hlb37 Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 Lot of stuff seemed to happen right at the end of the week. Some thoughts on 2 of them. Rookie Salary Deal Reached: I am surprised this was ever considered a stumbling block. It benefits everyone at the table, at the expense of Rookies who, of course, have no voice in the process. Owners "cave" on FA right of refusal: They definitely gave something up here but if you have to do it, you might as well do it in a year when the FA class is about triple the normal size. My guess is the owners had agreed on this weeks ago and where using it as a bargaining chip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Treehugger Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 They made some headway on the "Legacy Fund" for retired player too, which is nice. I think the players are still trying to get some injury protection in their contract too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BronxRik Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 What exactly do FA's have the right to refuse? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Treehugger Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 What exactly do FA's have the right to refuse? I think it means they're doing away with the "franchise tag", which the players hate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sephiroth Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 I think it means they're doing away with the "franchise tag", which the players hate. Yeah... that "average salary of the top-five players at the position" must have been a real pain in the balls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Treehugger Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 Yeah... that "average salary of the top-five players at the position" must have been a real pain in the balls. It's the one year contract with no protection if they're injured that they object to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. P Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 Players Apparently Are Making A Last-Minute Power Play When I left Hilton Head Saturday morning, it had been suggested that almost nothing could derail a new labor deal. That attitude possibly has jinked the entire process. Now that I’m back at PFT headquarters and catching up on the stuff I missed while driving 600 miles and stopping for a couple of meals (Florio Jr. strongly objected to waiting 35 minutes for a table at Cracker Barrel), it looks like the players opted — through their lawyers — to make a power play on Saturday, something that the owners had feared. As ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported earlier today, the players want $320 million in benefits that weren’t paid during the uncapped year, as well as a one-year limit on the use of the franchise tag. Also, if the “lockout insurance” case must be settled separately and apart from the financial package negotiated by the league and the players, it’s possible that another nine-figure sum could be demanded. And to the extent that the Brady antitrust lawsuit needs to be resolved via something more than the contents of a new CBA, the players still could demand even more money and/or special treatment for the named plaintiffs, such as an agreement never to use the franchise tag on any of them. With a deal now regarded by the media and fans and players and pretty much everyone else as a foregone conclusion, the NFLPA* has by all appearances opted to go for one last home run, possibly buoyed by the league’s decision to cave on the “right of first refusal” concept and the league’s significant concession on the rookie wage scale. In theory, if the league calls the players’ bluff — and if it ends up not being a bluff — the whole thing could still blow up. Given the dramatic progress that has been made on far thornier and challenging issues, we can’t imagine the talks crumbling now. Instead, the players likely decided to roll the dice in the hopes of making the deal a little (or, as the case may be, a lot) sweeter, and if the parties can’t work out these remaining issues on their own, then U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan will go Alton Benes on anyone and everyone in the room. Sure, there’s a chance that the NFLPA* lawyers are hoping that cooler heads won’t prevail, but the failure to wrap this thing up now would create a significant backlash for everyone involved. Roger Goodell and DeMaurice Smith are in the home stretch of the ultimate three-legged race, and they’re smart enough to figure out what it takes to get to the finish line. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/07/17/players-apparently-are-making-a-last-minute-power-play/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BleedinBlue Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 The rookie salary cap is a great idea. Nothing causes internal strife among players faster than being paid 4 million dollars a year less than a first round rookie who is washing out and will never live up to his billing....especially when the underpaid player is a pro-bowler and stud player. It should be capped low with tons of incentives. That way, the washouts don't leave the NFL with tens of millions of dollars left on their contract simply because of where they were drafted. I have a hard time feeling sorry for a player whose career last only 7 years, but he pulled in 20 million+ during those 7 years and is now broke and can't take care of himself the rest of his life. Perhaps if that player didn't blow it on million dollar cars, extravagant homes, and tons of bling, the player could actually live out his life in a nice state of luxury and security. If they complain, tell them to try and get a job like everyone else and see what it's like to manage on a piddling amount of money compared to what they made in the NFL. They should offer financial advisement to players entering the NFL so they understand the consequences of blowing as much money as they make as fast as they make it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 "They should offer financial advisement to players entering the NFL so they understand the consequences of blowing as much money as they make as fast as they make it. " I'm sure they do, Bleedin. These NFL players don't want a regular career after football though, like you said, they think they should be able to be handed everything after football, even though they blew their earnings on extravagant crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Treehugger Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 The Legacy Fund isn't for current players, it's for the guys who didn't make mucho bank but have all the medical issues to deal with now. RESOLVED, that the NFLPA Former Player membership expresses its full support for the active NFLPA membership in their demand during their CBA negotiations that the NFL and its member Clubs establish a Legacy Fund for Former Players to be funded by 2% of the profits generated by the NFL and its member clubs each year; and that the Legacy Fund be used to increase the pensions of all Former Players who have a credited season before 1993 and who are currently receiving a pension by an additional $2,000 per month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boohyah Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 I thought the right to first refusal was that the owners wanted at least to have the right to offer first on at least one UFA a season. The original request was they wanted 3, the thought being they would at least get one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boohyah Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 The Legacy Fund isn't for current players, it's for the guys who didn't make mucho bank but have all the medical issues to deal with now. That fund should be supplemented by the current players also, they should have to kick in extra. After all, whose demanding the big bucks now so much that taking care of former players is far down the list of priorities of owners. Furthermore the players should be made give a fuck. You ever hear these kids on TV these days, they have no idea about the history of the game, zero. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nas Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 So are we gonna have a season or not? This is depressing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Treehugger Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 That fund should be supplemented by the current players also, they should have to kick in extra. After all, whose demanding the big bucks now so much that taking care of former players is far down the list of priorities of owners. Furthermore the players should be made give a fuck. You ever hear these kids on TV these days, they have no idea about the history of the game, zero. I think the current funding for the Legacy Fund is all from current players. But I agree, the players should split it 50/50 if they really give a shit about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BleedinBlue Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 So are we gonna have a season or not? This is depressing. Yeah.....there'll be a season, but without the usual summertime practices to work out kinks and filter out players, it'll be a crapshoot how each game will turn out. One of the most important things in a passing game is to get comfortable with the QB and knowing your routes....which takes a lot of practice. Since everyone has gone to a west coast offense, the passing game will be rough. I suspect we'll see a lot more running plays to start out the season. Regardless....yeah, we'll have football....it just won't be crisp and good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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