Thread: NFLPA and Owners call off talks today

I'm not on anyones side on this. Just make an agreement and have a season or not. If not, I'll just do something different and they can kiss my ass.

I won't say I'll not be a fan anymore but It'll be harder for them to get money out of me if the don't have a season or if the season suffers because they can't agree.

IMHO I think the more money a player has the less he cares about winning. In the end, we could probably have the same exact type players in the next few years if the going rate was 100k a year.

Its not like the majority of these guys have careers other than football. Take it or leave it. Screw them.

The long term health issues are a problem. Maybe look at a pension program like the military has. Bottom line, they will never, ever run out of a long list of men that would want to play in the NFL. Talent wont decrease, character wont decrease, but salaries will. Hopefully followed by ticket prices.

NFL's new league year is scheduled to begin in 3 weeks -- and the two sides are essentially arguing over an additional $1 billion.

http://twitter.com/adamschefter

I don't care and i don't give a F** about who gets what...

I just want football,

these owners have Billions these players have Millions and i'm broke because I just bought a Authentic Broncos jersey that cost $250 bucks.

to us fans this is more than just a game it's no wonder we are on a message board while not a single game will be played till August. Some people follow politics really close , Some are really into music. WE are into Football, so come on already get this s*** done.

Unless the NFLPA starts a players league the owners will have the upper hand.

Originally Posted by lgenf

just remember that, when we don't have football this Fall, b/c the players didn't start this, the owners did.

Aahhh yes the spin from the players and their union ... verbatim.

When the last collective bargaining agreement (CBA) was reached, the owners said they thought they had agreed to give the players TOO large a slice or proportion of the revenue and that is why they insisted on the right to terminate the CBA early if they were right. The owners didn't do anything improper, in violation of the CBA or that the players union hadn't agreed to during the last CBA negotiations.

Originally Posted by BORDERLINE

these owners have Billions these players have Millions and i'm broke because I just bought a Authentic Broncos jersey that cost $250 bucks.

Hmm..well. I can give you some financial hints. If you are broke, don't buy a 250 dollar jersey!

Originally Posted by lgenf

except the owners also want to go to 18 games and that is going to increase injury and shorten careers. Most of the vets play at most 1 full game out of the 4 pre-saeson games that are currently on the schedule, now they are not only going to have to play at least 1 half of the pre-season to work out the bugs, but also then play the two extra games that are added as regular season.

If the NFL goes to an 18 game schedule, the TV, marketing, and sponsorship deals will ALL increase in value and the players will receive their share or proportion of that increased revenue.

I believe the players only receive a minimal stipend for the preseason games so that they aren't really getting paid for those games.

If I understood one of the things you said above, the amount the players would play in the preseason wouldn't change - they play 1 full game now and would play 1 full game under an 18 game schedule. They would just play 2 extra regular season games, get an extra bye-week, and get more money in salary and through the players cut of the revenue pie.

Originally Posted by lgenf

So to that point I think the NFLPA is trying to add to the roster (53 currently) and add additional health benefits (currently 5 years after you stop playing, to increase it to 10 years)

From everything I have heard, the NFL and its owners agree that the number of players on the roster (~3) and the practice squad (~2) would go up. I haven't heard about the additional health benefits.

Originally Posted by lgenf

If I was on the NFLPA side, I would being shoving guaranteed contracts down the owners throats right now.

If I was on the NFLPA side, I would be agreeing as quickly as possible to a rookie salary cap so that the teams are paying the largest amounts of money to the veteran players who have earned it, rather than to unproven rookies!

The NFLPA's failure to immediately agree to a rookie salary cap is the biggest mystery, especially when the NFLPA doesn't represent football players who aren't in the NFL yet.

Originally Posted by lgenf

If I was on the NFLPA side, I would being shoving guaranteed contracts down the owners throats right now.

Sure I will agree to 18 games, sure we will allow you to take an extra billion off the top, sure we can reduce our %

and we want, guaranteed contracts, longer health insurance and a 57 man roster

Not sure why the NFLPA would want to insist on getting guaranteed contracts because the players get their "guaranteed salary" through the signing bonus and first several years of the contract while the NFL teams include dumby years that no one expects the player to actually play at the end of the contract for salary cap purposes.

Originally Posted by Ravage!!!

Hmm..well. I can give you some financial hints. If you are broke, don't buy a 250 dollar jersey!

no i'm broke because I spend all my money at the strip clubs...

now if they have a lockout

i'm taking my business to the massage parlors

Some things from the article:

The NFL players' union says, "The players haven't asked for anything more and literally don't want anything more. They have simply asked to play under the existing agreement."

That ought to tell you something. If a collective bargaining agreement particularly favors one side, that side naturally won't want to change anything. That's how the players saw it in the '70s and '80s. The players believed the system favored the teams because there was no free agency. The players went on strike several times and then to court to change it.

The crux of the difference is this: The union accepts the status quo, while the NFL wants to improve and secure the future of the game for the benefit of fans and players.

The status quo means no rookie wage scale and the continuation of outrageous sums paid to many unproven rookies instead of shifting significant portions of that money to proven veterans and retired players.

The status quo means players continue to keep 60 percent of available revenue, in good years or bad, in a good economy or one with 10 percent unemployment, and no matter how much costs have risen for the teams. Player compensation has doubled in the past decade, and the union says NFL team payrolls rose 6 percent this year. Meanwhile, other costs for teams have risen dramatically.

very interesting - much more here http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/comme...ory?id=6011712

To the NFL and The Players Union, from a fan

Dear Greedy ********,

Thank you for many years of enjoyment of your product. Your product has given me many years of joy, a few years of pain and helped build back a broken relationship with my dad. It is amazing how instrumental the game of football is in my life, so for that thank you.

I would like to take a moment to give you my opinion on the CBA negotiations, not that it matters a whole lot, but I feel better knowing you see the fan's side of this.

For years now, I have spent nearly every Sunday afternoon watching your broadcasts either on tv or live. I also spend Monday nights and sometimes Thursday evenings enjoying a great NFL game (except when you put the Lions vs. the Browns on national tv). I spend a substantial amount of my hard earned money on memorabilia, jerseys, shirts, pajamas, etc (yes the list is long). I also manage a couple of bars that spend a significant amount of cash yearly provided Sunday Ticket to your fans so that they can enjoy a Steelers game in Denver or a Giants game in Arvada.

In essence, these examples are just small things in the big picture. When you multiply that by the millions that love your product, you are some rich sons of bitches! Your pie as you call it, is huge. It's over flowing, I mean your oven is an absolute mess! And here we are, the little guy, who loves your product, here we are looking at no football next year. Do you know the ramifications of this is? Do you know the homicide numbers in large cities will rise because we won't be able to get our aggression out throwing a bowl of chips at the tv because a player dropped a sure TD? Do you know that the country is in a recession and the depression levels of your average American is at a high rate? And with no football, oh boy...this coming winter is going to be brutal.

So while you all strike and lock out to grab a bigger piece of your overflowing pie, take just a moment to remember who gave you such a nice ******* pie. It was us...the little guy. Without us buying your merchandise, paying out the ass for nose bleeder seats, paying $10 for a lousy warm beer and $20 for a parking space a mile from the stadium, without us you wouldn't have a product that is worth what it is today.

So you might want to rethink pissing us off.....because in the end, we could decide to strike and lock you out....and then where will you be.

Please don't take the time to respond, just get your greedy asses back in that freaking meeting room, sit down for 50 hours straight and put the players on the field and let's get this shit going.

Respectfully,

One Pissed Off Fan