F.Chowds Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Posted by Mike Florio on June 29, 2011, 10:40 AM EDT AP We painted earlier today a fairly rosy picture of the current status of the labor negotiations, based on the four straight days of talks with no players or owners present — and the decision of the two key figures in the labor dispute to behave like old friends, not mortal enemies, via their trip to Florida for Roger Goodell’s appearance at the seminar for the rookies organized by DeMaurice Smith. Since then, we’ve learned from a source with knowledge of the dynamics on both sides of the table that the process remains, relatively speaking, far from over. And the blame for the delay is being placed on the owners. Per the source, a deal could have been done a week or two ago, but the owners have been playing games with some of the numbers, possibly relying upon the emergence and strengthening sense that the players are ready to get a deal done in order to squeeze the players on some of the smaller issues. So what’s going on this week, featuring four days of talks without owners and players? It could be that Goodell and Smith have opted to take full charge of the process in the hopes of ironing out all of the things on which the parties agree, and then to generate a list of the things on which they still disagree. Then, the owners and players can return next week and knock out the remaining list of issues to be resolved, with Goodell and Smith pushing hard for their respective constituents to be fair. If that’s the case, those issues need to be identified worked out by the end of next week, in order to then allow the various approvals to be obtained in time to have meaningful free agency before the first of the training camps open. Even then, a one-week lag between striking a deal and obtaining approval from the court in Minnesota would leave the Bears and Rams roughly a week to sign their rookies and free agents before opening camp in advance of the Hall of Fame game. Though we’ve got no problem with the two sides trying to get a good deal, we’re hoping that the sense of trust and friendship that has emerged between Goodell and Smith will infect the entire process, and that the owners won’t take advantage of the perception of inevitability in order to take advantage of the players as to various details that could derail a deal. That responsibility on the owners ultimately lands on the lap of Goodell, who now must show true leadership in persuading the folks to whom he answers to not push so hard on the minor issues to possibly prevent a deal from being finalized. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F.Chowds Posted June 29, 2011 Author Share Posted June 29, 2011 I would like to knock the sh!t out of Ralph Wilson, Mike Brown and any other small market owner that is trying to squeeze nickles out of the player because of there perceived leverage at this time. If you cant afford to own a NFL team then sell the franchise..D!CKS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugg Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 I would like to knock the sh!t out of Ralph Wilson, Mike Brown and any other small market owner that is trying to squeeze nickles out of the player because of there perceived leverage at this time. If you cant afford to own a NFL team then sell the franchise..D!CKS Agree 100%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larz Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 high stakes negotiations typically go the midnight on the last day. since there is no true deadline, it will come down to the perceived deadline of when they can iron out a deal, get off season transactions done, then have a normal trianing camp so that's about july 15th ? wake me up on the 14th Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatriotReign37 Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 high stakes negotiations typically go the midnight on the last day. since there is no true deadline, it will come down to the perceived deadline of when they can iron out a deal, get off season transactions done, then have a normal trianing camp so that's about july 15th ? wake me up on the 14th This When both sides have something to lose a deal will happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slats Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 This When both sides have something to lose a deal will happen. The owners have something to lose first. The preseason is free money for them. They will not want to lose the opportunity to fleece the fans they pretend to care about. The players don't start collecting checks until the regular season. Things don't really get real for them until regular season games start getting canceled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larz Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 The owners have something to lose first. The preseason is free money for them. They will not want to lose the opportunity to fleece the fans they pretend to care about. The players don't start collecting checks until the regular season. Things don't really get real for them until regular season games start getting canceled. this is still a lockout, some players get off season bonus money, (brick, mangold) and many teams have collected season ticket money already I believe (not sure about that). a few pre season games parking and concession money is chump change compared to just 1% of the revenue sharing and the owners made their money in something besides football, and as we saw in the NHL situation, billionaires can always wait out millionaires Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatriotReign37 Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 The owners have something to lose first. The preseason is free money for them. They will not want to lose the opportunity to fleece the fans they pretend to care about. The players don't start collecting checks until the regular season. Things don't really get real for them until regular season games start getting canceled. The longer training camp is delayed, the longer it is until the players get paid for regular season. You cant miss July and part of August and expect regular season games to begin on time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Dierking Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 This is very simple-Once both sides have the best ability to save face, a deal will get done. That means a smaller percent of a bigger pie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T0mShane Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 The longer training camp is delayed, the longer it is until the players get paid for regular season. You cant miss July and part of August and expect regular season games to begin on time. They'd have a one-week pre-season and still not cancel a regular season game. If the players were going to buckle, they'd have