As NFL owners and players take the next step in their lockout legal battle Friday when they argue in front of a three-judge panel at the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis , there is one overarching question:
Is this legal wrangle a good or bad thing for the NFL?
The obvious answer from most corners of the league – be it New York Jets linebacker Bart Scott(notes), New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft or anyone in between those polar opposites – is that the lockout is bad. In recent weeks, former players such as Terry Bradshaw and Cris Collinsworth have weighed in with opinions echoing league officials, essentially saying the matter should be negotiated, not litigated.
In the backdrop, the decertified NFL Players Association has been talking tougher in recent days, with executive director DeMaurice Smith saying the trade association might not assemble as a union again. Similarly, players such as Drew Brees(notes), London Fletcher(notes) and Chester Pitts(notes) have backed up Smith by saying they are prepared for a long fight that could curtail or completely wipe out the 2011 season.
On Wednesday, NFL general counsel Jeff Pash said he considered Smith’s statements a thinly veiled attempt to back up the players’ court case.
“I assume it’s principally meant by DeMaurice to bolster their media position and their legal claim that this was not simply a tactical move for negotiating position,” Pash said. “I think that DeMaurice would admit that other than to support their legal position, it doesn’t help generate a fair deal that both sides will benefit from. It doesn’t help the current players, and it doesn’t help the retired players.”
While Pash’s explanation makes sense because a formal collective bargaining agreement helps protect the many mechanisms that maintain the NFL’s competitive balance such as the NFL draft and the assorted restrictions on free agency, there is a flipside to being in court:
It helps keep the peace, which ultimately has been part of the NFL’s huge growth.
The longest run of labor peace in modern NFL history has been over the past 23 years. That coincides with when the NFLPA, then under the leadership of the late Gene Upshaw, decided to stop negotiating with the owners. Instead, the NFLPA and Upshaw went to court in 1990 and filed the antitrust lawsuit that became the Reggie White case and resulted in the 1993 CBA that expired in March.
Prior to that, the NFL and the NFLPA were regularly at odds. There were strikes in 1982 and 1987, both of which caused games to be cancelled. Previously, the relatively powerless NFLPA, which was officially recognized by the owners in 1968 when the two sides struck a CBA, voted three times to go on strike. However, none of the instances (1968, 1970 and 1974) resulted in missed regular-season games.
Ultimately, that means that over a 19-year span, the players either voted to go on strike or went on strike five times. As a result, union leadership changed drastically, with the 1982 strike resulting in the departure of former union chief Ed Garvey.
So while the current labor dispute may not be ideal for owners, players or outsiders, there is a positive side.
“I’m not going to say we were powerless, but there’s no question there was a limit to what we could do,” said Jeff Van Note, who spent his entire 18-year career with Atlanta Falcons from 1969-86 and was the team’s union representative in the 1980s. “The strikes just weren’t effective. The players couldn’t outwait the owners no matter what … the strategy [Upshaw] came up with [following the ’87 strike] was really smart. It was the only way the players were ever going to get any real leverage.”
Since the now-expired CBA began in ’93, the resulting labor peace has contributed to unparalleled economic growth. Now, however, players fear that the gains made over the past 20 years could be jeopardized if they are no longer under the umbrella of the court, where threats of antitrust lawsuits have largely kept the owners at bay.
When the NFLPA first decertified in the late 1980s, it took away the antitrust protections the owners had because the owners were dealing with individuals rather than a unionized workforce that was negotiating as one group. When the CBA was worked out in ’93, the owners required the players to recertify as a union as part of the settlement because the owners wanted protection from lawsuits, like in 2003 when Maurice Clarett challenged the NFL’s draft rule on underclassmen.
Now, the players have returned to court for basically the same reason they did in the late 1980s. As Van Note indicated, the owners consistently have leverage over the players because of the nature of the game. More so than in baseball and basketball players, football players have relatively short careers. The risk of losing a year of pay in a sport where your ability to play is regularly in jeopardy because of injury is extremely difficult to accept.
Without the ability to take the owners to court, the players have consistently lost because the labor process is so long.
Pash eloquently disagreed with the notion that court supervision helped create labor peace.
“I don’t believe that the court supervision has contributed in any way to the labor peace that we’ve had from 1993 through 2010,” Pash said. “What contributed to it was recognition by both sides that negotiations and collective bargaining, which is what went on for all that time, was in their interests and that they were able to build something great together. They were able to work through their issues in an honest and candid way that involved compromise.
“The owners certainly didn’t get everything they wanted through that time and the players didn’t get everything they wanted through that time. But together they recognized that what unified them was much stronger than what divided them. And that had nothing to do with the court. That had to do with recognition of where people’s mutual interests lay, that they had a shared responsibility to 100 million Americans who follow the National Football League and care about it passionately. That’s what gets agreements done, not complaints and lawsuits. Agreements get done when people have shared interests.”
Perhaps, but didn’t those “mutual interests” exist in the 1980s, when there were two work stoppages?
“You are sort of asking me to go back to a time when I wasn’t nearly as involved, but I think it did exist,” Pash said. “But it’s like any relationship: Sometimes it has its rocky points and so you had a strike in 1982 and then a strike in 1987, but both times the parties resolved those disputes and got the game back on the field and that can happen again. No court intervened in 1982 to get the game back on the field. No court intervened in 1987 to get the game back on the field. The players and the clubs got the game back on the field.”
Maybe, but even after 1987, the players walked away from the process dissatisfied with what they received, leading to the move to the courtroom.
More than two decades later, the players still hold a strong distrust of the owners. Whether they will be able to protect themselves in court remains to be seen. (source Jason Cole – Yahoo Sports)
viernes, 3 de junio de 2011
At least they're chatting - Ingles
From mediated talks to arguments before an appeals court, the NFL's labor dispute has reached another critical stage.
The league and its players completed three consecutive days of not-so-secret talks Thursday in suburban Chicago . Now they head to court in St. Louis on Friday for a ruling that could prove pivotal in the nearly three-month lockout.
And while three judges from the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals consider whether or not to allow the league-mandated lockout to continue, further talks between NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, several team owners, NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith and some of his charges might be held elsewhere.
Goodell and owners Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys, Robert Kraft of the New England Patriots, John Mara of the New York Giants, Jerry Richardson of the Carolina Panthers and Art Rooney of the Pittsburgh Steelers were among those joined in St. Charles, Ill., by Smith and a group of current and former players, including NFLPA president Kevin Mawae, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan, who mediated talks in April and May. The parties issued a joint statement confirming they had met but saying they would honor a court-ordered confidentiality agreement.
Smith and Goodell declined to comment to the Chicago Tribune when seen leaving Hotel Baker on Thursday afternoon. All Jones would say about the meeting is: "We can't make a comment about it at all, but we're trying. We're trying. I think the fact that we're meeting is good."
One player, whom the Tribune didn't identify, said the point of the get-together was for the parties to talk without lawyers present. Mike Vrabel, Tony Richardson and Brian Dawkins also attended.
Boylan then canceled mediation sessions scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in Minneapolis because "the Court has been engaged in confidential settlement discussions."
A person with knowledge of the talks told The Associated Press that the term "settlement discussions" doesn't necessarily mean an agreement is near. The person, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the judge's confidentiality order, said the cancellation of next week's sessions was simply a way to keep the process as private as possible.
More likely than any continued mediation with Boylan would be similar secret meetings between the league and players, who have been locked out by the owners since March 12. Boylan broke the previous round of mediation last month by requesting that the parties return with proposals, and this week's talks could have been an effort for each to better understand the other's position before putting those together.
