Internal Battle Between Owners (ESPN)

rmoreno · Jun 17, 2011

An internal battle is percolating at some of the highest NFL circles in which some owners are resisting the labor deal they've been trying to negotiate with the players, according to multiple sources.

A handful of NFL owners -- at least two of which are from AFC teams -- believe the parameters of the deal being discussed don't adequately address the original issues the league wanted corrected from the 2006 collective bargaining agreement, according to sources.

It is one of the primary reasons team officials are being prepped to stay an extra night in Chicago at Tuesday's owners meetings. It's not to potentially vote on a new collective bargaining agreement, as many suspected; it actually is to try to fend off some of the resistance that is mounting from a handful of NFL owners, according to sources.

Some of this resistance has caused the NFL to adjust its schedule next week, moving up the time of Tuesday's meeting and prepping teams to potentially have to stay into Wednesday. The league is bracing for internal negotiations and lobbying that will impact how soon football could return.

The surprise is that many thought this kind of pushback to a deal would occur within the player ranks, not among NFL owners.

In reality, the resistance has been there since March, when commissioner Roger Goodell was authorized in a vote of the owners to offer and negotiate whatever he thought was best for the league.

After the players decertified, owners were briefed on Goodell's offer and some felt it was too one sided for the players and not strong enough for the teams. Those teams never changed their feelings, and recently they have made this directly known to Goodell, according to a source.

Now that the two sides have begun to make some significant progress within the past week, some owners are pushing back against the deal again, according to sources.

This subplot comes at a time when the NFL and NFLPA have made considerable progress, much of it on broad-picture items. The two sides, according to a source, have agreed to an unofficial timeline as to how events such as training camp and free agency would play out if the two sides could come to an agreement on the more significant elements of the deal.

One NFL executive has been urging the league for weeks that, in order for the full preseason schedule to be played, an agreement between the NFL and NFLPA would have to occur no later than July 14.

This would give the courts time to approve the agreement, the NFLPA time to recertify, 32 teams and approximately 2,000 agents the time they would need to be debriefed on the new NFL rules, and players the time they need to get into camp and get in shape for the preseason.

There is a lot for both sides to get through. However, none of it can happen without an agreement that is closer than it has been in months but still a ways away on the most significant points -- division of revenues and jurisdiction over the next collective bargaining agreement.

Some owners clearly want football and are willing to meet the players' price. But others, remembering 2006, when a CBA that seemingly favored the players was thought to have been rushed through, want to make sure that they don't make the same mistake.
Click to expand...

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6671873

Fyreball · Jun 17, 2011

I'm willing to bet that Bob McNair is one of those two AFC owners.

Joshfast · Jun 17, 2011

Fyreball said: ↑

I'm willing to bet that Bob McNair is one of those two AFC owners.
Click to expand...

Since he's not worried about putting a quality football product on the field, he probably has plenty of time and energy to engage in hyper greed.

Rocketman95 · Jun 17, 2011

Fyreball said: ↑

I'm willing to bet that Bob McNair is one of those two AFC owners.
Click to expand...

bills and bengals owners would be my guess.

Lil Pun · Jun 17, 2011

Feels almost like we're getting teased.

Ziggy · Jun 17, 2011

The effectiveness of the players' side has really surprised me in all this.

moestavern19 · Jun 17, 2011

pointless bickering.

The majority will rule.

DonnyMost · Jun 17, 2011

It's either one of the sisters of the poor, or mr. moneybags like mcnair...

FlyerFanatic · Jun 17, 2011

mike brown is one i'm sure. idiot

Dairy Ashford · Jun 17, 2011

How could it not be Ducktails Tracksuit and Bolotie?

Surfguy · Jun 20, 2011

can someone explain to me how bud adams is still alive? he must have a deal with the devil that says you cannot take me until my team wins a super bowl.

that Jack LaLanne juicer has really helped him after being a fat ass for so many years.

Fyreball · Jun 20, 2011

Surfguy said: ↑

can someone explain to me how bud adams is still alive? he must have a deal with the devil that says you cannot take me until my team wins a super bowl.

that Jack LaLanne juicer has really helped him after being a fat ass for so many years.
Click to expand...

