They are replacable. I cheer for the gear.

Thats funny replacable. Its replaceable and theres a reason they are called PROs.

Teapublicans think you can just grab a Tom Brady/Payton Manning anywhere.

Bozos

Apples and Oranges

You did a really good job with outlining the process. And intellectually you make some valid points. Emotionally, many of us are just sick of the players and the “tail wagging the dog.”

Obviously it was in the best interest of the owners to forge a deal, otherwise why would they do it?

Here is what I think. In order to get the business model into one that would not be considered a trust, the owners would have to make some big changes. And one of those would be revenue sharing. They aren’t willing to do that. And if I’m Bob Kraft or Jerry Jones, the current situation may work better for me than sharing with the likes of Mike Brown, who can’t manage wiping his own arse, much less a pro football team’s finances.

So that is the only way for the owners to get full control. To make all of the changes necessary to pass the test of being a “single entity” business. If they do that, they can tell the players this is how it is and how it will be. Don’t like it, leave. Or better yet, we’ll just black ball you. Next.

That being said, I don’t agree that we pay to see the players. Well not “specific” ones. No one plays forever, but we will all watch until we die. They are replacable. I cheer for the gear. If Brady leaves the Patriots and plays for the Raiders. When they play, I’ll be rooting for the Patriots to knock his silly head off. Same reason I hated Michael Jordan. He wasn’t a Celtic. Period.

There are some terrible, terrible owners out there – we all know that – but they are the one’s shouldering ALL the risk in this so-called partnership – the players collect a paycheck that handily covers them for the assumed injury risk their profession has.

Pretty soon this group of ‘Kings’ are going to find out that they aren’t wearing invisible clothes at all.

Pretty soon a bunch of overpaid, overego’d athletes are going to look down and find themselves butt naked.

If this goes deep into the summer, it’ll be fun to watch those punk @$$ players squirm.

War NFL!

NFL owners in order to maintain their anti-trust exemption works with the union as partners to come up with a CBA that allows the league to implement rules such as the franchise tag, NFL draft, etc that they would not be able to do without a union. The CBA includes a provision for the sharing of revenue between the NFL and it’s revenue partner the player’s union.

So you see if the players don’t like the pay benefits in the NFL they have these options:

Negotiate a new CBA as a union,

If negotiations are not successful decertify the union and attack the anti-trust exemption of NFL teams through the courts including the ability to lock out players,

If the court suites are successfull either renogotiate with the owners a new CBA to your liking or proceed playing under the rules of the court,

If litigation is unsuccessful either renegotiate with the owners to a new CBA of their liking since they would now have the upper hand or strike (likely unssuccesfull)…

Said product also has little to no recourse if they’re career is suddenly cut short. For example, most of us working stiffs on salary pay .70 a week for short or long term disability. If 2nd year, back up RT Joe Smith making $350k blows his knee guess what he gets? Nothing. now he’s made $700k pre-tax and his career & livelihood is over…at 24 or 25. Imagine going to college, becoming a nurse and suddenly being told that nurses are no longer needed. Same thing.

This is nothing more than a money grab for the owners and are pissed that they messed up the last deal. Brady, Brees and the rest of them arent backing down this time and the players that cant handle their money will find a way…the UFL.

Yes, they are partners. Get over it already, the players oblige to look the other way on lots of things because it’s a monopoly. In return the owners have to act in good faith.

Open the books already and get it over with. At least that would let us know if the deal on the table was good or bad.

And knock it off with your dumb comparisons to the jobs you work. The two aren’t similar in anyway. The NFL is making record profits and yet they claim they’re losing money. Great, then prove it. If not, shut up and pay up.

And if they money is so easy how come you guys don’t strap on a helmet and play? Let me guess, too busy making sure the fries don’t burn? Sounds like some here suffer from envy.

And if Kraft was really trying hard to negotiate, how come the owners he sent (he decided he didn’t need to show up and flew back home) didn’t even meet with the players on the last day when they were scheduled to meet after lunch?

It’s hard to take sides in this theater of stupid, but how folks can side with owners claiming they lost money… Give it a rest.

There would be some haggling over the value of each team, but the owners would save so much money they would make it back up easy.

The owner of the company I work for does not make millions off of my presence. I will work for the company for 30 years because it is what I know how to do. I could flip burgers but prefer to do what I know and expect to be compensated accordingly as I grow in value to the company. Kinda the way it works in life.

Is it different in football when you are a pro? The players are not overpaid when you consider length of career and the money generated.
I think the NFLPA should field their own league. Let the current team owners use the record-setting greats from West County Community College and and Division IV Podunk A&M Engineering School for the Blind.
Even P.T. Barnum would find that a challenge.

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It’s not that simple El Rushbo — through it may seem so to you and your idol, the fat drug addict.

Without those players, who you would send to Joe’s Car Wash, the NFL will have all the appeal of, say, the UFL.

It takes two to negotiate. These guys need each other, like peanut butter needs jelly.

The owners wanted a lockout knowing they had the comfort dollars of the TV deal That didn’t pan out at the last minute, so they then started to negotiate in earnest– TOO LATE….should’ve done that long ago…….

The players wanted the status quo and would welcome a lockout-decertification-lawsuit if needed. But their FEELINGS got hurt along the way, so they refused to negotiate and went home to pout.

The fans just want their favorite ‘escape from life’ running normally so they can survive another day at the rock pile……..

I suspect Mr. Boies will cause the April 6 hearing to get very interesting.