In the past, the clandestine approach has been a step toward successful negotiations between the league and NFLPA. Such meetings between former union executive director Gene Upshaw and former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue often led to progress on a new collective bargaining agreement.
The NFL was granted a delay in the execution of an injunction against the lockout in late April. Between 20 and 30 players are expected to be in court Friday, according to NFL Network's Albert Breer, although a decision might not come for weeks.
The ruling coming off that hearing is expected to create major leverage points, one way or another, in the negotiations. The players will ask the court to uphold U.S. District Judge Susan Nelson's granting of injunction, while the league will seek a broader ruling that could lead to the dismissal of the Brady et al antitrust case altogether.
Ben Leber, one of 10 plaintiffs in the antitrust case against the league, said the players haven't discussed a specific drop-dead date for reaching an agreement to ensure the on-time start of training camps, which normally would open in about seven weeks. But he said it's necessary to have one in order to reach a deal.
"Both sides have a day, whether they want to make it public or not," Leber told The AP. "The biggest challenge is going to lie with whose day is going to come up first. Once it got to this point, I think it was just a good guess based on most corporate labor disputes that nothing was going to get done until the 11th hour. Now it depends on which 11th hour gets here first."
New Orleans Saints safety Darren Sharper told The AP that he hasn't heard of specific drop-dead dates being discussed, but he believes by start of August, "something has to be etched in stone," as far a new agreement.
"It looks bleak right now, but I'm thinking that something has to get worked out because too many people will be affected negatively if it does not get worked out," Sharper said.
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay said last week at the NFL Spring Meeting that he believed some decisions on opening training camps in late July needed to be made by July 4. (source NFL.com)
The league and its players completed three consecutive days of not-so-secret talks Thursday in suburban Chicago . Now they head to court in St. Louis on Friday for a ruling that could prove pivotal in the nearly three-month lockout.
And while three judges from the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals consider whether or not to allow the league-mandated lockout to continue, further talks between NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, several team owners, NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith and some of his charges might be held elsewhere.
Goodell and owners Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys, Robert Kraft of the New England Patriots, John Mara of the New York Giants, Jerry Richardson of the Carolina Panthers and Art Rooney of the Pittsburgh Steelers were among those joined in St. Charles, Ill., by Smith and a group of current and former players, including NFLPA president Kevin Mawae, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan, who mediated talks in April and May. The parties issued a joint statement confirming they had met but saying they would honor a court-ordered confidentiality agreement.
Smith and Goodell declined to comment to the Chicago Tribune when seen leaving Hotel Baker on Thursday afternoon. All Jones would say about the meeting is: "We can't make a comment about it at all, but we're trying. We're trying. I think the fact that we're meeting is good."
One player, whom the Tribune didn't identify, said the point of the get-together was for the parties to talk without lawyers present. Mike Vrabel, Tony Richardson and Brian Dawkins also attended.
Boylan then canceled mediation sessions scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in Minneapolis because "the Court has been engaged in confidential settlement discussions."
A person with knowledge of the talks told The Associated Press that the term "settlement discussions" doesn't necessarily mean an agreement is near. The person, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the judge's confidentiality order, said the cancellation of next week's sessions was simply a way to keep the process as private as possible.
More likely than any continued mediation with Boylan would be similar secret meetings between the league and players, who have been locked out by the owners since March 12. Boylan broke the previous round of mediation last month by requesting that the parties return with proposals, and this week's talks could have been an effort for each to better understand the other's position before putting those together.
In the past, the clandestine approach has been a step toward successful negotiations between the league and NFLPA. Such meetings between former union executive director Gene Upshaw and former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue often led to progress on a new collective bargaining agreement.
The NFL was granted a delay in the execution of an injunction against the lockout in late April. Between 20 and 30 players are expected to be in court Friday, according to NFL Network's Albert Breer, although a decision might not come for weeks.
The ruling coming off that hearing is expected to create major leverage points, one way or another, in the negotiations. The players will ask the court to uphold U.S. District Judge Susan Nelson's granting of injunction, while the league will seek a broader ruling that could lead to the dismissal of the Brady et al antitrust case altogether.
Ben Leber, one of 10 plaintiffs in the antitrust case against the league, said the players haven't discussed a specific drop-dead date for reaching an agreement to ensure the on-time start of training camps, which normally would open in about seven weeks. But he said it's necessary to have one in order to reach a deal.
"Both sides have a day, whether they want to make it public or not," Leber told The AP. "The biggest challenge is going to lie with whose day is going to come up first. Once it got to this point, I think it was just a good guess based on most corporate labor disputes that nothing was going to get done until the 11th hour. Now it depends on which 11th hour gets here first."
New Orleans Saints safety Darren Sharper told The AP that he hasn't heard of specific drop-dead dates being discussed, but he believes by start of August, "something has to be etched in stone," as far a new agreement.
"It looks bleak right now, but I'm thinking that something has to get worked out because too many people will be affected negatively if it does not get worked out," Sharper said.
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay said last week at the NFL Spring Meeting that he believed some decisions on opening training camps in late July needed to be made by July 4. (source NFL.com)
Judge cancels mediation - Ingles
The judge overseeing the mediation between the NFL and the NFL Players Association has cancelled next week's planned sessions because of what he called ongoing "settlement discussions" between the sides.
But that was not an immediate sign of a major breakthrough that could lead to the NFL opening its doors to players again.
On Thursday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur J. Boylan -- in quashing the mediation sessions that had been planned for next Tuesday and Wednesday in Minnesota -- said he had been "engaged in confidential settlement discussions."
A person close to the talks told the AP that Boylan's use of "settlement" to describe the discussions does not necessarily indicate the sides are close to a deal.
The league and the NFLPA acknowledged meeting this week in Chicago, but have not divulged details of their talks.
"We're trying. I think the fact that we're meeting is good," Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told the Chicago Tribune on Thursday.
The settlement discussions potentially represent a milestone in the labor standoff, which escalated when the league imposed a lockout on March 12.
As recently as May 26, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell repeated his mantra that the two sides needed to talk.
"The best and fastest solution to the differences is to negotiate," Goodell said. "Let's get together and let's solve those problems in negotiations and with a collective bargaining agreement."
Goodell participated in this week's talks, as did NFLPA leader DeMaurice Smith. Neither would comment on how they went.
There is no indication the settlement discussions with Boylan will lead to an agreement anytime soon. And the sides are due in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday as justices consider the fate of the lockout.
But if the settlement talks do lead to an agreement, it would likely fall under a similar umbrella of court supervision that governed the past collective bargaining agreement that ran from 1993-2011. This article was written by Sean Leahy and appeared in USA Today.
But that was not an immediate sign of a major breakthrough that could lead to the NFL opening its doors to players again.
On Thursday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur J. Boylan -- in quashing the mediation sessions that had been planned for next Tuesday and Wednesday in Minnesota -- said he had been "engaged in confidential settlement discussions."
A person close to the talks told the AP that Boylan's use of "settlement" to describe the discussions does not necessarily indicate the sides are close to a deal.
The league and the NFLPA acknowledged meeting this week in Chicago, but have not divulged details of their talks.
"We're trying. I think the fact that we're meeting is good," Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told the Chicago Tribune on Thursday.
The settlement discussions potentially represent a milestone in the labor standoff, which escalated when the league imposed a lockout on March 12.
As recently as May 26, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell repeated his mantra that the two sides needed to talk.
