As the NFLPA and the NFL continue to meet in Washington during what could be the last day of mediation before Litigeddon, Peter King of Sports Illustrated reports that, during a Thursday conference call with owners, Commissioner Roger Goodell received “the freedom to move drastically, if need be,” to get a deal done with the players.
King also reports that there were some talks Thursday night, and that if some progress could be made on Friday another extension could be negotiated.
He also seems to believe that the players won’t be moving from their demand of audited financial statements, even though we think something less than that would give the NFLPA what it needs to confirm that profits are genuinely down. Profit information plus detailed data on any payments made to owners and/or family members and/or related companies should be enough to show the true profit the teams have realized.
The report confirms our belief that the league wants to get a deal done. Indeed, any deal will be better than the deal they have, and their ongoing refusal to open the books has caused many to believe that the current deal isn’t nearly as bad as advertised.