Only the good die young......

macalu · Jun 20, 2011

Fyreball said: ↑

Only the good die young......
Click to expand...

...all the evil seems to live forever.

weslinder · Jun 21, 2011

Surfguy said: ↑

can someone explain to me how bud adams is still alive?
Click to expand...

He and I have never been alone in a room together.

pgabriel · Jun 21, 2011

Some details on current owner proposal

Among the details NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is revealing to owners Tuesday at the owners' meeting in Rosemont, Ill., is that in the next proposed agreement players will receive a 48 percent share of "all revenue," without the $1-billion-plus credit off the top that had been a point of contention in earlier negotiations, according to sources familiar with the presentation.

Under the new formula being negotiated, players will receive 48 percent of all revenue and will never dip below a 46.5 percent take of the money, sources said.

Proposed CBA Details
Details of a proposed collective bargaining agreement being pitched to NFL owners Tuesday, according to sources:

• Players get 48 percent of "all revenue," without extra $1-billion-plus off top that previously had been requested by owners.

• Players' share will never dip below 46.5 percent, under new formula being negotiated.

• Teams required to spend close to 100 percent of the salary cap.

• Rookie wage scale part of deal but still being "tweaked."

• Four years needed for unrestricted free-agent status. Certain tags will be retained, but still being discussed.

• 18-game regular season designated only as negotiable item and at no point is mandated in deal.

• New 16-game Thursday night TV package beginning in 2012.

• Owners still will get some expense credits that will allow funding for new stadiums.

• Retirees to benefit from improved health care, pension benefits as revenue projected to double to $18 million by 2016.

In the previous collective bargaining agreement, players received approximately 60 percent of "total revenue" but that did not include $1 billion that was designated as an expense credit off the top of the $9 billion revenue model. Owners initially were seeking another $1 billion in credit only to reduce that amount substantially before exercising the lockout on March 13.

Ultimately, the two sides have decided to simplify the formula, which will eliminate some tedious accounting audits of the credit the players have allowed in the previous deal. NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith has stated that players were actually receiving around 53 percent of all revenues instead of the much advertised 60 percent.

Owners still will get some expense credits that will allow funding for new stadium construction, sources said.

A rookie wage scale will be part of the new deal but is still being "tweaked," and the much-discussed 18-game regular season will be designated only as a negotiable item with the players and at no point is mandated in a potential agreement. A new 16-game Thursday night TV package beginning in 2012 will be the source of new revenue.

As revenues are projected to possibly double by 2016 to $18 billion annually, retired players will benefit from improved health and pension funding that is expected to increase significantly.

Players believe they can justify a 48 percent take because of the projected revenue growth, as well as built-in mechanisms that require teams to spend close to 100 percent of the salary cap, a source told ESPN.com's John Clayton. The mandatory minimum spending increase is an element that concerns lower-revenue clubs, sources say.

For example, if the 2011 salary cap were to be at $120 million, a team would have to have a cash payroll of close to $120 million. In the previous collective bargaining agreement, the team payroll floor was less than 90 percent of the salary cap and was only in cap figures, not cash.

The higher floor proposal could cause some problems for the lower revenue teams such as the Cincinnati Bengals and the Buffalo Bills. Along with the salary cap, teams have to pay an average of about $27 million a year in benefits.

A league source told ESPN's Sal Paolantonio that there will not be a vote on a new collective bargaining agreement Tuesday.

"This is strictly informational. There is nothing to vote on," the source told ESPN.

The negotiating teams for the owners and players, led by Goodell and Smith, are expected to return to the table most likely Wednesday and Thursday in Boston, hoping to build off the momentum of three strong weeks of talks under the supervision of a court-appointed mediator, U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan.

Cautious expectations on the two sides reaching an agreement in principle are varied, ranging from one-to-three weeks with the hopes of beginning a new league year (free agency, etc.) by mid-July.

If and when an agreement is reached, all players whose contracts have expired and have four or more years of experience are expected to be unrestricted free agents, sources familiar with the talks told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. Certain tags will be retained but that still is being discussed.