"The best and fastest solution to the differences is to negotiate," Goodell said. "Let's get together and let's solve those problems in negotiations and with a collective bargaining agreement."
Goodell participated in this week's talks, as did NFLPA leader DeMaurice Smith. Neither would comment on how they went.
There is no indication the settlement discussions with Boylan will lead to an agreement anytime soon. And the sides are due in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday as justices consider the fate of the lockout.
But if the settlement talks do lead to an agreement, it would likely fall under a similar umbrella of court supervision that governed the past collective bargaining agreement that ran from 1993-2011. This article was written by Sean Leahy and appeared in USA Today.
Secret meeting held - Ingles
A week after NFL owners wrapped up their annual spring meeting in Indianapolis, a small group of them gathered in a western suburb of Chicago and huddled with NFLPA leader DeMaurice Smith in advance of Friday's scheduled court hearing.
Smith and five players sat with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and influential owners including the Cowboys' Jerry Jones and the Patriots' Robert Kraft for two days of meetings that concluded Thursday morning at a local hotel.
Kraft was spotted Wednesday boarding his private jet at DuPage Airport, a little less than 24 hours after arriving, sources told the Tribune. Also present during a full-day stakeout was the jet belonging to Jones, an unmistakable Gulfstream model with a star on each side of the tail.
Sources said Goodell also arrived in West Chicago via private jet Tuesday, and Panthers owner Jerry Richardson was believed to be present, the sources said. The NFL office was unable to provide any details. Airport officials cited a confidentiality policy in declining to reveal information.
ESPN's Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen were the first to report that there was a face-to-face meeting with Smith and other union officials, which marks the first time in weeks that the two sides have had talks.
ESPN reports that the meeting was so secret, some NFL owners weren't aware it was taking place. Other owners in attendance reportedly were the Giants' John Mara and the Steelers' Art Rooney.
Kraft was not available for questions as the SUV he was in delivered him to the stairwell of his aircraft.
The U.S. 8th Circuit Court in St. Louis will have a hearing Friday involving the lockout. Reports last week were owners are confident they will prevail. The lockout is grinding toward a third month and Goodell acknowledged to reporters last week that "it's clearly had an impact on our fans already." This article was written by Brad Biggs and appeared in The Chicago Tribune.
Smith and five players sat with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and influential owners including the Cowboys' Jerry Jones and the Patriots' Robert Kraft for two days of meetings that concluded Thursday morning at a local hotel.
Kraft was spotted Wednesday boarding his private jet at DuPage Airport, a little less than 24 hours after arriving, sources told the Tribune. Also present during a full-day stakeout was the jet belonging to Jones, an unmistakable Gulfstream model with a star on each side of the tail.
Sources said Goodell also arrived in West Chicago via private jet Tuesday, and Panthers owner Jerry Richardson was believed to be present, the sources said. The NFL office was unable to provide any details. Airport officials cited a confidentiality policy in declining to reveal information.
ESPN's Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen were the first to report that there was a face-to-face meeting with Smith and other union officials, which marks the first time in weeks that the two sides have had talks.
ESPN reports that the meeting was so secret, some NFL owners weren't aware it was taking place. Other owners in attendance reportedly were the Giants' John Mara and the Steelers' Art Rooney.
Kraft was not available for questions as the SUV he was in delivered him to the stairwell of his aircraft.
The U.S. 8th Circuit Court in St. Louis will have a hearing Friday involving the lockout. Reports last week were owners are confident they will prevail. The lockout is grinding toward a third month and Goodell acknowledged to reporters last week that "it's clearly had an impact on our fans already." This article was written by Brad Biggs and appeared in The Chicago Tribune.
Union saves rookie symposium - Ingles
The NFL Players Association has stepped in to rescue the canceled rookie symposium.
The original symposium, which was to begin June 26th at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, was canceled by the NFL last week because of the lockout.
But the Players Association will instead host "The Business of Football: Rookie Edition'' June 28-29 in Washington, D.C., George Atallah, the assistant executive director of external affairs for the Players Association confirmed to SI.com.
All 254 players selected in the draft will be invited to the event, which includes money management, media relations, and personal matters such as security and professionalism.
Agent Peter Schaffer, who was critical last week of the NFL's decision to cancel the beneficial annual session, praised the Players Association move.
"I think it's great,'' said Schaffer, who represents Browns No. 1 pick Phil Taylor, and Pro Bowlers Joe Thomas and Josh Cribbs. "It's terrific that people want to step up and help these young men make the transition from amateur athletics to professional athletics.''
Schaffer said he'll encourage Taylor to attend the voluntary session in Washington, D.C. if the lockout is still on. The NFL's symposium was mandatory.
"It would be a great learning opportunity and educational experience,'' said Schaffer.
He re-iterated his dismay that the NFL is "dropping the ball on human issues'' including not paying for substance abuse treatment and counseling of players during the lockout or for NFL trainers to be present at players-only workouts going on in various cities.
"I understand the business aspect, but the human side should be totally outside the whole lockout,'' he said.
Attallah told si.com, "It was important for us to do this because it's a critical time in the lives of players who are about to enter the league. Lockout issues aside, it's important that players are prepared for this next phase in their lives and careers.''
The rookies will hear from current and former players during the event, as well as financial and other experts. The Players Association will pay for everything, including travel expenses. This article was written by Mary Kay Cabot and appeared in The Cleveland Plain Dealer.
The original symposium, which was to begin June 26th at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, was canceled by the NFL last week because of the lockout.
But the Players Association will instead host "The Business of Football: Rookie Edition'' June 28-29 in Washington, D.C., George Atallah, the assistant executive director of external affairs for the Players Association confirmed to SI.com.
All 254 players selected in the draft will be invited to the event, which includes money management, media relations, and personal matters such as security and professionalism.
Agent Peter Schaffer, who was critical last week of the NFL's decision to cancel the beneficial annual session, praised the Players Association move.
"I think it's great,'' said Schaffer, who represents Browns No. 1 pick Phil Taylor, and Pro Bowlers Joe Thomas and Josh Cribbs. "It's terrific that people want to step up and help these young men make the transition from amateur athletics to professional athletics.''
Schaffer said he'll encourage Taylor to attend the voluntary session in Washington, D.C. if the lockout is still on. The NFL's symposium was mandatory.
"It would be a great learning opportunity and educational experience,'' said Schaffer.
He re-iterated his dismay that the NFL is "dropping the ball on human issues'' including not paying for substance abuse treatment and counseling of players during the lockout or for NFL trainers to be present at players-only workouts going on in various cities.
"I understand the business aspect, but the human side should be totally outside the whole lockout,'' he said.
Attallah told si.com, "It was important for us to do this because it's a critical time in the lives of players who are about to enter the league. Lockout issues aside, it's important that players are prepared for this next phase in their lives and careers.''
The rookies will hear from current and former players during the event, as well as financial and other experts. The Players Association will pay for everything, including travel expenses. This article was written by Mary Kay Cabot and appeared in The Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Friday could be a turning point - Ingles
I've stayed above the fray in the labor dispute between the NFL owners and players. No. 1, it's baseball season. No. 2, the warring factions will eventually settle. They always do. No. 3, the constant whining over big-money labor disputes is boring. No. 4, it's pretty silly to cast one group as heroes, the other as villains.
There is plenty of blame to be tossed around, so throw two penalty flags for unsportsmanlike conduct, one on each side. There are no victims here. No owner is declaring for bankruptcy. And as much as we personally like outspoken NFL Players Association activist Drew Brees and most of the players, this isn't the movie "Norma Rae," and his colleagues aren't abused factory workers.
