Even though positive indications have emerged after five days of mediated labor negotiations, not everyone is feeling warm and/or fuzzy about the possibility of a new agreement being reached.
Indeed, on a day when Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey should be celebrating his new four-year, $43 million contract (the real value will be in the details of the deal), Bailey was lamenting the possibility of a lockout that could wipe out the 2011 season.
“I’ve been pessimistic about this thing since Day 1,” Bailey told reporters in a conference call regarding his new agreement, per Mike Klis of the Denver Post. “Ever since our union leader [DeMaurice Smith] came and talked to us last year it kind of opened my eyes like, there might not be football. I know once April, May, June, July rolls around, and there’s no football, I don’t know what the players are going to do.
“There’s a lot of players out there that need this game. That’s a big bargaining chip for the NFL and they’re going to use that against us. I can see that happening.”
It’ll be interesting to see how much money Bailey will pocket under his new contract before a lockout would begin. Based on his pessimism, it’s possible that he gave up some post-lockout salary in the hopes of scoring some pre-lockout loot.