CBA issues

[Sez.EJ]

I thought we probably need some thread on this also.. Here is a CBS sportsline article to kick us off. This article is from the agents perspective..Not that we are worried about the agents ha ha ha..but we can get more of a player perspective from this.

Agents don't expect immediate progress on negotiations

NEW YORK -- NFL owners have been heard on the labor front. So have the players.
What about the agents?
Some say they aren't expecting much progress in negotiations between the NFL and the players' union before the collective bargaining agreement expires March 3.
"The reason for that date is it's the end of the league year," said Joe Linta, who represents Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco and three dozen other players. "Sure, an extension could be coming. If I still believe in Santa Claus, I still have hope."
Linta is among many agents who believe every other issue will get resolved quickly enough once the owners and union agree on how to split nearly $9 billion in revenues.
The owners get $1 billion off the top for operating expenses and are seeking an additional $1 billion. The players note how popular the league is, with record TV ratings, and say they shouldn't have to take a pay cut.
"It's all about money, as it always is," he said Friday, "and everything will flow from there once there's a macro agreement."
Ralph Cindrich has been through every labor dispute between players and owners dating back to the 1970s and the union's infancy. While saying of the state of negotiations "it's fair to call it a mess," Cindrich also concludes "it's too early to panic" and when both parties want to seriously negotiate, they will.
"When they come to the time period when decisions need to be made, that's when they will get down to something," said Cindrich, who represents Steelers linebacker James Farrior and Colts center Jeff Saturday among many others.
A key issue is the owners' intent to include a rookie wage scale, which Linta calls "way overblown" and Peter Schaffer, agent for All-Pro tackle Joe Thomas, says is "scouting insurance against poor selection decisions."
The rookie wage scale proposed by the owners would cover a five-year period. Many players and their representatives say that translates into a veteran wage scale, too, by limiting earnings for players whose average career is less than five years.
Besides, Schaffer says in an e-mail to The Associated Press, a rookie wage scale would not really help NFL owners' spending concerns, and it would damage college football by causing a rush of underclassmen turning pro earlier so they could get to free agency quicker.
"The reality is that the current NFL draft system in its entirety is a tremendous economic windfall to the NFL teams," Schaffer said, "as it provides a large source of cheap, young labor to the league signed for contracts exceeding four years.
That's not true for the highest picks in the draft -- Rams quarterback Sam Bradford signed a deal with $50 million guaranteed as the top selection last year. But, as Linta mentions, the extremely lucrative contracts go to a dozen or fewer rookies.
Devin McCourty, selected 27th overall last April, received $10 million over five years, which Schaffer said was not in the top 60 for cornerbacks. McCourty started for New England and made the Pro Bowl.
Eugene Parker, who has Ndamukong Suh, the Defensive Rookie of the Year, among his clients, sees a rookie wage scale as an incentive for agents to potentially not represent players coming out of college.
"It could be a scenario like basketball where the salaries are fixed and there really is little negotiating room for the agent up front," Parker told Sirius NFL Radio on Friday, "and if that is the case you will see more and more agents focusing on the vet players than on the rookie players."
Expanding the regular season to 18 games is negotiable in the view of the dozen agents interviewed by the AP. Each of them cited player safety and the increased chance for injuries as the major stumbling block to a longer regular season.
Don Yee, who represents league MVP Tom Brady, suggested a longer season be accompanied by increased roster size from 53 players to 58, all eligible to play on game day, currently, only 45 can suit up, plus a third quarterback. He also would institute a rule that prohibits any player from appearing in more than 16 games.
"This compromise will create even more interest from fans," Yee said. "What two games will the head coach sit the starting QB? That's a discussion that will set sports talk radio airwaves afire.
"This compromise will also be popular with coaches and general managers who want a greater opportunity to develop younger players. The NFL doesn't have a minor league, and this compromise will force meaningful participation by younger players on the roster.
"Players also would endorse this because each would effectively get two bye weeks during the year. Bye weeks afford important healing time and personal time away from the game."
The agents get their information on negotiations from the NFLPA and its player representatives. They say the lines of communication have been good thus far.
"Technically, he has no obligation to us," Linta says of union head DeMaurice Smith. "We are piano players, nobodies in the process. But he is keeping us informed and making it timely."