The NFL owners locked the players out because it's a hard-edged but standard bargaining tool in a tough negotiation. It doesn't make them fascists. And it doesn't make commissioner Roger Goodell the football version of Dr. Evil.
Rather than get serious about negotiating, the players preferred to put pressure on the owners through litigation. That's why the players hired a trial lawyer, DeMaurice Smith, to head the union and lead the charge against the owners. Everyone is playing hardball.
In my unemotional view, it seems as if the owners have been more willing than the players to hash all of this out through collective bargaining. Remember that the players, not the owners, walked away from the negotiations. And as long as the players were confident of prevailing in court, they had no reason to grant concessions to the owners at the bargaining table.
The players' path to victory may be blocked by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals here in St. Louis. Through a lawyer, each side will have 30 minutes to present its argument during a hearing Friday morning downtown at the Thomas F. Eagleton Courthouse.
If as expected the 8th Circuit decides to keep the lockout in place, the players may be more motivated to resume earnest negotiations. Some players already have missed out on lucrative workout bonuses. If the standoff goes on much longer, the players will start to worry about the increased likelihood of missing paychecks. And that could lead to increasing pressure from within the union to make a deal with the owners.
Of course, if the 8th Circuit rules in favor of the players, the lockout will be lifted, official league business will resume, and that will likely lead to the official return of NFL football, on schedule, for 2011.
This is all about leverage. Either way, the court's decision should be a tipping point.
If I must lean to one side in this skirmish to divide $9 billion in annual revenue, I'll do it for selfish and blatantly parochial reasons.
I like having an NFL team in St. Louis. I like the idea of Sam Bradford and James Laurinaitis playing their entire NFL careers here and building something special for a thriving St. Louis Rams franchise. I'm in favor of anything that helps to secure the Rams' future in our town.
And if that means hoping that the owners get a workable deal, one that helps lessen the financial stress on the Rams, I won't apologize for that.
The next collective bargaining agreement will likely have significant influence on the Rams' financial standing and future. Sure, owner Stan Kroenke is a billionaire. He won't be panhandling. I get it. But that really isn't the point.
Everything I know and believe about Kroenke is that he'll operate the franchise in an efficient manner, with an emphasis on drafting and developing players. Kroenke won't be a huge, wanton spender racing out to buy celebrity free agents.
And while I don't believe Kroenke is in the football biz to make the maximum financial haul with the Rams — his big profits come through other business endeavors — he isn't in the NFL to lose money, or to see his team at a considerable disadvantage with a revenue base that lags far behind the big-market franchises and their vastly higher profit margins.
Kroenke isn't in this to lose games, either. I believe he'll try to make it work at the Edward Jones Dome, at least for a reasonable period of time, as long as the Rams can remain financially healthy and competitive.
As a Kroenke associate explained to me recently: If player costs remain relatively stable instead of escalating dramatically, the economic disparity won't be as pronounced. The higher-revenue teams will have an advantage, yes. But on the economic scale, there will be less of a gap between the top and the bottom. And the Rams reside in the lower-middle class of earners.
Translation: A good deal for the NFL owners will be a good deal for Kroenke, and that should help extend the Rams' viability in St. Louis.
It's ironic that this crucial proceeding will take place at the Eagleton Courthouse, named for the late U.S. senator from Missouri. Eagleton, of course, played a major role in brokering the deal that lured the Rams away from Los Angeles and to St. Louis.
And part of the agreement was a de facto escape clause that would allow the Rams to jump out of their lease if The Ed falls below the top-25 percent level of NFL stadiums. And because of that escape clause, which Eagleton signed off on, the franchise's long-term presence in St. Louis isn't firm. The way things look now, the Rams could opt out of the lease after the 2014 season.
But if Kroenke (and the other owners) are happy with the results of the CBA, it would be the first step in ensuring the Rams' financial health, even as they play in a venue that's becoming outdated by present-day NFL standards. Since The Ed opened in 1995, we've seen 18 new stadiums rise in the NFL, with four others being enhanced to become good-as-new through massive renovations.
At some point, the stadium issue here will be addressed. Public money for a new stadium is out of the question, but if Kroenke likes how his football investment is going in St. Louis, he'd be more inclined to build a stadium with his own money. And Kroenke would be abetted through financial contributions from the NFL, which assists owners in their new-stadium projects.
I'm not pro-owner.
I'm pro-STL.
These battling owners and players will come and go.
But I want the Rams to stay.
This article was written by Bernie Miklasz and appeared in The St.Louis Post-Dispatch.
There is plenty of blame to be tossed around, so throw two penalty flags for unsportsmanlike conduct, one on each side. There are no victims here. No owner is declaring for bankruptcy. And as much as we personally like outspoken NFL Players Association activist Drew Brees and most of the players, this isn't the movie "Norma Rae," and his colleagues aren't abused factory workers.
The NFL owners locked the players out because it's a hard-edged but standard bargaining tool in a tough negotiation. It doesn't make them fascists. And it doesn't make commissioner Roger Goodell the football version of Dr. Evil.
Rather than get serious about negotiating, the players preferred to put pressure on the owners through litigation. That's why the players hired a trial lawyer, DeMaurice Smith, to head the union and lead the charge against the owners. Everyone is playing hardball.
In my unemotional view, it seems as if the owners have been more willing than the players to hash all of this out through collective bargaining. Remember that the players, not the owners, walked away from the negotiations. And as long as the players were confident of prevailing in court, they had no reason to grant concessions to the owners at the bargaining table.
The players' path to victory may be blocked by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals here in St. Louis. Through a lawyer, each side will have 30 minutes to present its argument during a hearing Friday morning downtown at the Thomas F. Eagleton Courthouse.
If as expected the 8th Circuit decides to keep the lockout in place, the players may be more motivated to resume earnest negotiations. Some players already have missed out on lucrative workout bonuses. If the standoff goes on much longer, the players will start to worry about the increased likelihood of missing paychecks. And that could lead to increasing pressure from within the union to make a deal with the owners.
Of course, if the 8th Circuit rules in favor of the players, the lockout will be lifted, official league business will resume, and that will likely lead to the official return of NFL football, on schedule, for 2011.
This is all about leverage. Either way, the court's decision should be a tipping point.
If I must lean to one side in this skirmish to divide $9 billion in annual revenue, I'll do it for selfish and blatantly parochial reasons.
I like having an NFL team in St. Louis. I like the idea of Sam Bradford and James Laurinaitis playing their entire NFL careers here and building something special for a thriving St. Louis Rams franchise. I'm in favor of anything that helps to secure the Rams' future in our town.
And if that means hoping that the owners get a workable deal, one that helps lessen the financial stress on the Rams, I won't apologize for that.
The next collective bargaining agreement will likely have significant influence on the Rams' financial standing and future. Sure, owner Stan Kroenke is a billionaire. He won't be panhandling. I get it. But that really isn't the point.
Everything I know and believe about Kroenke is that he'll operate the franchise in an efficient manner, with an emphasis on drafting and developing players. Kroenke won't be a huge, wanton spender racing out to buy celebrity free agents.
And while I don't believe Kroenke is in the football biz to make the maximum financial haul with the Rams — his big profits come through other business endeavors — he isn't in the NFL to lose money, or to see his team at a considerable disadvantage with a revenue base that lags far behind the big-market franchises and their vastly higher profit margins.
Kroenke isn't in this to lose games, either. I believe he'll try to make it work at the Edward Jones Dome, at least for a reasonable period of time, as long as the Rams can remain financially healthy and competitive.
