NFLPA'S TRUMP CARD PLAYED WEDNESDAY NIGHT & THEN THINGS CHANGED
They make progress, then fall back, move forward, fall back, the usual give & take that is the essence of labor negotiations. But when one side plays a card their opponent didn't even know about, well, that changes everything. According to CBS' Mike Freeman & SI.com's Jim Trotter, Wednesday evening, when the talks were moving at a snail's pace, Dominique Foxworth let slip the NFLPA's trump card, something the league never knew about. Last year, with the approval of the union's executive committee, DeMaurice Smith arranged for a private insurance policy that would pay each current player approximately $200,000 if the 2011 season was cancelled. No doubt Foxworth dropped the bomb Wednesday evening after the day's talks went nowhere & the time was right.
I have to admit when I first heard this story, I was skeptical, how was it paid for, how much did it cost, how did Smith & the executive committee keep it a secret for nearly a year? All valid questions. Let's be honest, 200-grand is pocket money to many of the league's big stars, but they weren't the ones in danger of caving, it was the guys making less than half-a-mil. If they had to go from last January to September 2012 without any income, a large number of them would defect from the NFLPA's position. But armed with something around $200K, they could survive financially. But as the day wore on & no denials surfaced, it appeared Freeman & Trotter were onto a huge scoop that would completely change these labor negotiations.
With the cat out of the bag, ownership quickly altered their tactics, it was obvious everything was now completely different. The league was expecting many players to cave, but now they were actually in a semi-liquid financial position. After hearing this version of the Wednesday night talks, this is why so many things were resolved yesterday including ownerships' total capitulation on the rookie salary cap. Once they understood many of the players could ride this out, a lot of their strategy was kaput.
One more thing about the rookie wage scale, it appears the league lost the battle but won the war. The players wanted more cash for veterans & almost grudgingly, for retired players. They also had a problem with the 5th year plan ownership proposed. I told you the players would never accept the league's position on this. The way it will breakdown now is all 1st round picks will receive a 4-year contract. The fifth year is at the team's option, but to retain the player, their pay will be based on the players' formula. The top-10 picks can be resigned by their original team for the average of the top-10 players at their position. The remaining 22 first rounders can be retained by signing them for an average of #3-#25 players at their position. They had already agreed to cut the "slotting amounts" as they pertain to signing bonuses created almost a decade ago, by almost 40%. The owners wanted less financial commitment to unproven rookies. Both got what they wanted but ownership won the war because the money pit that top-10 draft picks often become, won't be as much of a drain anymore. It looks as tho the top-10 selections will receive 40-50% less. Giving that money to proven vets & retirees makes a helluva lot more fiscal sense. All I have to say on this subject is JaMarcus Russell....$31 million in guaranteed cash already paid. There's more where he came from, how about Tyson Jackson?
It's good the $200K bomb hit it's intended target, because if the season was cancelled & the players got their insurance money while completely stiffing the retirees, a lot of today's biggest stars would become very unpopular very quickly. A number of them are at the top of the retired players' sh*t list already, seeing them walk with $200,000 while you got zip wouldn't be a pretty situation & many fans would join the old timers.
Other sticking points that have been resolved include the owners giving up on their idea of right of first refusal for this year's free agency. For this season only, teams will be given a 3-day window to resign their own free agents before regular free agency begins.
DeMaurice Smith & Roger Goodell said they would continue talking over the weekend & a full ownership meeting is scheduled for Thursday in Atlanta. It is believed this meeting was called for a vote. Players will do the same next Thursday. Judge Arthur Boylan returns from vacation Tuesday & both sides are scheduled to meet with him as well.
I want to see a handshake & some champagne corks fly, let's get this done now. No more excuses, no more B.S., right now before anyone can throw cold water on it.
I have to admit when I first heard this story, I was skeptical, how was it paid for, how much did it cost, how did Smith & the executive committee keep it a secret for nearly a year? All valid questions. Let's be honest, 200-grand is pocket money to many of the league's big stars, but they weren't the ones in danger of caving, it was the guys making less than half-a-mil. If they had to go from last January to September 2012 without any income, a large number of them would defect from the NFLPA's position. But armed with something around $200K, they could survive financially. But as the day wore on & no denials surfaced, it appeared Freeman & Trotter were onto a huge scoop that would completely change these labor negotiations.
With the cat out of the bag, ownership quickly altered their tactics, it was obvious everything was now completely different. The league was expecting many players to cave, but now they were actually in a semi-liquid financial position. After hearing this version of the Wednesday night talks, this is why so many things were resolved yesterday including ownerships' total capitulation on the rookie salary cap. Once they understood many of the players could ride this out, a lot of their strategy was kaput.
One more thing about the rookie wage scale, it appears the league lost the battle but won the war. The players wanted more cash for veterans & almost grudgingly, for retired players. They also had a problem with the 5th year plan ownership proposed. I told you the players would never accept the league's position on this. The way it will breakdown now is all 1st round picks will receive a 4-year contract. The fifth year is at the team's option, but to retain the player, their pay will be based on the players' formula. The top-10 picks can be resigned by their original team for the average of the top-10 players at their position. The remaining 22 first rounders can be retained by signing them for an average of #3-#25 players at their position. They had already agreed to cut the "slotting amounts" as they pertain to signing bonuses created almost a decade ago, by almost 40%. The owners wanted less financial commitment to unproven rookies. Both got what they wanted but ownership won the war because the money pit that top-10 draft picks often become, won't be as much of a drain anymore. It looks as tho the top-10 selections will receive 40-50% less. Giving that money to proven vets & retirees makes a helluva lot more fiscal sense. All I have to say on this subject is JaMarcus Russell....$31 million in guaranteed cash already paid. There's more where he came from, how about Tyson Jackson?
It's good the $200K bomb hit it's intended target, because if the season was cancelled & the players got their insurance money while completely stiffing the retirees, a lot of today's biggest stars would become very unpopular very quickly. A number of them are at the top of the retired players' sh*t list already, seeing them walk with $200,000 while you got zip wouldn't be a pretty situation & many fans would join the old timers.
Other sticking points that have been resolved include the owners giving up on their idea of right of first refusal for this year's free agency. For this season only, teams will be given a 3-day window to resign their own free agents before regular free agency begins.
DeMaurice Smith & Roger Goodell said they would continue talking over the weekend & a full ownership meeting is scheduled for Thursday in Atlanta. It is believed this meeting was called for a vote. Players will do the same next Thursday. Judge Arthur Boylan returns from vacation Tuesday & both sides are scheduled to meet with him as well.
I want to see a handshake & some champagne corks fly, let's get this done now. No more excuses, no more B.S., right now before anyone can throw cold water on it.
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