WT: Goodell: League's CBA Not Working

Uh-oh! Could a work stoppage be around the corner?

Goodell: League's CBA not working - - The Washington Times, America's Newspaper (http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080401/SPORTS/498479491/1005/SPORTS)

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is concerned the economics of the league's collective bargaining agreement with its players association, extended just two years ago, aren't working.

"The thing we are starting to realize is that [the CBA] has swung considerably toward the players," Goodell said yesterday at the opening of the NFL's annual spring meeting. "In the economy we have now, that can really [have] a significant impact on clubs. We have rising costs. The economics of operating a team are extremely thin margins. When you shrink the margins, at some point in time the agreement becomes untenable. We have to be very cautious here, and the players need to recognize those risks and the tremendous costs."

NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw wasn't surprised by Goodell's comments.

"The players have already recognized the risk," Upshaw told The Washington Times. "We are the only union in sports that helps the owners finance and build stadiums [through the NFL's G3 program] ... because we were concerned about teams leaving larger markets for smaller markets. We will have to wait and see what 'thin' means. It sure does not sound like 'loses.' The owners cannot live with this CBA. The players will not accept less than we are already getting."

When the CBA was extended in 2006 after several delays and plenty of arm-twisting by Goodell's predecessor, Paul Tagliabue, the salary cap soared from $85 million to $102 million. At $116 million this year for each of the 32 teams, that's a league-wide jump of almost $1 billion in just three years.

Large market teams like the Washington Redskins, who set an all-time NFL attendance record in 2007, the Dallas Cowboys and the New England Patriots, can handle that increase. It's not so easy for the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Cincinnati Bengals or the Buffalo Bills.

"[We want to] keep a strong economic foundation so all teams have the ability to compete," Goodell said.

If enough owners join Buffalo's Ralph Wilson and Pat Bowlen of the Denver Broncos in expressing so much concern about the renegotiated CBA that they vote to opt out of the deal in November, Upshaw has threatened to decertify the union. Those moves would trigger the termination of the cap in 2010 and the expiration of the CBA for 2011, likely giving the sport its first labor stoppage since 1987.

"It's difficult for clubs to stay up with what our owners have to pay our players," Goodell said. "The salary cap is so high that some owners aren't concerned [whether there is a cap or not]."

However, Goodell said that he's not worried that some owners, in the absence of a cap, could emulate baseball's George Steinbrenner in signing every free agent because "you can't buy championships."

I see a stoppage coming. I think the owners will void the CBA in November, the salary cap stays in effect till 2010, then 2011 as scheduled would probably be a lockout, but I see them finding a way around that.

I really think an NBA draft type approach would help a lot. Slot the college kids, don't stiff them -- but 30M for someone who's never put on an NFL jersey before is a ton.

They are going to get this figured out. The NFL as we know it is not going anywhere. They are already negotiating. I am not going to read into or stress over it anymore.

There's no way there will be a strike. Sorry I just don't see it happening. They've had labor peace since '87 and are on top of the world as far as pro sports leagues go. Both sides would have too much to loose. It's just a matter of re-slicing the pie.

There's no way there will be a strike. Sorry I just don't see it happening. They've had labor peace since '87 and are on top of the world as far as pro sports leagues go. Both sides would have too much to loose. It's just a matter of re-slicing the pie.

IMO that's the very same reason there may be a strike. The owners clearly want to scale back what the players get in some form. I think the current deal was a mistake for the owners from the get go & they entered into it hastily at the 11th hour.

The problem w/that now is that it's awfully hard to give someone something & then take it back w/out them objecting & that's what the owners are trying to do.

The biggest plus of this cba is that there is this early opt out in november. That gives everybody a lot of time to negotiate. Still, I won't be surprised if there's a strike as that's the only way either side can back up their stance.

I kinda like Baseballs better. There is a cap and if teams go over they get fined. I know, I know teams will go over but they can put the overage money to good use like putting it towards the smaller markets or something similar. I also believe that we pay to much to kids that have never played in the pros. Start them off with Vet minimum. If after 2-3 yrs then get their payday.

If the two sides sat down and tried some of my chicken, there would be no more problems.

1 small over stuffer chicken, cooked and deboned
5 burrito sized flour tortilla wraps
1 bottle barbeque sauce of choice
1 bottle blue cheese dressing of choice
1 head of lettuce, shredded
1 tomato, thinly sliced
hot sauce

Pull the chicken into shreds with clean hands and place in a bowl or ziploc bag. Pour 1 bottle of barbeque sauce on top of it. Add ten drops of hotsauce into this and stir.
Heat wraps for ten second in microwave.

Place lettuce on wrap and two tomato slices. Spoon 1/5 of chicken mixture on top of lettuce and tomato. Cover with blue cheese dressing and fold in the two sides.

Fold the unfolded sides so that the two ends meet and tuck one into the other.

Cut in half and enjoy!

I think there is a solution to this problem. I think if the players association wants to be dicks about the whole thing, the Owners should just get them to agree to a deal which cuts the Owners a guarenteed revenue # each year that will allow them to combat the rising costs.

If the league continues to gain popularity, a higher percentage of the cut goes to the players. If revenues turn and goes the other way, then the players take the losses not the owners.

If the 2% larger slice of the revenue is really that important, than the NFLPA should put that money where their mouths are. As long as the product on the field (i.e. the players) continues to expand the market for the game, they should keep getting their revenue share increased. If inflation outpaces the rate at which the football market expands, then the NFLPA's share of the funds should take the hit.