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Retired players have plenty of seats at the table today

NFL Contract Talks Continue As Deadline Approaches

WASHINGTON - MARCH 10: DeMaurice Smith (L), NFL Players Association Executive Director, and former Washington Redskins offensive guard Pete Kendall arrive at the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service building March 10, 2011 in Washington, DC. Representatives from the National Football League (NFL) and National Football League Players’ Association (NFLPA) continue to negotiate a labor dispute during a 7 day extension of talks. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)

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At a time when one group of retired players is suing the NFL and the current players who are suing the NFL in an obvious effort to have a seat at the table, another group of NFL players have a seat at the table.

Albert Breer of NFL Network reports that the players’ contingent at Friday’s labor talks includes three retired players: NFLPA president Kevin Mawae, Sean Morey, and Pete Kendall. They actually outnumber the current players who are present, Domonique Foxworth and Jeff Saturday.

Given that there’s no single, unified retired-players group that speaks for all former players, isn’t the involvement of Mawae, Morey, and Kendall enough? We’ll pose that question on Friday’s PFT Live to attorney Michael Hausfeld, who represents the class of retired players who have made a power play in an effort to be involved in the talks.

Once the labor deal is resolved, the retired players should strive to come together with one group and one voice in the future. Without that kind of organization, it’s hard for the fans to understand why Hausfeld’s clients should be allowed to participate in a process that already features a player contingent that consists of more retired players than current players.