Your bargaining position is tenuous at best when the other side starts their position as "we want you to take less and we want you to work longer, that's our middle ground"
i know player's salaries are the most visible part of this mess but don't think any of the owners are going to the poor house.
And actually, the players are asking the owners to justify their positions by opening their financials. The players financials are completely transparent.
So when you see the players unwilling to negotiate from center, it's because center has been defined by the owners and it is already way off center.