done it weeks ago when their workout bonuses were tossed. (I'm sure jason423 has these details and can clarify). IMO, it's owners on the hook at this moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T0mShane Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 I would like to knock the sh!t out of Ralph Wilson, Mike Brown and any other small market owner that is trying to squeeze nickles out of the player because of there perceived leverage at this time. If you cant afford to own a NFL team then sell the franchise..D!CKS The teams that have been winning Super Bowls are largely small market teams. What's bad for Ralph Wilson is also bad for Green Bay and Pittsburgh and Indianapolis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt39 Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 The teams that have been winning Super Bowls are largely small market teams. What's bad for Ralph Wilson is also bad for Green Bay and Pittsburgh and Indianapolis. Buffalo makes Indianapolis look like Vegas. That's their biggest problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugg Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 Buffalo makes Indianapolis look like Vegas. That's their biggest problem. It's a wee bit more complicated. Buffalo can move to Toronto tomorrow,and, voila, they would be a small market team no more. Jim Irsay of Indianapolis ownership is vocally on the side of the big markets, probably because Peyton Manning's productive years run short and Indy hosts the Super Bowl this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatriotReign37 Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 They'd have a one-week pre-season and still not cancel a regular season game. If the players were going to buckle, they'd have done it weeks ago when their workout bonuses were tossed. (I'm sure jason423 has these details and can clarify). IMO, it's owners on the hook at this moment. I think 1 week pre season would be a disaster. Injuries galore. Even if training camp goes off in time, I believe we will see more injuries this season because some players havent stayed in shape. The players gave up workout bonuses to get something in return. Thats negotiations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoicsentry Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 I think Demaurice Smith wrote that article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitonti Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Buffalo can move to Toronto tomorrow,and, voila, they would be a small market team no more. people say this but the NFL has an unspoken agreement with the CFL not to expand in Canada... they might be able to have a few home games there but actually moving Buffalo to Toronto would break with 50 years of tradition. They are more likely to move to LA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitonti Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 I think Demaurice Smith wrote that article. here's one from Mike Freeman, who seems to get input from both sides fairly regularly http://mike-freeman.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6264363/30360298 The owners are wrecking negotiations Posted on: June 30, 2011 6:37 pm At the beginning of the labor talks, when negotiations were ongoing in Washington, which seems like a galaxy far, far away, I heard from several player sources that owners were playing games during the discussions. The sides would reach a verbal agreement on a part of a new CBA in the morning and then the owners would change their minds and the numbers in the evening. It went this way several times, I'm told. Those types of games, players familiar with the talks explained, later ceased, and that's when talks took a signifcant positive turn with some sources believing several weeks ago that a deal was 80 percent done and a new CBA was on the horizon. That optimism remained until Thursday. The NFL will disagree with this. And there is certainly room for debate and the owners will say this is simply negotiating. But in a series of text messages from several sources familair with Thursday's discussions, players say the owners are back to their old tricks. Again, the NFL will deny this, but I believe it is the owners who are destroying this round of talks, even as the two sides are extremely close. I believe the sources that tell me owners are playing mind games with the players: getting their optimism up and then down hoping the players cave out of frustration. The players held a conference call on Thursday to discuss the events. Here's the good news: talks havent broken off. The two sides are still negotiating. Overall, this was a bad day. That doesn't mean a good day won't soon come but this was not great. I get the feeling despite dealing with owner games in the past, this day caught the players by surprise. A deal still gets done to save the season, I believe, but as the last media optimist standing, I'm about to leave the room. Stay tuned. More to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T0mShane Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 people say this but the NFL has an unspoken agreement with the CFL not to expand in Canada... they might be able to have a few home games there but actually moving Buffalo to Toronto would break with 50 years of tradition. They are more likely to move to LA. I think, moreso, they don't want to end up with a Toronto Raptors issue. It's one thing to be bad and irrelevant in the states, but it's another thing entirely to be bad and irrelevant in Canada. You literally disappear from the sports landscape. As bad as the Browns and Lions get, they still get regional coverage in the US. In Toronto, a bad NFL team would be footnoted underneath 13 pages of Maple Leafs pre-season coverage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damaged89 Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 The players gave up workout bonuses to get something in return. Thats negotiations. pretty sure that's a lockout, not negotiation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatriotReign37 Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 people say this but the NFL has an unspoken agreement with the CFL not to expand in Canada... they might be able to have a few home games there but actually moving Buffalo to Toronto would break with 50 years of tradition. They are more likely to move to LA. I was told in 2008 by a Toronto sportswriter that an NFL team would be in Toronto. Quite a few Canadian companies have headquarters in Toronto with money to buy suites and what not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatriotReign37 Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 pretty sure that's a lockout, not negotiation. There was some discussion that players would get the workout bonuses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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