As a Kroenke associate explained to me recently: If player costs remain relatively stable instead of escalating dramatically, the economic disparity won't be as pronounced. The higher-revenue teams will have an advantage, yes. But on the economic scale, there will be less of a gap between the top and the bottom. And the Rams reside in the lower-middle class of earners.
Translation: A good deal for the NFL owners will be a good deal for Kroenke, and that should help extend the Rams' viability in St. Louis.
It's ironic that this crucial proceeding will take place at the Eagleton Courthouse, named for the late U.S. senator from Missouri. Eagleton, of course, played a major role in brokering the deal that lured the Rams away from Los Angeles and to St. Louis.
And part of the agreement was a de facto escape clause that would allow the Rams to jump out of their lease if The Ed falls below the top-25 percent level of NFL stadiums. And because of that escape clause, which Eagleton signed off on, the franchise's long-term presence in St. Louis isn't firm. The way things look now, the Rams could opt out of the lease after the 2014 season.
But if Kroenke (and the other owners) are happy with the results of the CBA, it would be the first step in ensuring the Rams' financial health, even as they play in a venue that's becoming outdated by present-day NFL standards. Since The Ed opened in 1995, we've seen 18 new stadiums rise in the NFL, with four others being enhanced to become good-as-new through massive renovations.
At some point, the stadium issue here will be addressed. Public money for a new stadium is out of the question, but if Kroenke likes how his football investment is going in St. Louis, he'd be more inclined to build a stadium with his own money. And Kroenke would be abetted through financial contributions from the NFL, which assists owners in their new-stadium projects.
I'm not pro-owner.
I'm pro-STL.
These battling owners and players will come and go.
But I want the Rams to stay.
This article was written by Bernie Miklasz and appeared in The St.Louis Post-Dispatch.
Jags' staff out of step with Coaches' association - Ingles
The Jaguars became the second NFL coaching staff Wednesday to announce they weren't informed the NFL Coaches' Association was filing a brief supporting the players' bid to end the lockout.
"I checked with our guys and not one member of our coaching staff had knowledge of last week's brief filed by the Coaches' Association prior to the news breaking,'' coach Jack Del Rio said. "None were consulted or involved in any way. This action was taken without approval. Heck, it wasn't even mentioned to any of us.''
Larry Kennan, the head of the Coaches' Association, said it must have been an oversight because all the staffs were supposed to be notified.
The Redskins staff announced last week that they hadn't been notified.
The brief was filed for the hearing set Friday in St. Louis before an appellate court when the players will argue that the courts should lift the lockout.
Kennan said the staffs didn't have to approve the brief because the executive committee of the association approved the action. He added that some coaching staffs have already taken drastic pay cuts.
"We are protecting the coaches who need protection. Coaches have been affected negatively. If some feel they don't need protection, that is fine,'' he said.
Kennan said Jaguars coaches haven't had to take payouts and were told by owner Wayne Weaver that their salaries won't be reduced if no games are missed.
In the Redskins' statement last week, their coaches said, "We stand united with our ownership and the brief does not reflect our thoughts on the matter.''
The Jaguars' assistant coaches had issues with management because they were given one-year deals for the upcoming season, but weren't allowed to interview for lateral jobs with more security. But Kennan said they did not bring that issue to the association.
Meanwhile, Del Rio said the coaching staff is working on various contingency plans for whenever the lockout ends. The coaches don't know how long they will have to prepare for the season.
Jaguars coaches are already breaking down film of teams scheduled to be early season opponents, though they have no way of knowing if those games will be played.
Meanwhile, the Jaguars keep coming up with new ways to engage the fan base during the lockout.
They announced they will hold a Jaguars Movie Night at Everbank Field on June 24 for the showing of the film, "The Blind Side.'' The film is for season ticket holders and their guests. Fans can watch on the big screen from the stands or on a blanket and a beach chair on the field.
"It's to show our appreciation to our season ticket holders,'' said team executive Steve Livingston.
The Jaguars are preparing an all-out sales blitz for when the lockout ends.
Mackey Weaver, the senior vice president sales and marketing, said they may have to repeat the feat of selling 10,000 tickets in 10 days that they did to get the franchise in the first place.
"We have an action plan,'' he said.
This article was written by Vito Stellino and appeared in The Florida Times-Union.
"I checked with our guys and not one member of our coaching staff had knowledge of last week's brief filed by the Coaches' Association prior to the news breaking,'' coach Jack Del Rio said. "None were consulted or involved in any way. This action was taken without approval. Heck, it wasn't even mentioned to any of us.''
Larry Kennan, the head of the Coaches' Association, said it must have been an oversight because all the staffs were supposed to be notified.
The Redskins staff announced last week that they hadn't been notified.
The brief was filed for the hearing set Friday in St. Louis before an appellate court when the players will argue that the courts should lift the lockout.
Kennan said the staffs didn't have to approve the brief because the executive committee of the association approved the action. He added that some coaching staffs have already taken drastic pay cuts.
"We are protecting the coaches who need protection. Coaches have been affected negatively. If some feel they don't need protection, that is fine,'' he said.
Kennan said Jaguars coaches haven't had to take payouts and were told by owner Wayne Weaver that their salaries won't be reduced if no games are missed.
In the Redskins' statement last week, their coaches said, "We stand united with our ownership and the brief does not reflect our thoughts on the matter.''
The Jaguars' assistant coaches had issues with management because they were given one-year deals for the upcoming season, but weren't allowed to interview for lateral jobs with more security. But Kennan said they did not bring that issue to the association.
Meanwhile, Del Rio said the coaching staff is working on various contingency plans for whenever the lockout ends. The coaches don't know how long they will have to prepare for the season.
Jaguars coaches are already breaking down film of teams scheduled to be early season opponents, though they have no way of knowing if those games will be played.
Meanwhile, the Jaguars keep coming up with new ways to engage the fan base during the lockout.
They announced they will hold a Jaguars Movie Night at Everbank Field on June 24 for the showing of the film, "The Blind Side.'' The film is for season ticket holders and their guests. Fans can watch on the big screen from the stands or on a blanket and a beach chair on the field.
"It's to show our appreciation to our season ticket holders,'' said team executive Steve Livingston.
The Jaguars are preparing an all-out sales blitz for when the lockout ends.
Mackey Weaver, the senior vice president sales and marketing, said they may have to repeat the feat of selling 10,000 tickets in 10 days that they did to get the franchise in the first place.
"We have an action plan,'' he said.
This article was written by Vito Stellino and appeared in The Florida Times-Union.
Chiefs fans are losing their patience - Ingles
It’s usually around this time of year that longtime Chiefs season-ticket holder Scott Black begins to get excited about the coming season.
Thanks to the NFL’s ongoing labor dispute and owner-imposed lockout, this is anything but a usual year.
Without a collective-bargaining agreement between the players and owners or a court order forcing the lockout to be lifted, the 2011 season is in jeopardy. The next chapter in the saga will be written on Friday at an 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hearing in St. Louis.
Until a resolution is reached, first-round draft pick Jonathan Baldwin and the rest of the new Chiefs are not permitted at team facilities. A few Chiefs players are conducting practices on their own, but they’ve expressed a desire to work in secrecy. Nearly all Chiefs news these days is lockout- and labor-related.
For Black and many other Chiefs fans, the sense right now is not one of anticipation, but one of dread and doom.
“I’m at the point where I’ve just quit looking for Chiefs news because I’m just so disgusted with the entire situation,” Black said. “I’m not reading Chiefs news, I’m not watching the NFL Network.
