Tag: NFL lockout (Page 11 of 12)

      A mock conversation between a NFL fan, Roger Goodell and Jeff Pash

      March 4, 2011 /
      NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell talks about the Gen Youth Foundation during a press conference in Dallas, Texas on February 4, 2011. The Pittsburgh Steelers will take on the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLV on February 6, 2011. UPI/Ian Halperin

      As they continue to work towards signing a new CBA deal, the NFL and NFLPA are in the midst of a media blackout, which basically means that they won’t share any details about how the discussions are going.

      In light of this, I’ve decided to compose a mock conversation between a NFL fan (for creative purposes, let’s call him “NFL Fan”), commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL Executive Vice President Jeff Pash using Goodell and Pash’s actual media transcripts from Friday.

      Seeing as how they won’t shed any light on what’s actually happening behind closed doors, I figured this would be more entertaining than just posting Goodell and Pash’s highly useless comments.

      NFL Fan: Should I cancel my NFL draft party in April, my fantasy football draft in August and my NFL Sunday Ticket subscription? In other words, are we going to have a season next year or what?

      Roger Goodell: We are in a media blackout. I’m sorry. I’m not trying to dodge your question. With respect to the process, to George Cohen, to the NFLPA, I think we want to continue to respect that. But we’ve continued to work hard. I think the fact that we are continuing this dialogue is a positive sign.

      NFL Fan: You know what else would be a positive sign? If you guys stopped making fans grab their ankles waiting for you to reach an agreement. That would be a pretty positive sign, wouldn’t you say, Jeff? Do you think fans should be optimistic just because you guys have agreed to another extension?

      Jeff Pash: I think this is better than the alternative. Should they be optimistic? They know we’re talking. They know we’re working hard. I think that should be a positive.

      NFL Fan: Actually, we don’t know that you’re talking or working hard because you a-holes don’t say anything of substance when you do talk to the media. For all we know, your “meetings” consist of smoking cigars, playing Texas Hold’em and watching re-runs of Knight Rider while laughing at how the fans are clinging onto hope that an agreement will be reached soon.

      Roger Goodell: We are going to continue to work as hard as we can. I promise.

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, Humor, NFL

      CBA discussions extended seven days

      March 4, 2011 /
      NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith talks to reporters outside of negotiations with football team owners as they seek an agreement as a deadline looms for a player lockout, in Washington, March 3, 2011. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL EMPLOYMENT BUSINESS)

      The NFL Network is reporting that the league and NFLPA have extended the deadline for the CBA for another seven days. It was originally reported that the extension was 10 days, but the actual number is seven.

      The two sides will now take the weekend to meet and talk within their respective camps, while resuming talks on Monday. The hope is that the union and owners will take a deep breath over the weekend, clear their heads and start fresh first thing next week. Then, if everything goes well, maybe the new CBA will be signed by end of the day Friday.

      But there’s speculation that this will be the last extension. Next Friday there will either be a new deal in place or there will be a lockout (or a decertification on part of the union). And just as the case was with the 24-hour extension, there will be no player transactions during the seven-day period. No roster moves will be permitted during the deadline extension, which has officially been set for 5:00PM ET.

      While the situation still remains bleak, this is yet another step in the right direction. Are the two sides any closer to coming to an agreement? While that remains to be seen, at least they’ve agreed to keep the lines of communications open.

      Either that or we’re all being suckered into thinking that the two sides are really trying when neither is truly willing to compromise.

      External Sports, News, NFL

      Settlement coming between owners and union by the end of the month?

      March 4, 2011 /
      Domonique Foxworth (L) of the Baltimore Ravens and Kevin Mawai (C), former player for the Tennessee Titans and current NFL Players Association president, depart with NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith (2nd R) after a day of negotiations with football team owners as they seek an agreement as a deadline looms for a player lockout, in Washington, March 3, 2011. Man at far right is unidentified. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL EMPLOYMENT BUSINESS)

      Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports seems to think that if the owners and union can reach an agreement on a one or two week extension in the CBA discussions, then a settlement may be reached “before the end of this month.”

      Sources on both sides of the conflict agreed on one basic premise: If enough progress is made that another short-term CBA extension – perhaps a week, perhaps two – is announced by Friday night, the players and owners will almost certainly be headed for a settlement that will result in a multi-year deal before the end of this month.

      If not, as one person familiar with the negotiations put it, “It will be Armageddon.” The union will decertify and file a class-action, anti-trust lawsuit against the owners, who’ll issue a legal challenge to the validity of the act while implementing a lockout (or de facto lockout). A long, bitter standoff would likely ensue, and the 2011 season could be threatened.