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Interesting point regarding the rookie wage scale..They are right that really only the top half of the first round of draftees getting overblown paydays.. and a rookie salary scale which may in reality be a veteran wage scale for the first 5 years. Then the issue of juniors coming out too soon just to hit free agency sooner.. There are numberous issues with this. I honestly have not thought it through at this time to really have an opinion on this..but my gut says the players get screwed again with this deal..not just as a rookie but through the terms of the initial contract.. But as I said I have not thought it through..but interesting issues here.

[Sez.EJ]

Right now I hear the next meeting is not scheduled until the day the CBA expires. Which is 16 days away... That's pathetic. I hope they can schedule a meeting before then.. good grief.

[Sez.EJ]

AWESOME NEWS PEOPLE!!!!

NFL, union agree to mediation






Updated Feb 17, 2011 5:43 PM ET
NEW YORK (AP)

The NFL and its players' union agreed Thursday to mediation in their labor dispute, two weeks before the collective bargaining agreement expires. IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR ...
What does your team need to win next season?



The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, an independent U.S. government agency, will oversee negotiations in Washington beginning Friday.
After holding separate discussions with representatives from the league and the union, FMCS director George H. Cohen said both sides agreed to have the agency get involved in the stalled talks.
Negotiations broke down last week, leading to the cancellation of one planned session. The players are expecting the owners to lock them out if the CBA expires on March 3 without a new agreement.
''Due to the extreme sensitivity of these negotiations and consistent with the FMCS's long-standing practice, the agency will refrain from any public comment concerning the future schedule and/or the status of those negotiations until further notice,'' Cohen said.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told The Associated Press in an e-mail: ''We are now in mediation.''
The league also switched an owners meeting from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on March 3, to Chantilly, Va., on March 2-3.
In a statement, NFLPA spokesman George Atallah said: ''The NFLPA has always focused on a fair collective bargaining agreement through negotiations. We hope that this renewed effort, through mediation, will help the players and owners reach a successful deal.''


The FMCS website says it ''provides free mediation services in contract negotiation disputes between employers and their unionized employees. All the parties have to do is make a request.''

Meditation is not binding, FMCS public affairs director John Arnold said in a telephone interview.
''Our agency director will be working with the parties to assist them in reaching a voluntary, mutually acceptable agreement,'' Arnold said.
Cohen said in a statement that the negotiations will be conducted ''under my auspices.'' He is no stranger to sports mediation. He was involved in Major League Soccer talks with its players' union and a work stoppage was avoided last year.
Cohen also has worked with the players' associations for Major League Baseball and the NBA, and was an advisor to the NHL players' union before joining the FMCS.
The FMCS also became involved in negotiations during the 2004-05 NHL lockout, and a 2005 dispute between the U.S. Soccer Federation and its players.
News of mediation is the first positive sign after several months of infrequent negotiations. It also comes only days after the NFL filed an unfair labor practice charge against the NFLPA with the National Labor Relations Board. Monday's filing said the union ''consistently has failed to confer in good faith'' during negotiations for a new contract and the union's ''conduct amounts to surface bargaining and an anticipatory refusal to bargain.''
Aiello told the AP the mediation would not have an effect on the NLRB complaint.

NFL LOCKOUT WATCH

Alex Marvez says the NFL's annual game in London may be in jeopardy.


