Labor issue gets local revenue twist

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The link is in the Daily Press. Hampton Roads "Other" newspaper. I don't have an idea how to create a link. I'm just not computer skilled in that regard.

I can copy and paste the first paragraph, however, in order to interest you!

Maybe the Moderators can help when they see this Newswire post. Thanks in advance guys!


By Ken Murray
Sun reporter
February 7, 2006
If battle lines were drawn in the NFL's latest scuffle with its players union, those lines would look more like a triangle than trench warfare.

You've got high-rolling landlords in one corner, small-market owners in another and a group of anxious players pondering the complexity of it all.

It's not quite a free-for-all, but negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement may require a roster and a road map. Here's why:

The players, under the auspices of the NFL Players Association, want a larger percentage of league revenue. But they want that percentage of the league's total football revenues to include the suddenly sizzling local revenues.

The high-revenue owners - folks like the Dallas Cowboys' Jerry Jones, the Washington Redskins' Daniel Snyder and the New England Patriots' Robert Kraft - not only don't want to share their local revenues with the players, but they also don't want to share them with the other owners.

And the small-market owners - people like the Buffalo Bills' Ralph Wilson, the Kansas City Chiefs' Lamar Hunt and the Ravens' Steve Bisciotti - feel they need to share all local revenues to maintain competitive balance in an ever-growing league.

Complicating the issue is the fact the players union wants the debate over local revenues settled before signing off on a collective bargaining agreement, so as to get a greater percentage of the bigger pie.