      Something interesting that I’ve noticed is that there seems to be sides developing in the media when it comes to whether or not there be a lengthy lockout. Reporters like ESPN’s Chris Mortensen is of the mind that talks will go on for months, while writers like Silver remain incredibly optimistic. (Silver’s Twitter page reads like a Tony Robbins speech, with one positive outlook after another.)

      I remain somewhere in between. When talking to friends about the issue, I’ve often said that there’s too much money on the table for both sides to subject themselves to a lengthy lockout. The NFL is so popular it’s printing money, so why do anything to upset the apple cart?

      That said, after speaking with players like Kellen Winslow Jr., DeMarcus Ware and Stanford Routt, I get the impression that they’re very concerned about a lengthy lockout. They understand how real this situation is and how it may last until September. The union is sending them updates on how to seek benefits during a lockout and preparing them for what happens next in the event of no football next season.

      But the one positive that has come out of talking with all of those players is that they remain optimistic and thus, so shall I. As a football fan, I hope Silver’s projection is on the money and a deal is reached soon. (Whether that’s before the end of the month or before I get done writing this sentence.)

      External Sports, NFL

      Owners, union agree to a 24-hour CBA extension but FA still won’t start

      March 3, 2011 /
      NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell arrives for labor negotiations between NFL players and owners with federal mediation in Washington on March 3, 2011. The current collective bargaining agreement expires at midnight tonight and a lockout is possible but not definite if none is reached. UPI/Roger L. Wollenberg.

      The NFL and the Players Association have agreed to a 24-hour extension on CBA talks. There could still be a lockout by Saturday morning but at least the two sides are committed to keeping the lines of communication open for the next 24 hours.

      Now that an extension is in place the question on some fans’ minds is whether or not free agency will start. The answer is no. Once the clock strikes midnight, all league transactions will cease.

      There’s a chance that the 24-hour extension may turn into a 48 or even 72-hour extension, but it still seems likely that we’re heading for a lockout. If that happens, the Players Association is prepared to decertify, which means the union would no longer represent the players. The players would then be giving up their rights under labor law and instead they would take their chances in court under antitrust law.

      If all of this is confusing, I’ve prepared a flow chart to help it all make sense:

      NFL Players Union = Greedy.

      NFL Owners = Greedier.

      Union + Owners = Lockout.

      Fans = Screwed.

      Here’s hoping a miracle happens in the next 24 hours and the two sides agree to terms. Once this happens, free agency can begin and then football fans can go back to sleeping again.

      External Sports, NFL

      Owners won’t give in just because of the TV ruling

      March 2, 2011 /

      U.S. District Court Judge David Doty issued a ruling that will likely prevent owners from accessing the TV payments that would have helped fund a potential lockout. As Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports writes, this is potentially a good thing for fans because it may force the owners to compromise.

      Doty’s ruling, while an obvious boon to the NFLPA’s cause, wasn’t so much a smackdown of the owners’ position as it was a blow for labor peace. If the owners react to this judicial setback in a rational manner, they’ll lose their hardline bluster and come back to the bargaining table with a renewed sense of compromise.

      Conversely, once Tuesday night’s buzz wears off, NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith and his fellow negotiators should resist the temptation to gloat and instead push for a CBA that bridges the philosophical gap between the two parties.

      If those reasonable and logical reactions occur when the two sides meet on Wednesday, I believe we’ll soon have an announcement from the camps that they’ve agreed to a short-term extension of the current CBA beyond March 3 – in the expectation of finalizing a deal over the next week or two.

      In other words, after more than a year of rancorous rhetoric and the sense that a lockout was inevitable, we could have peace, love and harmony between players and owners by the end of the month, and well in advance of next month’s NFL draft. Free agency, minicamps, OTAs, training camp – it could all play out like a typical offseason, with fantasy drafts occurring right on schedule.

      That’s how much power Doty’s ruling may have packed.

      I’m not trying to burst Silver’s bubble, but the owners have been planning this lockout for years. They’re not going to cave just because of one ruling, even one as significant as this. There will be plenty of rulings coming up in the near future and maybe the next one will side in the favor of the owners. We just have to wait and see.

      I want there to be football next season just as much as the next red-blooded American, so I hope Silver’s thoughts come to fruition and we see a quick compromise. (I also don’t doubt the impact that this ruling may have on the labor discussions.) But the owners are going to appeal this ruling, so I wouldn’t hold my breath on a timely resolution to this gigantic mess.

      External Sports, NFL

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