The biggest issue separating the sides is how to divide about $9 billion in annual revenues. Among the other significant points in negotiations: the owners' push to expand the regular season from 16 games to 18 while reducing the preseason by two games; a rookie wage scale; and benefits for retired players.
''Our ultimate goal is a new CBA,'' Atallah wrote Thursday on his Twitter feed. ''I will not discuss any details about the next set of negotiations. We are observing a strict media blackout.''
Some players, however, were commenting moments after the announcement.
''NFL and NFLPA agreeing to meet with a federal mediator is a real positive step,'' Vikings tackle Bryant McKinnie said on his Twitter account. ''Let's see if he can get them to make actual progress.''
Added player agent Drew Rosenhaus: ''Exciting news to see the NFLPA & the Owners talking again through the mediation process - a productive step in the right direction!''
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This is very exciting news to me. At least cooler minds (professional mediators) will meet, and hopefully present a reasonable settlement under mediation. It's not binding on either side..but at least the mediators will force a little movement in an effort to move this forward. Lets hope they present a good package that can work this thing out. As someone who negotiates professionally for a living, I know sometimes mediation is the only way you can get 2 sides to agree. In my job; when it comes to mediation..I say "since you and I cannot decide..we will let someone else decide the value of this particular issue." In this situation it is allowing the mediators to come up with the division of the NFL money and some of the other issues at hand. It's not a sure thing..but this at least means positive communications will happen. It's definately progress and eliminates the stonewalling that has been happening. I have renewed hope!!!

[Enigmatic Evil]

That is pretty good, if memory serves me I believe the NHL CBA agreements were mediated and once the mediation was introduced what was a season-long lockout (that spilled into the next season) was finally solved and we managed to get a shorter season of Hockey but hockey none the less.

Hopefully they can work their management skills and we won't see any kind of stoppage at all for the NFL.

[Sez.EJ]

more good news: per roto times

Chip Scoggins tweeted that "The NFL and NFLPA have agreed to seven straight days of negotiations, according to a league source."

Our View: It sounds as though both sides are willing to buckle down and find a way to try and resolve their differences. Let's hope they succeed.

[Sez.EJ]

from cbs sportsline:
Report: NFL, NFLPA to meet for 7 straight days

Posted on: February 17, 2011 6:47 pm
Edited on: February 17, 2011 6:49 pm

Posted by Josh Katzowitz

It’s been a hopeful day for the optimistic fans who are praying the NFL and the NFLPA avoid a lockout by coming to an agreement on a new CBA.

First, the two sides have agreed to mediation, so an impartial third party can help the owners and the union solve their problems.

Second, Pro Football Talk, citing a league source, is reporting the two sides have agreed to seven-straight days of CBA negotiations beginning Friday.

While it still appears likely that the March 3 deadline will come and go without a new deal in place – especially if the owners decide to walk out of schedule negotiations, like they did last time – this certainly is a positive step.

Perhaps, after a full week of bargaining, they’ll come to an agreement simply because they’ll be so tired of looking at each other. I'm sure the fans wouldn't mind that at all.

[Sez.EJ]

Goodell, union boss Smith at labor session with mediator

CBSSports.com wire reports
Feb. 18, 2011
WASHINGTON -- The contentious NFL labor negotiations went in front of a federal mediator Friday, two weeks before owners could impose a lockout on players and threaten the 2011 season.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, players union executive director DeMaurice Smith and their bargaining teams arrived at the Washington office of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service shortly before 11 a.m. It was not known how long the meeting would last.

Goodell was accompanied by NFL outside counsel Bob Batterman and the league's lead labor negotiator, Jeff Pash. No team owners were seen entering the building. About 15 minutes after Goodell showed up, Smith walked in, joined by union lawyer Richard Berthelsen, Pittsburgh Steelers backup quarterback Charlie Batch and former player Jim McFarland, a member of the NFL Players Association's executive committee.
Goodell and Smith declined comment on their way into the meeting with George H. Cohen, the director of the FMCS, an independent U.S. government agency.
"We're going to participate fully, and we look forward to working with Mr. Cohen," Pash told the Associated Press.
Asked what progress he expects to come from mediation, Pash replied: "We don't know."
NFLPA spokesman George Atallah said: "We're not going to make any comments or talk about what happens in today's negotiating session."
Cohen announced Thursday that both sides had agreed to have him participate in talks. Mediation is not binding.
The current collective bargaining agreement expires at the end of the day March 3, and the union has said it expects a lockout to come as soon as the next day.
News of the start of mediation could be a positive sign after several months of infrequent negotiations.
The league and union went more than two months without holding any formal bargaining sessions, until a meeting Feb. 5, the day before the Super Bowl. The sides met again once last week but called off a second meeting that had been scheduled for the following day.
The most recent CBA was signed in 2006, but owners exercised an opt-out clause in 2008.
The biggest issue separating the sides is how to divide about $9 billion in annual revenues. Among the other significant points in negotiations: the owners' push to expand the regular season from 16 games to 18 while reducing the preseason by two games; a rookie wage scale; and benefits for retired players.
Cohen was involved in Major League Soccer's negotiations with its players' union last year, when a possible work stoppage was avoided. Cohen also has worked with the players' associations for Major League Baseball, helping end the 1994-95 strike as a consulting attorney, and the NBA, and was an advisor to the NHL players' union before joining the FMCS.
The FMCS also became involved in negotiations during the 2004-05 NHL lockout, and a 2005 dispute between the U.S. Soccer Federation and its players.

