Slowly but surely, most NFL teams are reaching out to their fans following the start of a lockout.
Some release a statement. Some send letters to their ticket buyers. All of them express confidence there will be a season in 2011, and show disappointment in the union’s negotiating tactics. Yada yada yada.
The Eagles went for the letter angle. Owner Jeff Lurie and President Joe Banner addressed season ticket owners in an email sent Saturday, which was forwarded by a thoughtful reader of PFT Planet.
The email includes the usual talking points and details some fan events at draft time. The most interesting section (to me anyhow) was the following:
“The NFL remains committed to collective bargaining and the federal mediation process until an agreement is reached -– an agreement that is good for the long-term health of the league. We believe that a deal will get done.”
Contrast that sentence to one that came towards the end of an NFLPA* press release Friday:
“Any agreement reached from this point forward with the NFL will be as a result of the court system, not a collective bargaining agreement.”
Yep, they aren’t speaking the same language.