“I’m at the point where I’m beyond frustrated. I realize (the labor dispute) is all a part of business, and I certainly empathize with both sides in wanting to get a fair deal. But in the end, they’re still fighting over a $9 billion or $10 billion industry, and I’m just disappointed and disillusioned by the whole thing.”
Black is just the sort of fan NFL commissioner Roger Goodell referenced last week at the conclusion of the league meetings in Indianapolis. Goodell indicated a sense that the lockout is wearing on NFL fans and warned of the economic trouble ahead for teams if things aren’t resolved shortly.
“I think it has clearly had an impact on our fans already,” Goodell said. “You see that in our various metrics that we have, whether they are (TV) ratings or traffic on NFL.com. … And that is a reflection of the uncertainty and the frustration of our fans.
“Our ratings were down at the draft, as an example, by roughly 4 million people. That’s a pretty significant decrease, about a 10-percent decrease, as I recall.”
Closer to home, the Chiefs may not be feeling the financial effects of the lockout as much as other teams. Chairman Clark Hunt said recently that the Chiefs were leading the league in new ticket sales by a significant margin. Of course, they also had a lot more inventory available than many teams to start with thanks to 76,416-seat Arrowhead Stadium.
“The changes we made to the business operation last year really paid dividends,” president Mark Donovan said. “We really tried to focus on the fan experience and making sure every single opportunity to have an interaction with our fans were positive ones.
“Obviously, winning the division and going 10-6 and having the excitement that went along with it, that built great momentum for us. That helped us with ticket sales. But it’s hard to measure how much more we could have grown or how much we were impacted by all this.”
That’s why the Chiefs say they are taking this situation so seriously. Hunt said that he hasn’t noticed an increase in negative comments from fans yet, but he expects it soon if the season remains in peril.
“As we get into summer, people will start thinking about football and about training camp,” Hunt said. “During the spring, we have (offseason practices), and fans focus on that to some degree, but it’s not a focal point. But football in the fall is very much a part of the fabric of society, and I think our fans will become very concerned.”
Until then, fans are experiencing increasing angst about the Chiefs and the fate of their season. It’s impossible to gauge in terms of numbers, but it’s also impossible to miss.
“I don’t feel connected at all,” said Gary Krings, who said season tickets have been in his family since the Chiefs arrived in Kansas City in 1963. “I feel I have no control over this and I’m totally at the mercy of the two sides. To be honest with you, I don’t care that much about the issues between them. It’s just a helpless feeling.”
Other fans tell a similar story, one that’s increasingly worrisome to the Chiefs and the rest of the NFL.
“Usually this time of year, I’m reading the newspaper every day,” said Jeff Yergovich, another longtime ticket holder. “I’m following what moves they make and how they do it, who’s new and who’s not. This year it’s all been a ‘blah’ situation for me. I figure if they don’t care about me, why should I care about them?
“They can’t even tell me whether there’s going to be a season this year. Why do I want to go out and buy a jersey? And do I really want to spend the money that ends up going back to the Chiefs or the NFL? I don’t know. It’s like I’m in a real holding pattern trying to figure out what to do.”
Krings said: “It’s totally different for me this year. I just can’t get into it at all. Somebody asked me the other day what I thought about their draft. I didn’t even know what he was talking about. It hasn’t even been anything I thought about. And that’s a frustrating feeling.”
Black, who lives in the Dallas area, travels to Kansas City for some Chiefs home games and distributes the rest of his tickets to friends and family. He had particular plans for the coming season that he may not realize.
“My youngest son has never been to Arrowhead Stadium, and he’s 7 years old,” Black said. “As a reward, I told him that he and I would fly to Kansas City and go to a Chiefs game, his first one. I had to tell him the other day we might have to come up with a plan B because I’m really worried there won’t be football this fall. Trying to explain to a 7-year-old why there won’t be football is extremely difficult.
“I’ve decided if we end up missing games. I probably won’t renew my tickets.”
Hunt hasn’t given up hope that an agreement can be reached, and soon. He acknowledged that with summer just around the corner, time is “very short.”
“I’m hopeful the players will start to feel the time pressure that we really all have,” he said. “None of us want to miss any football. That’s certainly our goal from an ownership standpoint, and I know the players want to play.”
Yergovich can’t see himself giving up on the Chiefs, but the frustration is overwhelming.
“I’ve always been a Chiefs fan, I’ve been around way too long to change,” he said. “But it’s frustrating that they’re sitting there arguing about things they shouldn’t be arguing about.”
Hunt’s message to fans like Black, Yergovich and Krings? Don’t give up on the Chiefs yet.
“If we can get to the bargaining table,” Hunt said, “I know that we’ll be able to find a deal that’s good for both parties and can get the Chiefs back on the field come this September.” This article was written by Adam Teicher and appeared in The Kansas City Star.
Thanks to the NFL’s ongoing labor dispute and owner-imposed lockout, this is anything but a usual year.
Without a collective-bargaining agreement between the players and owners or a court order forcing the lockout to be lifted, the 2011 season is in jeopardy. The next chapter in the saga will be written on Friday at an 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hearing in St. Louis.
Until a resolution is reached, first-round draft pick Jonathan Baldwin and the rest of the new Chiefs are not permitted at team facilities. A few Chiefs players are conducting practices on their own, but they’ve expressed a desire to work in secrecy. Nearly all Chiefs news these days is lockout- and labor-related.
For Black and many other Chiefs fans, the sense right now is not one of anticipation, but one of dread and doom.
“I’m at the point where I’ve just quit looking for Chiefs news because I’m just so disgusted with the entire situation,” Black said. “I’m not reading Chiefs news, I’m not watching the NFL Network.
“I’m at the point where I’m beyond frustrated. I realize (the labor dispute) is all a part of business, and I certainly empathize with both sides in wanting to get a fair deal. But in the end, they’re still fighting over a $9 billion or $10 billion industry, and I’m just disappointed and disillusioned by the whole thing.”
Black is just the sort of fan NFL commissioner Roger Goodell referenced last week at the conclusion of the league meetings in Indianapolis. Goodell indicated a sense that the lockout is wearing on NFL fans and warned of the economic trouble ahead for teams if things aren’t resolved shortly.
“I think it has clearly had an impact on our fans already,” Goodell said. “You see that in our various metrics that we have, whether they are (TV) ratings or traffic on NFL.com. … And that is a reflection of the uncertainty and the frustration of our fans.
“Our ratings were down at the draft, as an example, by roughly 4 million people. That’s a pretty significant decrease, about a 10-percent decrease, as I recall.”
Closer to home, the Chiefs may not be feeling the financial effects of the lockout as much as other teams. Chairman Clark Hunt said recently that the Chiefs were leading the league in new ticket sales by a significant margin. Of course, they also had a lot more inventory available than many teams to start with thanks to 76,416-seat Arrowhead Stadium.
“The changes we made to the business operation last year really paid dividends,” president Mark Donovan said. “We really tried to focus on the fan experience and making sure every single opportunity to have an interaction with our fans were positive ones.
“Obviously, winning the division and going 10-6 and having the excitement that went along with it, that built great momentum for us. That helped us with ticket sales. But it’s hard to measure how much more we could have grown or how much we were impacted by all this.”
That’s why the Chiefs say they are taking this situation so seriously. Hunt said that he hasn’t noticed an increase in negative comments from fans yet, but he expects it soon if the season remains in peril.
