CBA talks...

[steeljake]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d81e3b6ff/article/nfl-union-mum-on-nixed-session-memo-details-wage-feud?module=HP_headlines

NFL, union mum on nixed session; memo details wage feudNFL.com Wire Reports
Published: Feb. 10, 2011 at 01:48 p.m. Updated: Feb. 10, 2011 at 06:58 p.m. Liked: 8 | Comments: 201 Email Like Print Read Discuss

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Negotiations to prevent an NFL lockout took a grim turn Thursday with the cancellation of the second day of a planned two-day bargaining session.

"We wish we were negotiating today," NFL Players Association spokesman George Atallah said. "That's all I can say."

There are just three weeks to go before the collective bargaining agreement expires on March 3.

Wyche: Window for a deal is open
Steve Wyche writes that the time is now for the NFL and NFL Players Association to make something happen before the "window of opportunity" closes and things grow ugly. More ... The collapse of the talks came as a surprise. The two sides got together Wednesday for the second time in five days, the previous negotiations taking place in Dallas on Saturday before the Super Bowl. Neither Atallah nor NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith would comment on why Thursday's session was called off.

The NFL issued a statement Thursday in reponse to media reports that the league was responsible for the breakdown in talks:

"Despite the inaccurate characterizations of yesterday's meeting, out of respect to the collective bargaining process and our negotiating partner, we are going to continue to conduct negotiations with the union in private and not engage in a point-counterpoint on the specifics of either side's proposals or the meeting process. Instead, we will work as hard as possible to reach a fair agreement by March 4. We are fully focused on that goal."

The league also confirmed that Commissioner Roger Goodell has canceled an owners' meeting scheduled for next Tuesday in Philadelphia.

One of the issues the NFL and NFLPA continue to be at odds over is the structure of a rookie salary cap. NFL Network insider Jason LaCanfora reports that agents representing NFL players were e-mailed a memo from the union Thursday afternoon detailing the NFL's most recent response to their rookie-wage scale proposal, and Smith's response to it.

The NFL formally responded to the NFLPA's proposal in late January, and Smith released a letter to agents today updating them on the status of the rookie scale.

This memo, copies of which were obtained by NFL.com/NFL Network, provide the union's detailed synopsis on what it states was the league's counteroffer, including proposals for minimum salaries and contract lengths. According to the memo, the league's proposal has called for slotting of picks in essence (a process of a set salary and bonus parameter based on the draft slot in which a player was selected, allowing for minimal, if any, individual negotiation).

That is a premise the NFLPA is vehemently opposed to, and one that several union officials and agents have told LaCanfora privately they would not agree to.

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Smith argues in the memo that by holding down rookie salaries, the NFL would also be limiting the future salaries of veterans. Union officials have also objected to the league's proposal that no rookie-contract re-negotiations be possible until after the third year of a contract, and that rookie signing bonuses be paid over the life of the contract rather than upfront.

The NFL's proposal, according to the memo, calls for first-round picks to be under contract for five years, and other draft picks for four years. The union has proposed four-year deals for picks in rounds one through three, and three-year deals for rounds four through seven. The sides also were not in agreement on minimum base salaries for rookies, with the league's proposal roughly $120,000 less per year, according to the memo.

Owners opted out of the current CBA in 2008 and are seeking a bigger cut of the league's annual revenues, which are roughly $9 billion, as well as the rookie wage scale. They also want to increase the regular season by two games to 18, while dropping two preseason games.

The players are happy with the status quo.

The NFL has had labor peace since a 1987 players' strike that led to three games with replacement players, but some sort of labor stoppage appears a genuine possibility this year because of the slow pace of negotiations. The talks at the Super Bowl were the first formal discussions since November.

Meanwhile, the NFLPA continued to present its side of the argument to the public. The union brought in a beer vendor from Ford Field in Detroit as part of a news conference in the nation's capital aimed at demonstrating the effects a lockout would have on the economy.


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"Football and other major sporting events are some of the only things that bring people to downtown Detroit after 5 p.m.," said John Marler, who has worked at the stadium since 2007.

Kimberly Freeman Brown, executive director of American Rights at Work, said the NFL and union are fussing over many of the same issues faced by many workers: pay cuts, longer working hours, workplace safety and health care. She said a lockout would have an impact on 150,000 jobs and cause more than $160 million in lost revenue in every city with an NFL team. She called a potential work stoppage "something that could potentially have devastating consequences on our quality of life and our mental health."

"For many fans, football is just that deep to us," Brown said.

Atallah defended the union's public relations tactics.

"It is important for us to stand with the people who are here on this panel, not for any publicity issue or publicity stunt," Atallah said. "This is real life for us. This is a reality that these people face."

Smith arrived during the news conference, but stayed in the back of the room and did not answer questions.

http://NFLLabor.com.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

[NAHSTE]

The deadline is on my birthday. It's also the day position players report to spring training, so chances are I'll not be giving too much of a fuck either way.

[manchild24]

they just want to give the sports world something to talk about. thats why they called off the meetings. they met like three days in a row.

two things I heard on my way into work today.
1- when the NHL locked out the players were receiving like a 70+% share
2- Will there be a Madden if there is a lock out, thats part of the revenue

[j.hen]

There will most likely still be a Madden, should be interesting how they handle it. Or if EA just says fuck it.

[bucky]

NFL owners have virtually no input on the success of there product. Its almost entirely in the hands of the players/coaches and TV for representation.

And the owners have nothing to do with hiring the people that make the decisions?

There ineptitude and lack of spine in regards to agents representing rookies got them into a huge mess. There collective inability to control themselves backfired big time.

Isn't it against the law for owners of any corporations to get together and fix pricing, and salaries? How do they collectively control this w/o talking amongst themselves about an artificial rookie spending cap?

