready for the regular season.

That’s been the impetus for looking at some of the potential changes that we could make. That’s the background. The major issues are injury-related, safety issues. What we talked about today was how we can address those concerns and what kind of things can we do. We’ve done and taken a number of steps in terms of some of the things that we’ve done already in terms of playing rules and taking a look at equipment.

But are there things that we can do in terms of looking at the overall offseason? How do the players train throughout the offseason? Are there some changes that we can make to make the whole experience for the players safe? We’ve looked at how to use a bye week or weeks or things of that nature. Also, we’re looking at squad size. That could impact player safety as well as the injured-reserve rules.

On NFLPA’s reaction to discussing an enhanced season:

You’ll really have to talk to the players and their representatives about that.

(Today) was our first official bargaining session since late February so I think it was good to get back together. Still, we were discussing a concept and looking at ideas.

In the current system, the players really are partners. If we can grow revenue and improve the game, they’re going to benefit. I think in that context, anything that we can do to improve and grow the game, players will see the benefits of that.

On owners’ thoughts on potentially increasing the maximum roster size:

First, we’re still working within the 20-game framework. Obviously, you’re not increasing the total number of games that we’re asking players to play, although the reality is starters right now in our preseason don’t play as much. That’s one of the changes. Going back 10, 15 or 20 years ago, the starters played a good portion of the four preseason games.

Now, with our offseason training, the players are in shape and they come into camp in shape and don’t need four games to get ready for the season. In fact, it came up today. The average starter probably plays anywhere from five to six quarters out of the four preseason games.

The other issue is that the current Collective Bargaining Agreement anticipates the situation. Actually, it contemplates us being able to increase from 20 to 22 total games. We could go, if we wanted under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, to 18 regular season and four preseason games. What we’re really looking at, though, is to focus on the current 20 and how we might be able to enhance the current breakdown of four and 16.

On player compensation changes with an enhanced season:

Under the relationship that we have with the players, they get close to 60 percent of the revenue. If we grow the revenue, they are going to get more. They are currently playing 20 games, and we’re not increasing that. That would be the way that we would approach it. This is an opportunity for us to work together to grow revenue and improve the game.

Part of it is really providing more value to our fans. The quality of our preseason has really deteriorated over time.

On increasing to 17 regular-season games rather than 18:

The real focus is on 18 (regular-season games) and two (preseason games). With 17 and three, it was discussed. Over the course of the past year, there were some scheduling issues with it that made 18 and two a little cleaner.

On timing of the first enhanced season:

2012 would be the earliest.

On increasing the maximum roster size and offseason calendar changes:

Those are issues that we’ve talked about, but we really want input from the players to get their thoughts on what the offseason looks like to them. Also in terms of the roster, we have a practice squad now. Do you increase that as well as the active roster size? That would all be part of the negotiation with the players.

On adding players to the active roster:

That would all have to be negotiated. One of the things that we also have talked about, and it came up today, was the possibility of a developmental league. One of the concerns if you go from four preseason down to two preseason games, is that your younger players – particularly quarterbacks and maybe offensive linemen who really need game experience to develop – would be losing some of that experience. A lot of people had a really positive experience with NFL Europe. It helped us develop younger players so one of the thoughts is the possibility of a developmental league to maybe have some games in the spring as well as some games in the fall with a real focus on developing younger players. I think that would be a positive for us as a league. You talk to coaches and they want to be able to develop young players. Also, it would be a way to develop coaches and officials. I think there would be some real positives with a developmental league.

If you look across most professional sports, we’re the only league without some type of minor league or developmental system to develop players.

On prorated player salaries based on the two-game increase:

Still with the partnership that we have with the players, they’re going to get X-percent of whatever revenue comes in. I think that’s how we would view it.

On injury risks of an enhanced season:

We studied it. The studies showed that the injury rate does not increase over the course of the season. I think the concern is the cumulative effect. If you’re playing more—that’s again where you have to be thoughtful about this. We’re going to want the input of not only the players but also the coaches and the Competition Committee to look at the overall offseason and the whole season. What do we do with players in the offseason? How many OTAs do teams have? And training camp?