“As we get into summer, people will start thinking about football and about training camp,” Hunt said. “During the spring, we have (offseason practices), and fans focus on that to some degree, but it’s not a focal point. But football in the fall is very much a part of the fabric of society, and I think our fans will become very concerned.”
Until then, fans are experiencing increasing angst about the Chiefs and the fate of their season. It’s impossible to gauge in terms of numbers, but it’s also impossible to miss.
“I don’t feel connected at all,” said Gary Krings, who said season tickets have been in his family since the Chiefs arrived in Kansas City in 1963. “I feel I have no control over this and I’m totally at the mercy of the two sides. To be honest with you, I don’t care that much about the issues between them. It’s just a helpless feeling.”
Other fans tell a similar story, one that’s increasingly worrisome to the Chiefs and the rest of the NFL.
“Usually this time of year, I’m reading the newspaper every day,” said Jeff Yergovich, another longtime ticket holder. “I’m following what moves they make and how they do it, who’s new and who’s not. This year it’s all been a ‘blah’ situation for me. I figure if they don’t care about me, why should I care about them?
“They can’t even tell me whether there’s going to be a season this year. Why do I want to go out and buy a jersey? And do I really want to spend the money that ends up going back to the Chiefs or the NFL? I don’t know. It’s like I’m in a real holding pattern trying to figure out what to do.”
Krings said: “It’s totally different for me this year. I just can’t get into it at all. Somebody asked me the other day what I thought about their draft. I didn’t even know what he was talking about. It hasn’t even been anything I thought about. And that’s a frustrating feeling.”
Black, who lives in the Dallas area, travels to Kansas City for some Chiefs home games and distributes the rest of his tickets to friends and family. He had particular plans for the coming season that he may not realize.
“My youngest son has never been to Arrowhead Stadium, and he’s 7 years old,” Black said. “As a reward, I told him that he and I would fly to Kansas City and go to a Chiefs game, his first one. I had to tell him the other day we might have to come up with a plan B because I’m really worried there won’t be football this fall. Trying to explain to a 7-year-old why there won’t be football is extremely difficult.
“I’ve decided if we end up missing games. I probably won’t renew my tickets.”
Hunt hasn’t given up hope that an agreement can be reached, and soon. He acknowledged that with summer just around the corner, time is “very short.”
“I’m hopeful the players will start to feel the time pressure that we really all have,” he said. “None of us want to miss any football. That’s certainly our goal from an ownership standpoint, and I know the players want to play.”
Yergovich can’t see himself giving up on the Chiefs, but the frustration is overwhelming.
“I’ve always been a Chiefs fan, I’ve been around way too long to change,” he said. “But it’s frustrating that they’re sitting there arguing about things they shouldn’t be arguing about.”
Hunt’s message to fans like Black, Yergovich and Krings? Don’t give up on the Chiefs yet.
“If we can get to the bargaining table,” Hunt said, “I know that we’ll be able to find a deal that’s good for both parties and can get the Chiefs back on the field come this September.” This article was written by Adam Teicher and appeared in The Kansas City Star.
Looking for clarity - Ingles
At the N.F.L. owners meeting last week, John Mara, the president of the Giants, was asked if the Super Bowl, scheduled for February in Indianapolis, would be played. Yes, he told a reporter, he was confident Indianapolis would have its Super Bowl.
“At some point there’s going to be a deal done,” Mara said. “I can’t tell you when that’s going to be.”
Neither can anyone else. But the uncertainty that has engulfed the N.F.L. this off-season — angering fans, irritating owners and players, and endangering the start of the season — may finally get some clarity after this week. On Friday, the most pivotal hearing of the lockout that has shuttered the league since March 12 will take place in St. Louis, where the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit will hear arguments on the N.F.L.’s request to reverse the injunction that would stop the lockout.
This hearing will include the theater of two of the nation’s most respected appellate lawyers, Theodore B. Olson and Paul D. Clement, arguing against each other for the first time. The two are friends, and each served as United States solicitor general under President George W. Bush. Olson will represent the players, Clement the owners.
The Friday hearing has loomed so large in the fight for leverage that court-ordered mediated negotiations have gone nowhere since they began in April, as both sides waited for the balance of power to be settled.
The outcome, expected by early July, will strongly influence when, and under what conditions, the N.F.L. will play this season. If the owners win and the lockout continues, as seems likely given preliminary indications from the three-judge panel, players will be confronted with a difficult choice with the calendar working against them. They could continue with their antitrust case, which could mean sacrificing paychecks come September and perhaps the entire season if the stalemate continues into autumn. Representatives of players have strongly hinted at that path in recent weeks, even though a few players and agents have openly wondered why they are not negotiating already.
Or they could tell the lawyers who represent them to start negotiating a new deal that will allow them to return to work and the season to begin. That decision and the question of who on the players’ side would make it kept owners on edge last week, even as the courts tilted in their direction. A decision by the Eighth Circuit to affirm the injunction would come as a surprise to everyone, and it would force the N.F.L. to open for business under rules it would have to put in place.
When the strongly worded decision granting the league’s request for a delay of the injunction indicated that a majority of the panel has serious doubt about whether the district court had the right to issue the injunction at all, the owners were given the situation they have wanted. While the players will argue that the injunction should be upheld — their brief called the league a cartel and argued that the district court did have jurisdiction to issue the injunction — lawyers inside and outside the case say the players face a steep challenge before a panel that gave an unusually open window into its thinking on the critical issues on which the appeal will be decided. One lawyer called the decision a rebuke to the players’ side.
“It’s always nice if they rule in your favor, but it’s also helpful to know what they’re thinking,” said Olson, the players’ lawyer. “It makes it easier in that you know the things of concern to the judges. It makes it harder if the things they are concerned about are against your direction.”
Owners will try to press their advantage in St. Louis. The N.F.L. will ask the judges not only to reverse the injunction, but also to issue a broad ruling that makes clear “that the solution to this dispute over terms and conditions of employment lies with the labor laws and not in the antitrust courts,” their brief said. That decision would most likely lay the groundwork for the league to seek the dismissal of the case.
“The league thinks the best way to get a resolution of the whole situation, the best way to get players on the field, is to have everybody understand this is a labor dispute, and instead of holding out hope for antitrust action they should focus on getting back to football,” said Clement, who succeeded Olson as the solicitor general. “I sure hope it’s going to get out of the courts. If they can iron out their disagreements, it’s not about antitrust law but about sharing revenue, whether or not they are going to have transition tags. All that is classic stuff of labor law.”
Olson, who represented Bush before the Supreme Court to decide the 2000 presidential election, said: “I have enormous respect for Paul — he’s just about the finest lawyer I’ve ever known. For someone in the business I’m in, you really much prefer a very talented, very principled opponent. Paul will make the best possible arguments, they will be clear, there won’t be any confusion, and the judges will have all the information.”
Regarding two high-profile friends facing off in court, Clement said: “For insiders, it’s completely normal. I’ve known it was going to happen sooner or later. I look forward to it because Ted is a terrific lawyer.”
David Boies is also working for the N.F.L. in its dispute with players, although he will not speak at Friday’s hearing. He and Olson opposed each other in Bush v. Gore before the Supreme Court, and later teamed to overturn Proposition 8, California’s ban on same-sex marriage.
Clement recently resigned from his firm when it decided not to defend the Defense of Marriage Act, a federal statue that bans recognizing same-sex marriage.
“A representation should not be abandoned because the client’s legal position is extremely unpopular in certain quarters,” Clement wrote in April. “Defending unpopular clients is what lawyers do.”
