Goodell In No Rush

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has no intentions of drawing lines in the sand, and is opposed to setting specific timetables two days before launching collective bargaining agreement discussions with the NFL Players Association. According to the Associated Press, Goodell was adamant that his priority isn’t to establish deadlines to try to head off a potential uncapped year in 2010. The scenario of having no salary cap if a deal isn’t reached before the free agency signing period next year is a potential bargaining chip for the league. Just as there wouldn’t be a salary cap ceiling to curtail owners’ spending on player salaries, there would be no floor on that line item. “We are not focused on that,” Goodell said of the prospects of a possible uncapped year. “We are focused on getting an agreement that works for the long term. We’re not specifically setting any deadlines or dates. “Our issue is we know we have two more years of football. We would like to have an agreement that works for everybody in that period of time. If it takes up to the final moment, it takes up to the final moment.” Per the report, NFL counsel Jeff Pash will lead the negotiations and Goodell will attend the meeting with NFLPA officials. New York Giants Giants offensive lineman Shaun O’Hara, the team’s player representative, predicted that an uncapped year wouldn’t necessarily be a good thing for the majority of the players in the league. “I don’t think every team is going to start being like the Yankees and start throwing money around,” O’Hara said. “Some teams will do that, but on the flip side, others will say since we don’t have to spend $102 million, we’ll spend $80 million. The landscape will definitely change and it won’t be a windfall for everybody.”