One of the thoughts is that you’re trading out two preseason games for two regular-season games so in effect you’re trading out possibly two-a-day practices for regular-season practices. Just from my own experience, the wear and tear on your body is much greater in the preseason than in the regular season.

The length of the season was an issue that they did raise, and they have concerns about safety. We need to do everything that we can to try to minimize the injury risk.

On changing the injured-reserve policy:

That is something that we would be open to. We actually talked about it today going back to what it used to be when you could be—I think it was a six-week minimum before being taken off of IR. You could be put on injured reserve during the season and then brought back.

On the timing of the season in terms of the calendar:

We haven’t finalized that. We need to talk through those issues. There are issues on both ends of that. If you start before Labor Day, there are concerns about, obviously, families and people on vacation. Are you going to have a drop off in attendance? There’s also weather-related issues in August in some of our southern sites in terms of warm-weather games. At the end of the season, if you push back a couple weeks, then you’ve got more cold-weather games. We’re trying to balance that. Those are some of the issues that we’re looking at.

On owners endorsing an 18-game season:

We haven’t officially voted on it, but I think there is a lot of momentum just in the meetings that I have been a part of. Talking to other owners, I think people really look at it and say that it addresses a real problem we have in the league, and that’s the quality of the preseason. Quite honestly, I think a lot of us look at it and say this might be a way that we can reach a deal with the players, allowing us to work with the players, grow the game and grow revenue.

On whether the NFL could expand the season without the NFLPA’s approval:

We could go to 22 -- to 18 and 4 under the current CBA -- subject to financial negotiation with the players.

On whether the NFL has the ability to unilaterally change the schedule if no agreement is reached:

No. We would not do it. This is something we want to reach agreement on with the players.

On the concerns the owners have about expanding the schedule:

I would say it is the same as the players. We have an issue with the preseason. There’s not a lot of fan interest. The number of no-shows we have across the league is very high. They don’t like the preseason. We’re not providing good value. But we have concerns about the safety. But we also see some positives. From the players’ perspective, it’s a chance to grow revenue, create more jobs, and to further develop players with the possibility of some of the things we want to do in the offseason, including potentially a developmental league.

On injury rates in an enhanced season:

As the season goes on, you do not see an increase in the rate of injuries players report. Player safety and player injuries are an issue if we play 16 regular-season games or 18. I think this is going to be a real positive for the league and the players to really study this. I’ve seen dramatic changes over the years I’ve been involved in the league. Practices 15, 20, 30 years ago were quite a bit different than they are now. Coaches learn.

When I was a rookie—I’m showing my age—we had six preseason games and I felt like I had been through a whole college season by the time we got through. But players and teams needed six games then to get ready. Now I think with the offseason training that the players do, they don’t need four games to get ready for the regular season.

On whether there will be football in 2011:

We’ve still got a lot of time between now and the expiration of the contract. What I said before: focusing on issues like this where we can grow the game, grow interest in the game, and develop the additional revenues where the players can benefit, I think that is going to be helpful for us as we move toward trying to reach an agreement.

On players’ being properly compensated for the additional regular season games:

I think they may well raise that issue, but at the end of the day you’ve got a pot of money and the players get nearly 60 percent of that. We compared the NFL to other professional sports leagues. Right now we’re significantly shorter than the NBA, Major League Baseball by about eight weeks. Obviously, the injury rate in the NFL is higher than those other sports.

The other thing we looked at is the CFL, which right now is at two preseason and 18 regular-season games. Right now we have one bye during the regular season. We’ve talked a little bit about whether we can work in another bye. One of the thoughts would be to have one bye during the regular season—like we do now—and also maybe play two preseason games and then give everyone a bye. So you’d have a chance to get your players rested up and ready for the start of the regular season. Right now what I’ve seen is that a lot of the coaches and a lot of the teams build in a bye by treating the fourth preseason game almost as a bye. Either they don’t play the starters or play them just one series so they’re building in a time period for players to rest up and get healthy for the start of the regular season.

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