With a new regime gradually settling in at the NFL Players Association, one current player who has found himself in a key early role says that the union wants the guys who play the game to be involved.
Ravens cornerback Dominique Foxworth, who by all appearances already is being groomed by new Executive Director DeMaurice Smith to succeed Kevin Mawae as NFLPA president, attended the first negotiating session for the next Collective Bargaining Agreement.
“It wasn’t just a campaign promise,” Foxworth said of Smith’s vow to include players in the process, according to Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal. “A lot of people get up and say something and then not do what they said. I know he has done it.”
Foxworth wouldn’t talk about the details of the June 3 meeting, explaining that all sides agreed to keep the talks confidential.
But the opening issue continues to be the reason for the owners’ decision to opt out of the current deal, with the union believing that the owners are attempting to cry poor mouth without revealing whether and to what extent they’re making a profit.
The league is walking a fine line in this regard; if the owners say that they pulled the plug on the CBA two years early because they’re not making money, then the owners risk opening the door to an involuntary inspection of books that likely reveal otherwise.
Packers president Mark Murphy recently danced on the tightrope in this regard.
“It’s a real concern that our player costs continue to grow at a rate much higher than our revenue’s growing,” Murphy said. “It’s not sustainable, and it’s the reason we opted out of the collective bargaining agreement.”
Though it’s unknown whether the union will seize on Murphy’s words as the basis for a legal challenge to the league’s refusal to share financial data, the possibility that Murphy has said too much prompted one management-side league source to summarize his reaction in two words.
“Oh shit.”
New-Look NFLPA Promoting Involvement Of Players
Posted by Mike Florio on June 22, 2009, 11:00 AM EST
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7 Responses to “New-Look NFLPA Promoting Involvement Of Players”
Isn’t this just in character for Murphy? Say or do something dumb, and then someone else has to defend it?
I think the issue isn’t whether teams are making a profit but whether they are making enough of a profit. When one is talking about teams valued at 500 million to a billion dollars, 20 million dollars profit (which sounds like a lot) is unacceptable. Owners could sell, put there money in a bank account, and make more with no risk.
LetRBuck, with all due respect, I think your assertion is BS. You can value your assets any way you want, but I don’t buy your example and argument that $20 million profit on a $500 million to $1 billion is ‘unacceptable’. I think NFL teams are vastly over-valued. Their biggest tangible asset is usually their stadium. Most have been publicly funded and they receive generous tax breaks and concessions to boot.
Regardless of the value of your assets, if you aren’t losing money or breaking even, you’re making money.
The degree of profit is just a dick contest between NFL owners.
norseman..if your breaking even in business,you’re going backwards.
end of story.
The Packers financial data is wide open for public viewing.
Murphy has nothing to hide and can proclaim the truth and have the numbers to back it up.
The current Obama ever deepening recession/depression will make the NFL’s numbers look very convincing and has strengthened the owners arguments.
Earnings for owners are not even keeping up with inflation. Yet (by the Packers numbers) players got 11% more money last year.
This situation is a direct result of the poor job done by Paul Tagliabue. The worst commisioner the league has had to date.
I don’t get how the owners can say revenue increases can be less than wage increases, as per the CBA the players earn 59 cents in every dollar of football revenue. This ratio does not change as revenues increase or decrease. Surely with revenue sharing the league can maintain there profits and keep all owners happy. I don’t think the problem is with the increasing player costs, but with the inadequate agreement among owners on the sharing of revenues- an issue that nearly led to labor unrest the last time the CBA was renegotiated and one experts in labor law (cough cough florio) were saying at the time was going to blow up in the leagues face when it came time to renegotiate. So essentially, the owners issues from the last CBA have yet to be resolved and since they will never admit it (as this would lose leverage to the union) it seems we will have a lock out of the players.
DeMaurice Smith is obligated to follow the NFLPA Constitution – to inform and include his bosses in decision making. I find the notion offensive that Foxworth and others are being “mentored.” Domonique and others are intelligent, college-educated, multi-thousand – or million -aires. They have taken on more responsibility than those of the same age in the workforce – both mentally and physically. They have served their teammates, ascended to and earned their positions of leadership on the Executive Committee. They don’t need to be played to, ego baited or compromised to become the next President or Executive Director.
I think that Mr. Smith has good intentions and I commend him for his efforts. He is well-educated and a very successful professional. He is nevertheless learning the business of sports and labor law as it comes. I would be negligent if I don’t remind you that Smith is also being “mentored” by some proven obfuscators. (some Garveyites and others from the Upshawnian era) Stick with your comrades Domonique and other Committee members. They are the ones who will be voting in March 2010. Don’t forget that It’s a two-way street – with “oneness.” Read your NFLPA Constitution thoroughly:
Article IV: OFFICERS
4.10 It shall be the responsibility of each officer to attend all meetings of the Executive Committee, the collective bargaining sessions, the meetings of the Board of Representatives and the annual convention of the players. The only permissible excuse for absence being a close family illness, or other personal emergency which requested excuse must be approved by two-thirds vote of the Executive Committee. One unexcused absence by an officer from the foregoing meetings shall result in the officer being automatically expelled as an officer unless at the next following meeting of the Board of Representatives,
upon presentation of his reasons, the Board upon a majority of the votes cast, adopts a resolution of good cause for the absence.
Each Executive Committee member shall have an affirmative duty to
communicate with the national office on a regular basis and at the very minimum by a telephone call, personal visit or other communication once every week.
5.07 The Executive Committee
5.08 The Executive Committee shall be composed of the President, ten
(10) Vice-Presidents, and the Executive Director, who shall have a voice but no vote in its deliberations and decisions. In addition, the two (2) most recent past Presidents of the NFLPA shall serve with the Executive Committee as non-voting advisors.
Trace Armstrong and Troy Vincent are the two most recent past Presidents and should be on the Executive Committee. What is the status of the Executive Committee, in particular Troy Vincent? These members are your historians and ombudsmen.
Article VI: COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
6.02 The Negotiating Committee shall consist of the Executive Committee, including the Executive Director serving ex officio.
5.14 Roberts Rules of Order, in its most recent edition, shall govern all
meetings.
There will be minutes of meetings for future reference disseminated to and available to the Constitutional leadership of the NFLPA – THE PLAYERS – in case of a LOCKOUT, decertification and in the event that there is no more union. Beware of those tealight candles and tiki torches. They can cause a lot of water damage to computers, notes, records, etc. – Who done it?