I guess the players initial offer in March was not that bad after all. I wonder what has changed on the owner’s side other than the possibility of losing preseason revenue. It seems all the posturing by owners, the lockout and all the hubris was about nothing. This deal could have been done back in march if the owners were willing to negotiate then.

I think this really tells us that the lockout and this whole crisis never had anything to do with the original deal but rather it was all about making a crisis so the could ditch the revenue sharing deal. The rich owners did not want to subsidize the small market teams. Plus they took advantage of the situation to squeeze an extra 5% out of the players. But the real money here is what they will save on the revenue sharing. Bad news for the small market teams and likely bad news for the overall health of the league.

my money says it’s an exaggeration…. 30% chance of deal by Sep 1st…

THANK YOU!! Why the hell people can’t get that saying right, especially when it is typed out is beyond belief!

(rookie salary cap, increased active rosters, etc)

If Belichick ever found a silver lining in anything, he’d either trade it for a future draft pick, or videotape it in case he ever had to use it. And yes, I realize this is pure fantasy, since Bill Belichick never reveals any information about anything.

This rant sponsored by The Committee to Elect Gisele Bundchen The World’s Richest Hottie.

then you do care some….otherwise you could NOT care less.

I don’t think vocal fans had anything to do with it unfortunately. Kessler and Smith tried to blow up the NFL as we know it. The thing that stopped them was the 8th circuit.

Kessler would still push the lawsuits to the supreme court if he could, all the while raking in millions of dollars while fans, owners, players all twiddled their thumbs for many more months.

The reality of the 8th circuit not siding with the players (so far anyway) means that the players and/or De Smith chose the negotiation route instead of lawsuits. I could give a rip if De Smith wants to call himself a hero after it’s over. I could care less. I want an agreement and football and whoever wants to take credit for it can, I don’t care.

The only thing we know for sure is that the attorneys CANNOT take credit for any type of agreement. To me the leaders on the players side, whoever they are, and the leaders on the owners side (I know Kraft is one of them) deserve credit for getting the lawyers out and a willingness to negotiate in. Good job guys, now just don’t let the details get in the way of an overall good agreement.

i agree on the rookie wage scale. they are all over paid in comparison to their contribution to the team in the ealy years.

i would also like to see the the legal rules on union certification changed. the fact that the player can de-certify and then 6 months later certify, seems like a sham. the waiting period before certification has to be made longer.

Until that is competely decided….there can be no signed agreement !CBA Dont pop the corn for the first game quite yet, as there is still a potential for derailment !

Someone always has to stop us from getting all the way excited. What a jerk.

I think the players saw this and got in the ear of Mr. Smith and now Mr. This is War had to eat some of his own b.s.

While he and others will be smothered with praise here and elsewhere, just remember there was no reason to go down the nuclear path, and who are the ones that did this. If he could have pulled it off, he would have. Book it.

But that will never be part of the story here. The story here will be filled with jabs at those in support of ownership in this ridiculousness as being hysterical, or stupid or the usual tired innuendo complete with I-told-you-so etc that’s typical.

Moral of the story is, if the nuclear option could have been pulled off it would have. And what stopped that? Just remember that, and the role vocal fans had while you’re reading the jabs that will spew here.

and we will never ever have to see that face in the top right corner again

1. 16 game season, not 18
2. Rookie wage scale
3. Better care for retired players

I don’t really care how they split the money.