[Brown Warrior]

This is seriously good news. I'm starting to feel optimistic.

Fifth day of talks is a “big day” for progress | ProFootballTalk

[Sez.EJ]

Here is a really interesting article and take on the 18 game season.. Here is a guy who's thinking outside of the box.. it's not an 18 game season but still a way to generate more money with some creative thinking. I am not saying I like this.. but it just goes to show there are some creative options available.. see especially the area I highlighted which outlines Matt Birks idea/proposal.

Matt Birk says 18-game season proposal unacceptable

The National Football PostFeb 21, 2:15 pm EST

Like most NFL players, Baltimore Ravens six-time Pro Bowl center Matt Birk(notes) is opposed to NFL owners' proposal of an 18-game season.

He has another idea, discussing it in a radio interview with KFAN in Minneapolis.

“The owners say that it’s not working out for them, but at the same time they’re not willing to open up their books," Birk said. "I get that, we work for them, there’s nothing that says they have to do that. But, OK so, they came at us with an 18-game season and an 18 percent pay cut and that’s really not acceptable in our view. I don’t know if 18 games is for the good of the game. …


" I would say maybe like something like a 16-game season and [eliminate two preseason games] and maybe expand the playoffs by two teams and eliminate the first-round bye for the one and two seeds. That would give you two more playoff games on TV that you could televise.”

Despite the unresolved collective bargaining agreement situation, Birk predicted there will be a season this fall.

“Yeah, I would think that there would be a season with $9 billion at stake," Birk said. "As the reality comes near that games might be missed and millions of dollars would be lost forever, I would think that cooler heads would prevail. It’s late February and there’s this big March 3 deadline, which is somewhat comical because I checked the schedule and there’s no games scheduled for March or April or May or June.”

Birk acknowledged there's risk involved in potentially alienating the fans.

“I would just say that America and football, it’s a free market system," Birk said. "The money, it is what it is and that’s the way it is. Obviously people love football. That’s why the owners make a lot of money and the players make a lot of money. … I can see animosity toward both parties. It’s unfortunate that our dirty laundry gets aired out in the public, but it’s a necessary evil to the game right now.

“I guess we might see that if there is a prolonged stoppage and this thing gets dragged out into the late summer or, I hate to even think, but if it does go into the fall. … Money is at the center of it, but I think at the end of the day players and owners alike feel pretty fortunate to be in the situations they’re in and I don’t think they’re going to do something that’s going to wreck the game.”
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My question is.. will his plan dilute the playoffs with teams that really don't deserve to be there... and take away the incentive for being the top team and getting that bye week??.. It will be interesting to see what the final result of this is...I'm just glad there are alternatives out there that are not so black and white.

[Sez.EJ]

In case you were wondering..this is a pretty good summary of what is and what could happen.




NFL lockout, decertification: What it all means

NEW YORK (AP) - A primer on a potential labor shutdown in the NFL, which could happen this week.

