NFL labor: Owners OK deal, players don't vote yet
COLLEGE PARK, GA
NFL owners overwhelmingly approved a tentative agreement
Thursday to end the lockout, provided players re-establish their
union and sign off on the deal. The players, however, didn't vote,
saying they had not seen the full proposal.
Owners voted 31-0 -- the Oakland Raiders abstained -- and soon
afterward, the league issued a press release announcing: "NFL
clubs approved today the terms of a comprehensive settlement of
litigation and a new 10-year collective bargaining agreement with
the NFL Players Association."
Then NFLPA head DeMaurice Smith sent an email to team reps
saying: "Issues that need to be collectively bargained remain
open; other issues, such as workers' compensation, economic issues
and end of deal terms, remain unresolved. There is no agreement
between the NFL and the players at this time."
Players held a conference call Thursday night and decided not to
vote.
Commissioner Roger Goodell spoke on the phone several times
Thursday with Smith, including filling him in on the results of the
vote before it was announced.
"Hopefully, we can all work quickly, expeditiously, to get this
agreement done," Goodell said at a news conference at an
Atlanta-area hotel. "It is time to get back to football. That's
what everybody here wants to do."
But several players took to Twitter, expressing opposition to
the proposal. Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark wrote: "The
owners want u to believe that they have been extremely fair
everywhere and this is their 'olive branch' to finalize it."
The four-month lockout is the NFL's first work stoppage since
1987. And as a result, this season's exhibition opener was canceled
Thursday -- the Aug. 7 Hall of Fame game between Chicago and St.
Louis in Canton, Ohio.
"The time was just too short," Goodell said. "Unfortunately,
we're not going to be able to play the game this year."
Providing players eventually approve the agreement, team
facilities would open Saturday, and the new league year would begin
Wednesday.
Owners exercised an opt-out clause in the old collective
bargaining agreement in 2008, setting the stage for the recent
labor impasse. The new deal does not contain an opt-out clause.
"I can't say we got everything we wanted to get in the deal,"
New York Giants owner John Mara said. "I'm sure (players) would
say the same thing. ... The best thing about it is our fans don't
have to hear about labor-management relations for another 10
years."
Thursday's owners meeting near Atlanta's airport lasted nine
hours -- including breaks for lunch and dinner. Black limousines
that lined up outside at midafternoon wound up waiting and waiting
for owners to emerge. More than 100 members of the media packed
into the lobby and lined the hallways leading to the conference
room where the owners met behind closed doors.
After word of the owners' vote emerged, one fan at the hotel,
Dave Gower of Knoxville, Tenn., said: "Finally. I don't understand
why it took so long. I hope the players take it and run with it."
The old CBA expired March 11, when federally mediated
negotiations fell apart, and the owners locked out the players
hours later. Since then, teams have not been allowed to communicate
with current NFL players; players -- including those drafted in
April -- could not be signed; and teams did not pay for players'
health insurance.
The basic framework for the league's new economic model --
including how to split more than $9 billion in annual revenues --
was set up during negotiations last week.
"These things, by their very nature, aren't supposed to make
you necessarily happy when you walk out the door. It was a
negotiation," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. "I don't mean to
sound negative, but it isn't exactly like Christmas has come along
here."
Final issues involved how to set aside three pending court
cases, including the antitrust lawsuit filed against the NFL in
federal court in Minnesota by Tom Brady and nine other players. NFL
general counsel Jeff Pash said the owners' understanding is that
case will be dismissed.
One thing owners originally sought and won't get, at least right
away, is expanding the regular season from 16 games to 18. That
won't change before 2013, and the players must agree to a switch.
"We heard the players loud and clear. They pushed back pretty
hard on that issue," said Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay,
chairman of the league's competition committee.
Goodell also announced that owners approved a supplemental
revenue-sharing system, something Smith noted in his email to team
reps. "Obviously, we have not been a part of those discussions,"
he wrote.
Even after all acceptable terms are established, a deal would
lead to a new CBA only if NFLPA team reps recommend re-establishing
the group as a union, which must be approved by a majority vote of
the 1,900 players.
In March, when talks broke down and the old CBA expired, the
NFLPA said it was dissolving itself as a union and instead becoming
a trade association, a move that allowed the players to sue the
league under antitrust law. But only a union can sign off on a CBA.
"We think we have a fair, balanced agreement," Panthers owner
Jerry Richardson said.
The deal would make significant changes in offseason workout
schedules, reducing team programs by five weeks and cutting
organized team activities (OTAs) from 14 to 10 sessions. There will
be limited on-field practice time and contact, and more days off
for players.
Current players would be able to stay in the medical plan for
life. They also will have an injury protection benefit of up to $1
million of a player's salary for the year after his injury and up
to $500,000 in the second year after his injury.
A total of $50 million per year will go into a joint fund for
medical research, health-care programs, and charities.
If the players approve the deal, the NFL would go back to the
business of football pretty quickly:
--On Saturday, teams can stage voluntary workouts at club
facilities, and players may be waived. Contracts can be
re-negotiated and clubs can sign draft picks and their own free
agents. Teams can also negotiate with, but not sign, free agents
from other clubs and undrafted rookies.
--On Sunday, teams can sign undrafted rookies.
--On Wednesday, the league year officially begins, so free agency
opens in full, and all training camps will open with a 90-man
roster limit; activities that day will be limited to physicals,
meetings and conditioning. All clubs must be under the salary cap.
--Players can practice without pads next Thursday and Friday.