brasho says:
May 19, 2011 6:50 PM
The owners agreed to the business model that Gene Upshaw crammed down their throats with a threat to strike.

I love it when the pro-owner people make things up.

Every NFL CBA since 1987 has specifically stated that the players could not go on strike- they were required to finish the agreement.

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tommyf15, you dont let facts interfere with your posts do you? That is exactly what happened. The old agreement was going to expire, and unless Upshaw got what he wanted, once the CBA was over, no more salary cap, ever. The players were going to strike.

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/NFL-labor-pains-Part-One.html

The big money will go to the stars-no wonder Brady and that bunch want to change the NFL.

Also, only a few owners will pay to get those “stars” and we’ll again have a couple teams winning the SB.

Myself, I enjoy the competitive NFL where on any given Sunday…

I appears the nflpa* really don’t understand the concept of negotiation: an offer made-don’t like it make a counter offer- and so on until neither side has all they want but, while neither side is entirely happy, have major points the need. (at least, part of those major points.

It seems to me the players better wake up soon or they’ll be losing lots of money. Today’s economy it is not wise the shoot for the moon but to maybe have provisions that can make moves when the economy is better.

SMITH APPEARS TO BE OUT TO DESTROY A SYSTEM THAT HAS WORKED IN FAVOR OF ONE THE MAY-IN ALL LIKELIHOOD-DESTROY THE GAME WE LOVE.

Sheesh. Yesterday I was an NFL player (on two threads) and now I’m a 15-year old female!

nfl25 says:
so u really care more about the players getting more $$ than the game of football? how much fball do u watch? just curious, not trying to sound like a smart a$$

Never said I cared less about the game and more about the players making more money. My point still is that players have already made concession after concession to the owners, and people don’t even recognize it, or take it for granted. For example, agreeing to ANY salary cap is a major concession by the players.

During the fall I watch WAY too much football.

Chew on this quote:

“There’s nothing good at the bargaining table,” said NFLPA lawyer Jim Quinn at the April 6 Minnesota district court hearing. “We did it for 2 ½ years. It didn’t work out.”
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Then put something on the bargaining table that is worth considering. It is better than turning up your nose, walking away from the CBA negotiations, decertifying the union, having certain players file suit, and then complaining.

Go back and read everything on this mess and then come back and tell us just what the players want. The only two things I have heard from the players is (1) we want the old CBA, and (2) we want to play football.

Well, the old CBA is not going to happen. The owners cannot and will not agree to that. Second, if the players want to play football, then why not negotiate a deal? Why not give a little and gain a little? Why not swap restricted agent for less total payout for player salaries?

A deal can be made without screwing either side, but the truth is that D. Smith and his legal buddies don’t want to make a deal yet. They want to transfer more $$$ from the players to themselves and when it appears that they cannot transfer any more $$$, then they will negotiate. They do not care about the players or the game.

FACT: D. Smith walked out of CBA negotiations, decertified the union, had certain players file suit, and then did not attend at least one court ordered mediation session.

If fans, players, and PFT employees want football, they need to tell D. Smith to get his butt into negotiations.

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by NFLDraftBible

Within two years, 78% of NFL players are either bankrupt or facing severe financial hardship……………………………………………………………..

this is a BIG % of players

The only principle these kids understand is if they misbehave they get to go meet him.

You’ve lost, DeMoron. Even IF you should have won (and you shouldn’t have) it’s too late. Aside from some die-hard liberal union fanatics, you don’t have a supporter left. You’ve lost the fans, you’ve lost the kids, and you’ve lost the courts. Move on and move out.

so u really care more about the players getting more $$ than the game of football? how much fball do u watch? just curious, not trying to sound like a smart a$$

also u named all the things that make the nfl great. and u act like the nfl was so blessed to have them. these poor players, i dont know how they do it

Please STFU. Thanks.

You can’t be serious with that comment. Have you ever negotiated with someone? Was that person covering their ears and yelling “La la la la la” the entire time? Did they ignore your proposal and instead stick it under their funny hat and call it macaroni?

DeMaurice Smith is no saint, but he’s no demon either. Trying to make him one is just lazy thinking on the part of understandably frustrated fans…but they’re so missing the point.

Again: the NFL owners goal here is NOT a cba. It has never been about that. How much of a clue do you need than the fact that they made an agreement with the networks to ensure THEY would still get money even if fans had no football and players had no job? Yet people here get worked up about desertification?

Sorry, but I think most of the people on this board are delusional if they think the offers the NFL has made are reasonable, or that the owners would even consider an honest negotiation at this point. They do not, and have not, had any intention of working out a deal both sides can live with.

Viva la DeMaurice Smith! Fight the power!

Look foooooor the union laaaabel!

I love it when the pro-owner people make things up.

Every NFL CBA since 1987 has specifically stated that the players could not go on strike- they were required to finish the agreement.

“You’re an ass.”

I think that if the sides cannot come up with a revenue sharing plan they can both live with, they should just fall back on a free market.

Would a free market be bad for the sport of football? I honestly don’t think so.

I am on the players side here. The owners just don;t appreciate what they had. They had:

-A salary cap
-A franchise tag
-A transition tag
-A draft
-A commissioner that could suspend a player at will
-A tough drug testing program
-And whatever else I’m forgetting

And the owners said “no, that’s not enough…we want more”.

I really don’t blame the players for throwing up their hands and saying “screw it, let’s take our chances in court”.

I can just see it….as the crowd was chanting at him, he responds, “Stop suing me. Go sue yourselves.”

180
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Smith is like an elite bump and run corner forced to play in a zone scheme. He’s a great litigation attorney and exactly the type of guy you want to go after murders, rapist, etc. However now he’s being asked to engage in a situation that requires much more finesse and he just can’t adapt. He still has that same bump and run mentality when he really needs to learn how to play zone.

So if the NFLPA just wants to play football, why don’t they agree to a compromise to the owners’ demands instead of crying about the NFL not sticking to the sucker deal they agreed to and know can’t be sustained?

The fans that don’t blame the players are obviously morons. With the already rich players getting bigger pieces of the pie, it’s the fans that have to fit the bill. The fans that don’t think the players should share or are to blame are the same types of people that think everybody in America should be a millionaire…. despite the fact that milk would cost $300 a gallon.

At the time the MLB players were in essence indentured servants. There was no option for Free Agency, you could play at the Salary offered, or, go home and wash cars.

Curt Flood essentially gave up his playing career (albeit one that was near the end) to fight MLB….and he lost! I believe it was eventually Andy Messersmith who was fighting over a No trade clause and Killed the Reserve Clause.