Q: What does a lockout mean?
A: If the owners impose a lockout of the players after the collective bargaining agreement expires at the end of the day Thursday, there would be no on-field football action or communication between players currently in the NFL and the teams. Team doctors would be allowed to monitor the progress of injured players, but not at the team's facility, the league says.
No offseason workouts or minicamps would be held during a lockout. No players, including those drafted in April or rookie free agents, could be signed. Players would not have medical coverage provided by the teams, but can continue their coverage by paying for it themselves.
Should the lockout last long enough, there would be no games.
A lockout is a right management has under federal labor law to shut down a business upon the expiration of a collective bargaining agreement. Employees have the same right - they can strike, something the NFLPA did in 1982 and 1987.

Q: What does decertification mean and where might it lead?
A: Decertification would mean the union no longer exists, and it almost certainly would lead to a court fight.
Decertification would primarily be a legal move by the players to prevent a lockout. Players would give up their rights to collectively bargain, but they could individually file antitrust claims against the NFL and the owners. It's a lengthy process in which the players would claim the league is restricting trade. If they were successful, the league could lose some of its antitrust protection; as long as there is a players union, the league is protected from such antitrust actions.
The NFLPA received approval from its members to decertify in a series of meetings with each of the 32 teams that began last summer. According to the union, the primary reason to decertify is to save the 2011 season.
In 1989, the union decertified and a subsequent settlement with the NFL in 1993 led to free agency and the reforming of the NFLPA.
The union must decertify before the CBA expires at the end of the day Thursday or jurisdiction for labor issues no longer will be handled by U.S. District Court Judge David Doty in Minneapolis. But the union could file for decertification in another six months.

Q: Why is the draft being held? How will a work stoppage affect players entering the league?
The draft was protected under the CBA signed in 2006 that the owners opted out of in 2008. Nonetheless, the plan is to go ahead with the draft.
In a work stoppage, drafted and undrafted rookies will not be permitted to sign contracts or communicate with NFL clubs after the draft, except for a news conference for top picks at club facilities. Those players, just like veterans, would need to organize and pay for any workouts they conduct independently.
The players also would need to provide their own injury insurance, although many already do so beyond what clubs provide.

Q: What happens with free agency during a work stoppage?
A: It disappears. No player contracts can be negotiated or signed. While hundreds of players whose contracts have not expired would be in football limbo, the free agents would fall into far deeper uncertainty.

Q: Can the CBA deadline be extended? Who would have to do so and how would it be done? Under what terms would the league be operating in that case?
Both sides would have to agree to "stop the clock," and that likely would only occur if significant progress is being made as the CBA expiration deadline closes in Thursday night. The union says it has offered to extend the deal several times. Regardless, both sides would have to agree to the terms for and length of an extension.
It's an unlikely scenario.

[Sez.EJ]

District judge rules NFL can't keep network money

Posted on: March 1, 2011 6:58 pm
Edited on: March 1, 2011 8:25 pm

Score: 113



Posted by Josh Katzowitz

In yet another twist to the labor dispute, the NFL owners took a back-hand from U.S. District Judge David Doty today when he overruled special master Stephen Burbank and said the league could not have access to the TV network money for next season.

Doty ruled that Burbank had made several mistakes in his ruling from last month in which he said the NFL hadn’t violated the CBA with its “lockout insurance” deal with the networks, which would still pay the league about $4 billion even if there are missed games in 2011.

Instead, Doty said the league had breached the CBA and ordered a hearing to determine the damages accrued by the NFLPA. Doty also could – and probably will – keep that $4 billion from the owners if a lockout occurs. All along, the NFLPA has asked that the amount be kept in escrow.

Wrote Doty in his ruling: "The court overrules the special master's findings as to the NFL's breach of the SSA relating to its contracts with DirecTV, CBS, FOX, NBC, and ESPN, and holds that the NFL breached the SSA as to those contracts.”

Here’s the NFL’s statement, via Greg Aiello: "As we have frequently said, our clubs are prepared for any contingency, this decision included. Today's ruling will have no effect on our efforts to negotiate a new, balanced labor agreement."

Doty has ruled on NFL labor disputes for the past two decades, and the owners desperately want him off the case, because they think he’s pro-union. Today’s ruling certainly won’t change that opinion, but if Doty’s ruling forces the owners to get serious about negotiating, knowing they won’t get that TV money and knowing they've lost a measurable amount of leverage, NFL fans will love him forever.

