If you had any doubt about the tone of the NFLPA meetings in Maui, well, this ought to clear it up.
The players have one thing on their mind, and that is the steadfast belief that the owners have little to no interest in negotiating a collective bargaining agreement with them. The way they see it, they’re 12 months away from the inevitable, a lockout.
That is the message that came through clearly in a report from Liz Mullen of Sports Business Daily, who has tracked the meetings on location.
“Everyone believes it. It’s not a strike. It’s a lockout," said Chicago Bears wide receiver Rashied Davis, an alternate player representative. "The owners are the ones. We want to play. That is what the players want to do. Owners don’t want to let us play, so they are planning to lock us out."
Said Chester Pitts, the Houston Texans’ player representative: “We are prepared or are preparing for what is on the horizon, and what is on the horizon is the fact that owners plan to lock us out.”
Added Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Mike Vrabel, a member of the executive committee: “You prepare for it just like you prepare for a long and grueling season. We are preparing for the same thing with the lockout.”
With players that convinced a lockout is coming, that tells you they don’t believe the 32 teams have any interest in sitting down at the bargaining table and getting something done. Players claim the owners are asking for 18 percent rollbacks on salaries. Owners say it’s not that much. Players say show us your books. There isn’t going to be movement on this issue any time soon. In the meantime, watch the rhetoric build.
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This is how I feel... just suck it up like everyone else in the country and take a frickin' pay cut or lose your job. This is not the time - with the economy suffering and the people of this country struggling financially - this is not the time to present yourself as greedy, selfish, jackasses showing your awesome houses and man-toys on "Cribs"...."Cribs", by the way, is changing its format. It will now feature adult-sized CRIBS and strollers for crybaby athletes with the athletes showing off their new stuffed Teddy Bears, hanging mobiles, Baby Einstein collection and squeaky toys.
If you dont have this type of rhetoric you are perceived as a poor negotiator. Of course the owners do not want a strike. Of course the players dont want any restrictions on their salaries or ability to shop their services to the highest bidder. The problem with this protracted CBA negotiations is that we are going to hear this type of talk for the next year. Nothing ever gets done until the deadline is upon them for fear of appearing to cave in.Hopefully cooler heads will prevail. There has to be some middle ground which would include a rookie salary cap/slot system, limits to salaries, overall maximum and minimum caps, and to appease the players better health benefits, upgrades to free agency ( in lieu of rookie salary) and some type player representation re fines and suspensions
I don't see the fans blaming the players. The owners do not have to disclose income/losses, make billions on TV, stadiums (that the cities paid for), and merchandising (exclusive contracts), yet are demanding 18% pay cut to player salaries.
Something doesn't jibe with the owners story.
A lockout would be bad for both sides. There is a lot of bluster here. I see an 11th hour proposal getting done. Greedy owners and greedy player all losing money over how to divide up billions doesn't seem realistic.
chicken, meet egg
The owners are the one's who are refusing to tell the players why their 'supposedly' not making enough money. The owners want more money, show the players why 40% revenues isn't enough money. OPEN up your books and show the facts. The Packers are the only team that has to open the books and I think they make over 25 million after all is said and done, and being a small market city you can't tell me that every other owner in the NFL isn't making at least that much. There isn't one player who makes that kind of money every year, and factor in that player careers don't last very long so players have such a limited window to make money so they should be able to get reasonably what they want, the players are who the fans pay to see, right. So calling the players greedy is outrageous the owners should show the players why 40% isn't enough instead of just saying it, prove it!!
They might take Sam Bradford with the No. 1 pick in the draft, but they could sure use one of the defensive tackles being mentioned at the top of the draft. And, boy, could they use some help at linebacker.
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Mar 16, 2010
11:25 AM
Of course there will be a work stopage. And I'll tell you right now, most fans will blame the PLAYERS, not the owners. The ecomomy is now in a recession, something that wasn't the case 4 years ago when the current deal was negatiated. The players and their union's tactics will fail to win in the court of public opinion. Most teams are losing money and the current model does not work. The players currently have 60% of the revenues and they're unwilling to give any of it back. They can whine and spin all they want in the press, but when there's no opening day kickoff in 2011, I will blame the greedy players and the narrow minded union, no one else. Though in the end, the ones who will lose are the fans.