My point was lostock’s point of view indicated only the owners should be thankful; totally ignoring the fact that without the owners, many of these same athletes would be making a small fraction of their current income.

They are mutually dependant when it comes to this enterprise, but who do you think would be hurt the most financially if professional football didn’t exist, the players or the owners? The truth is there are far more players capable of playing the game than there are businessmen capable of purchasing and operating a team. This fact has always given the league some measure of leverage when it comes to negotiations.

By the way, I wanted to respond to your last post on the “Foxworth” thread but didn’t want to post it there because the thread was getting old and I wasn’t sure you would see it.

I agree there is a trust (or should I say a non-trust) factor with Goodell and I think the players feel it as you do.
I agree that Smith comes across as an antagonist to the league; unneccessarily so in my opinion.
I think both of those factors play heavily into the bad blood you mention.
And finally, I agree with your thoughts on how the league should have presented thier side – mutually beneficial.

What I would disagree with, and this is perhaps nit-picking here, is this statement: “trying to take back what the players had fought to achieve.” I would say the owners are trying to take back what they gave up to the players (to avoid a work stoppage at the time). Probably not a foolish move had Upshaw lived, as I believe he knew what the deal was when the owners agreed to it, but not too smooth since he died.

Obviously we don’t have the vested interest the players & owners do, but you and I, supporting opposite sides, seem to be able to find more common ground and understand the nature & need of negotiating better than they do. Perhaps if all the fans started faxing once a day a picture of a dead golden goose to both sides, maybe they would come to their senses and get a deal done. At this point I feel like I have a better chance at hitting the lotto.

the PLAYERS should thank them for the honor of being part of the game they themselves couldn’t play in a million years if it weren’t for some owner covering all the costs to purchase and run a franchise.
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And the owners should thank the players for working hours a day from the time they were children to condition their bodies and learn their sport and fight through their injuries and make the necessary sacrifices to become elite athletes capable of playing the game and filling their stadiums and providing such an enormous return on their investment. They are mutually dependent.

I’ve never one bought a Jerry Jones jersey. I do not have a Stephen Ross fat head on my wall.

The players ARE the game. They should get every last penny they can, and the owners should thank them for the honor of being part the the game they themselves couldn’t play in a million years
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The GAME IS THE GAME. Players come and go and the fans still flock to the game like never before. If this wasn’t the case then explain to me how the NFL has survived all these years after some of the all-time greats left it’s fields: Montana, Elway, Marino, B Sanders, D Sanders, LT (the original) J Rice, E Smith and on and on. The players shouldn’t think too highly of themselves because eventually they will be replaced by others who will do it as good or better. That has always been the course; it’s inevitable.

The game’s popularity has filtered heavily into the betting and fantasy realms, where no one cares about the name on the back of the jersey, just the final stats or points they provide. The players provide great entertainment and should be praised for their accomplishments but let’s not get carried away.

The players wouldn’t have a platform inwhich to display those talents if not for some rich owner who he himself couldn’t play the game. So your final sentance should read like this…

the PLAYERS should thank them for the honor of being part of the game they themselves couldn’t play in a million years if it weren’t for some owner covering all the costs to purchase and run a franchise.

After all, if that part of the equation was so simple, then why don’t the players just establish their own league?

I pray we don’t get to find out which of us is right. But it’s me Don’t kid yourself that a great coach can make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. What did Jimmy Johnson accomplish without the players he had in Dallas? What did Chuck Noll do after the Dynasty Steelers retired? Come on.

@zaggs …

You guys are so cute when you spew nonsense.

The owners skipped to m’loo for months without bothering to gather at the negotiating table until the deadline was on top of them. After decertification, they could have continued negotiating with the players’ contingent, and Vrabel issued an invitation asking them to do just that. The owners said repeatedly stepped to the mic and said they would … but they never picked up the phone. The players can’t schedule a meeting without the owners’ assurances that they won’t use the meetings against them in the sham decertification suit. The owners have refused to provide those assurances … thus no talks. Obviously the owners prefer to wait to see what the judge has for them.

I hope it’s a big plate of crow.

“My hope is that once the lockout’s lifted, the owners will take up Vrabel on the offer to return to the negotiating table and get a deal done instead of trying to drag this out so they can terrorize the players with scabs.”

Wow, what a complete ignorance of the facts. Owners said they were willing to talk. The Vrable lied about talking to the players as he signed a letter that basically said “Talk to players, no, talk to my lawyer”. Last I checked the league was the last party to make an offer, the union has yet to respond. its the union dragging it out dear.

What world are you living in? The owners didn’t break any laws.

There is no direct correlation between individual salaries and the cap so there’s no argument there. The only correlation they can make is in relation to the cap floor as that is the only thing realistically which is effected by a bump in revenues.

The players would have to prove that the teams are in violation of the salary cap floor due to the increased revenue. Now if none of the owners violated the new salary cap floor then there would be no money owed to to the players as they weren’t guaranteed any more than that even if the owners had gotten more revenue.

By the time the court actions are all done it will be autumn anyway.

I would much rather see no football in 2011 than possibly never again seeing the existing structure of the NFL, as we have known it over the years.

Question? Technically, can the owners cancel the season? If the players keep dragging this out, I hope they do-and I have followed the NFL for over 40 years and am a season ticket holder.

I have had it!

What im wondering is why does everything get filed in Minnesota of all states?

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Because way back when the original CBA was signed, somehow the court in Minnesota got involved and has been that way ever since. Now that the original CBA is now kaput, and when a new CBA is signed, that should be over and done with and Doty along with it.

Players worst fear is Doty (88) dies before this is
over.

How can the union decertify, meaning no longer a union, go to court as a union and collect damages. Who will the check be written to?

First lawsuit should be against Adrian Peterson for the idiot “slave” remark. Punitive Damages: $1.5 Billion.

But I think the players should offer to drop this request the day a new CBA is signed.

The owners need some incentive to start negotiating for real instead of the posing they’ve been doing so far.

This could be it.

Unfortunately a lot of what’s going to happen won’t go the players’ way. If they don’t get what they want every step, will it make the overall negotiations worse? It’s a lockout, no CBA and they still want money. Maybe they should agree to something with the owners soon so that way they can merit the money that will already be way more than most of us make in this declined economy.

The player’s hubris knows no bounds