Look for the owners to appeal the decision, but make no mistake: this is a sizable victory for the union.

And the NFLPA's statement: "This ruling means there is irrefutable evidence that owners had a premeditated plan to lockout players and fans for more than two years. The players want to play football. That is the only goal we are focused on."


I think the judge made the righ ruling here. From what I see the NFL (owners) did negotiate the TV deal in bad faith.. The CBA stipulates that the owners have an obligation to maximize revenue. They did not do this when they negotiated to be paid when there would be no players actually playing the game. They planned/prepared for a lockout and to be paid when there was no football. Thus they were not maximizing the income when the players were playing... They money will likely be held in an escrow account.. It seems to me that money was contracted previously and the money should be distributed per the old agreement as that is when the contract for TV was made. But who knows where it ends up. I am glad the owner don't get paid this way. It seem pretty underhanded to me.. Smart business..but violates the contract IMO

[Sez.EJ]

Really interesting article on the arbitrator involved in this mess.

If there's an NFL season, Cohen may be unlikely hero

By Mike Freeman CBSSports.com National Columnist March 6, 2011Tell Mike your opinion!

When President Obama nominated George H. Cohen as the 17th director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service on July 6, 2009, neither man likely had any notion that a year and a half later, Cohen would perhaps save the country's most popular sport from destroying itself. The nomination, later unanimously confirmed by the Senate, was buried by a squall of significant news. There was rioting in China, a terrible airline crash and a public memorial for Michael Jackson. Cohen was a blip, a buried paragraph, a sentence in a roundup. Now, the sports world revolves around him.

George Cohen's greatest accomplishment in these talks so far? Keeping both sides at the table. (AP)

What Cohen has done is stunning. Even if the NFL's players and owners do end up annihilating each other, the fact he has gotten both sides to momentarily remove their fingers from the red buttons says a great deal about his abilities. Details about the bargaining sessions have been scarce, but some are starting to emerge. People with knowledge of the talks describe Cohen as a skilled orator who has been able to do the impossible: Get both sides to trust him.
"He's building a small amount of trust piece by piece," said one league official.
The sources say Cohen has taken several key steps to keep the NFL and players talking. First, he has mostly kept the groups of union and owner representatives small. This has kept the anger and polarization to a minimum and encouraged dialogue. Second, Cohen makes everyone in the room feel as if they have a say. No viewpoint is ignored, no suggestion tossed aside. Third, Cohen has kept the discussions focused on facts. There have been several times when both owners and players have misstated facts, and Cohen corrected them, a source said. Concentrating on actual facts instead of emotion has kept tempers low.
None of this means a deal will get done this coming week. Or this month. Or this year. But mediation was initially viewed as a joke, a stopgap until a lockout; the mediation rubber stamp, the mediation black hole, the Adjustment Bureau. Now, Cohen is in position to be the savior.
In the NFL B.C. (Before Cohen), players and owners had practically turned arguing into a fetish. In the NFL A.C. (After Cohen), there's a chance a new collective bargaining agreement can be reached sooner rather than later.
It actually shouldn't be a shock that Cohen's had success. He knows the sports world intimately. He has worked for the MLB, NBA and NHL players association. Last year, he successfully mediated a labor dispute in Major League Soccer.
The Sports Business Journal wrote last March: "He played a major role in the history of sports labor when he represented the MLBPA before U.S. District Judge Sonia Sotomayor, now a Supreme Court justice. 'He is the lawyer who argued before Judge Sotomayor the day she issued the injunction that ended the baseball strike of 1995,' said MLBPA executive director Michael Weiner."
How Cohen was able to get the trust of owners despite being a longtime union lawyer is one of the more interesting questions of this process. The answer, to be blunt, is still difficult to decipher. It will likely be many months until details about what happened during these negotiations are made public.
Again, it's still unlikely an agreement will be consummated this week, but Cohen has provided some hope. Every hour the two sides talk is hope. Every extension is hope, and it's because of Cohen.