Fans reject the pricing , the mandatory purchasing of these seats in order to get regular season tickets , and of course the complete objection to obscene Personal Seat Licenses involved with pre-season.

If expenses weren't so high, maybe we would see lower ticket prices.

The system is fine , it works , and catapulted the NFL so far ahead of the other leagues its unimaginable that anyone would want to screw with it. As always greed wins.

System isn't working as great as you say. I can't afford to take the family to a game. Can't even afford to go myself.

NFL players already take "risk" by stepping on the field. Knowing its almost guaranteed you will have a life long ailment after a few years is "risk".

I might just take that risk, if someone was going to five me $5MIL for that one year.

Bottom line rookie salary caps would have been implemented immediately if the owners weren't so clueless and greedy.

Bottom line is, players are just as greedy as owners.

[SethMode]

For me, and I really could not give two shits about this, the weird part is that it seems right now that all the players really want is for the owners to just open up the books and show them why they want that extra billion. If it's on the level, I don't see why the owners wouldn't just do that. Particularly if everyone supposedly wants to get this fixed.

Just my major question from only really taking a passing interest in this situation.

[Rayman]

For me, and I really could not give two shits about this, the weird part is that it seems right now that all the players really want is for the owners to just open up the books and show them why they want that extra billion. If it's on the level, I don't see why the owners wouldn't just do that. Particularly if everyone supposedly wants to get this fixed.

Just my major question from only really taking a passing interest in this situation.

The owners' reply was basically along the lines of "even if we show that to you, you won't be convinced that things are becoming more expensive to run".

Yeah, it's shady as hell, but the players have zero leverage. If the owners don't want to open the books, they simply won't do it.

[Shayn•Da•Pain]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=jc-richardsonmanning021311

Sources: Panthers owner disses Manning, Brees
Jason Cole

By Jason Cole, Yahoo! Sports Feb 13, 10:19 pm EST

Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson mocked quarterbacks Peyton Manning(notes) and Drew Brees(notes) during a Feb. 5 negotiating session with the NFL Players Association, says three league sources, a sign of disrespect that the union hopes solidifies its members in the pending labor battle with the NFL.
Panthers owner Jerry Richardson.
(Chuck Burton/AP Photo)

“[Richardson] was extremely condescending to them, especially toward Peyton,” a source said. “[Richardson] was the only person on either side who was contentious. Everybody else was respectful. They might have said, ‘I disagree with your point,’ but at least they were respectful. [Richardson] was not.”
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Apparently, Richardson was particularly sarcastic when Manning started to talk about players’ safety. At one point, Richardson evidently said, “What do you know about player safety?”

Richardson was unavailable for comment. A league source denied that there was any contentious discussion between the team owner and anyone from the union’s side.

“Mr. Richardson is a former player and made clear his respect and affection for the players during the meeting,” the source said.

While negotiations between the NFL and the NFLPA have historically been marked by contentious moments, Richardson’s outburst may be especially telling for the players.

“If he’s willing to talk to [Manning] and [Brees] that way, what do you think it says about what he and the other owners think about the rest of the players?” the source said, rhetorically. “Now, it really only matters if [Richardson] is representing the opinion of 23 or even eight other owners, but it has to make you wonder.”

Richardson, who is the only former NFL player to own a team, has been considered one of the staunchest proponents of hard-line tactics in the current negotiations. Last March, Richardson addressed the rest of the NFL owners at the league’s annual spring meeting with a fiery speech. Richardson said the owners had to “take back our league” during the negotiations with players.

“We signed a [expletive] deal last time and we’re going to stick together and take back our league and [expletive] do something about it,” Richardson said, as reported by Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports.

That has been interpreted as a clear indication that Richardson and some other owners want to break the NFLPA and get players to give greater concessions. The owners are currently holding firm on a request to have an additional $1 billion in expenses be removed from the pool of shared revenue.

Currently, the NFL grosses approximately $9 billion annually. Of that, $1 billion is given to the owners off the top for expenses. After that, the remaining $8 billion is split with 60 percent ($4.8 billion) going to the players and 40 percent (another $3.2 billion for a total of $4.2 billion) going to owners.

Under the owners’ proposal, the first $2 billion would go to them. The owners have tried to sell that idea by saying the money would go toward reinvestment in the game to help grow the overall amount of money that is shared.

The players are currently unwilling to accept the owners’ proposal and are facing the likelihood of having the owners lock out the players after the March 3 deadline. In response, the union would likely decertify, leaving it vulnerable.

In that regard, Richardson’s comments to Manning could backfire on the owners. In 1987, for instance, the NFL was able to split the union in large part by creating what was known as the Quarterback Club, a marketing arm that led several top quarterbacks to stop supporting the union. In the case of Manning, who is not a player representative or member of the NFLPA’s executive board, his opinion carries great weight throughout the NFL. Last August, Manning said he would be completely supportive of the union’s cause at the proper time, but has largely stayed in the background.

Having him fully behind the union could be important to maintaining unity.

Somebody should sticky this thread so we can keep these CBA articles all in one place. Keep the forums neat and tidy and all that.

[Shayn•Da•Pain]

System isn't working as great as you say. I can't afford to take the family to a game. Can't even afford to go myself.

This is the ONE issue I have. Every time a representative, owner or player opens his mouth I hear "We have to get this done for the fans." and "The only people who will suffer are the fans." It always feels contrived when I hear that statement. If ownership and players are so concerned about the fans, they lower ticket prices. My dad wasn't a rich man growing up, be we went to several football and baseball games per year for that matter. I haven't been to a football game in a few years because ticket prices are fucking ridiculous. That and HDTV has made watching the games at home so much better. I only wish there were Fan Representatives at these talks.

[Shayn•Da•Pain]

bump

And somebody sticky this ish. plz