Players are willing to commit to at least a 10-year labor agreement if the sides can agree on the terms, sources told Clayton.

Any breakdown in talks could result in the loss of preseason games and threaten the opening of the regular season. The first preseason game, at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, is scheduled for Aug. 7.

"This is the season to get a deal," Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay said before entering the conference room where representatives from all 32 teams were being updated by Goodell and his negotiating committee. "I think the logic that you're pushing on both sides is saying why get a deal Oct. 1, or whenever, when you could have had July 7, or whatever."

Tuesday marks Day 98 of the lockout, the NFL's first work stoppage since 1987 and the longest in NFL history.

Chris Mortensen is ESPN's senior NFL analyst. Information from ESPN.com senior NFL writer John Clayton, ESPN reporter Sal Paolantonio, ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter and The Associated Press also was used in this report.
Click to expand...

emjohn · Jun 21, 2011

Fyreball said: ↑

I'm willing to bet that Bob McNair is one of those two AFC owners.
Click to expand...

I'm willing to bet he isn't.

Ralph Wilson is a lock.

Al Davis, Wayne Weaver (Jax), and Mike Brown (Cin) would be my guesses, in order, for the other AFC

david_rocket · Jun 21, 2011

Surfguy said: ↑

can someone explain to me how bud adams is still alive?
Click to expand...

well you can say the same about Al Davis.

slowmustang · Jun 22, 2011

I know its cool to hate on the Texans and all but McNair is probably one of the least likely to cause a stink.

It's the small market teams that complained after the last agreement and will complain again after this agreement.

moestavern19 · Jun 22, 2011

emjohn said: ↑

I'm willing to bet he isn't.

Ralph Wilson is a lock.

Al Davis, Wayne Weaver (Jax), and Mike Brown (Cin) would be my guesses, in order, for the other AFC
Click to expand...

Uhhh, Al Davis is one of the few owners actively helping his staff out by having them sell season tickets to retain portions of lost salary.

DonkeyMagic · Jun 23, 2011

slowmustang said: ↑

I know its cool to hate on the Texans and all but McNair is probably one of the least likely to cause a stink.

It's the small market teams that complained after the last agreement and will complain again after this agreement.
Click to expand...

exactly.

Forums

Internal Battle Between Owners (ESPN)

rmoreno Member

Fyreball Contributing Member

Joshfast "We're all gonna die" - Billy Sole
Supporting Member

Rocketman95 Hangout Boy

Lil Pun Contributing Member

Ziggy QUEEN ANON

moestavern19 Member

DonnyMost be kind. be brave.
Supporting Member

FlyerFanatic YOU BOYS LIKE MEXICO!?! YEEEHAAWW
Supporting Member

Dairy Ashford Member

Surfguy Contributing Member

Fyreball Contributing Member

macalu Contributing Member

weslinder Contributing Member

pgabriel Educated Negro

emjohn Contributing Member

david_rocket Member

slowmustang Member

moestavern19 Member

DonkeyMagic Contributing Member
Supporting Member

Share This Page

About ClutchFans

Rockets Content

Support ClutchFans!

Internal Battle Between Owners (ESPN)

rmoreno Member

Fyreball Contributing Member

Joshfast "We're all gonna die" - Billy Sole Supporting Member

Rocketman95 Hangout Boy

Lil Pun Contributing Member

Ziggy QUEEN ANON

moestavern19 Member

DonnyMost be kind. be brave. Supporting Member

FlyerFanatic YOU BOYS LIKE MEXICO!?! YEEEHAAWW Supporting Member

Dairy Ashford Member

Surfguy Contributing Member

Fyreball Contributing Member

macalu Contributing Member

weslinder Contributing Member

pgabriel Educated Negro

emjohn Contributing Member

david_rocket Member

slowmustang Member

moestavern19 Member

DonkeyMagic Contributing Member Supporting Member

Share This Page

Joshfast "We're all gonna die" - Billy Sole
Supporting Member

DonnyMost be kind. be brave.
Supporting Member

FlyerFanatic YOU BOYS LIKE MEXICO!?! YEEEHAAWW
Supporting Member

DonkeyMagic Contributing Member
Supporting Member