With few people expecting that the Supreme Court would have much interest in the N.F.L. case at this stage, this is most likely the last significant court decision on the lockout before the season is scheduled to begin Sept. 8. Players have, over several decades, made their greatest gains in the courts, and they stand to be awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in damages by United States District Court Judge David S. Doty in a case involving the N.F.L.’s television contracts. He previously ruled that the N.F.L. failed to maximize revenue in its renegotiated television deals.
But that decision will be appealed, too, and players will not have access to the damages in the short term to make up for any potential loss of paychecks. Still, the threat of that much money may be a useful tool at the bargaining table, if the two sides ever get back there. Olson declined to speculate about what the players’ next step would be if the injunction was cast aside.
In the meantime, the clock ticks toward the season. Jim Irsay, the Indianapolis Colts’ owner, said last week that he thought 90 percent of owners and players wanted a deal done so football could resume.
That, of course, would leave on the margins the other 10 percent, those who are prepared for an extended battle. Perhaps that is why Irsay also seemed concerned about creating enough urgency to get a deal completed before training camps and preseason games are lost. After nearly three months of intransigence, the three judges who will hear Friday’s arguments may finally force the end of public rhetoric and move the N.F.L. back toward practice repetitions. This article was written by Judy Battista and appeared in The New York Times.
“At some point there’s going to be a deal done,” Mara said. “I can’t tell you when that’s going to be.”
Neither can anyone else. But the uncertainty that has engulfed the N.F.L. this off-season — angering fans, irritating owners and players, and endangering the start of the season — may finally get some clarity after this week. On Friday, the most pivotal hearing of the lockout that has shuttered the league since March 12 will take place in St. Louis, where the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit will hear arguments on the N.F.L.’s request to reverse the injunction that would stop the lockout.
This hearing will include the theater of two of the nation’s most respected appellate lawyers, Theodore B. Olson and Paul D. Clement, arguing against each other for the first time. The two are friends, and each served as United States solicitor general under President George W. Bush. Olson will represent the players, Clement the owners.
The Friday hearing has loomed so large in the fight for leverage that court-ordered mediated negotiations have gone nowhere since they began in April, as both sides waited for the balance of power to be settled.
The outcome, expected by early July, will strongly influence when, and under what conditions, the N.F.L. will play this season. If the owners win and the lockout continues, as seems likely given preliminary indications from the three-judge panel, players will be confronted with a difficult choice with the calendar working against them. They could continue with their antitrust case, which could mean sacrificing paychecks come September and perhaps the entire season if the stalemate continues into autumn. Representatives of players have strongly hinted at that path in recent weeks, even though a few players and agents have openly wondered why they are not negotiating already.
Or they could tell the lawyers who represent them to start negotiating a new deal that will allow them to return to work and the season to begin. That decision and the question of who on the players’ side would make it kept owners on edge last week, even as the courts tilted in their direction. A decision by the Eighth Circuit to affirm the injunction would come as a surprise to everyone, and it would force the N.F.L. to open for business under rules it would have to put in place.
When the strongly worded decision granting the league’s request for a delay of the injunction indicated that a majority of the panel has serious doubt about whether the district court had the right to issue the injunction at all, the owners were given the situation they have wanted. While the players will argue that the injunction should be upheld — their brief called the league a cartel and argued that the district court did have jurisdiction to issue the injunction — lawyers inside and outside the case say the players face a steep challenge before a panel that gave an unusually open window into its thinking on the critical issues on which the appeal will be decided. One lawyer called the decision a rebuke to the players’ side.
“It’s always nice if they rule in your favor, but it’s also helpful to know what they’re thinking,” said Olson, the players’ lawyer. “It makes it easier in that you know the things of concern to the judges. It makes it harder if the things they are concerned about are against your direction.”
Owners will try to press their advantage in St. Louis. The N.F.L. will ask the judges not only to reverse the injunction, but also to issue a broad ruling that makes clear “that the solution to this dispute over terms and conditions of employment lies with the labor laws and not in the antitrust courts,” their brief said. That decision would most likely lay the groundwork for the league to seek the dismissal of the case.
“The league thinks the best way to get a resolution of the whole situation, the best way to get players on the field, is to have everybody understand this is a labor dispute, and instead of holding out hope for antitrust action they should focus on getting back to football,” said Clement, who succeeded Olson as the solicitor general. “I sure hope it’s going to get out of the courts. If they can iron out their disagreements, it’s not about antitrust law but about sharing revenue, whether or not they are going to have transition tags. All that is classic stuff of labor law.”
Olson, who represented Bush before the Supreme Court to decide the 2000 presidential election, said: “I have enormous respect for Paul — he’s just about the finest lawyer I’ve ever known. For someone in the business I’m in, you really much prefer a very talented, very principled opponent. Paul will make the best possible arguments, they will be clear, there won’t be any confusion, and the judges will have all the information.”
Regarding two high-profile friends facing off in court, Clement said: “For insiders, it’s completely normal. I’ve known it was going to happen sooner or later. I look forward to it because Ted is a terrific lawyer.”
David Boies is also working for the N.F.L. in its dispute with players, although he will not speak at Friday’s hearing. He and Olson opposed each other in Bush v. Gore before the Supreme Court, and later teamed to overturn Proposition 8, California’s ban on same-sex marriage.
Clement recently resigned from his firm when it decided not to defend the Defense of Marriage Act, a federal statue that bans recognizing same-sex marriage.
“A representation should not be abandoned because the client’s legal position is extremely unpopular in certain quarters,” Clement wrote in April. “Defending unpopular clients is what lawyers do.”
With few people expecting that the Supreme Court would have much interest in the N.F.L. case at this stage, this is most likely the last significant court decision on the lockout before the season is scheduled to begin Sept. 8. Players have, over several decades, made their greatest gains in the courts, and they stand to be awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in damages by United States District Court Judge David S. Doty in a case involving the N.F.L.’s television contracts. He previously ruled that the N.F.L. failed to maximize revenue in its renegotiated television deals.
But that decision will be appealed, too, and players will not have access to the damages in the short term to make up for any potential loss of paychecks. Still, the threat of that much money may be a useful tool at the bargaining table, if the two sides ever get back there. Olson declined to speculate about what the players’ next step would be if the injunction was cast aside.
In the meantime, the clock ticks toward the season. Jim Irsay, the Indianapolis Colts’ owner, said last week that he thought 90 percent of owners and players wanted a deal done so football could resume.
That, of course, would leave on the margins the other 10 percent, those who are prepared for an extended battle. Perhaps that is why Irsay also seemed concerned about creating enough urgency to get a deal completed before training camps and preseason games are lost. After nearly three months of intransigence, the three judges who will hear Friday’s arguments may finally force the end of public rhetoric and move the N.F.L. back toward practice repetitions. This article was written by Judy Battista and appeared in The New York Times.
Youth camps feel the lockout - Ingles
In these oh-so-strange days in and around the NFL, John Pagano is glad to have a circled date or two coming up on his coaching calendar and glad he will have some players to put through the paces.
"They're just going to be a little younger is all, maybe a little smaller," Pagano said. "But football is football, and I'm excited we'll have another year working with these kids, getting back on the field."
Pagano, the San Diego Chargers' linebackers coach and a Fairview High School graduate; his brother Chuck, the Baltimore Ravens' defensive coordinator and a Fairview alumnus; and their father Sam have guided the Mile High Football camp for 36 years.
The Pagano brothers have seen their offseason turned upside down by the NFL lockout, and their June 19-22 camp at Colorado Christian University in Lakewood is on the growing list of things touched by the league's labor strife.
NFL players including Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Jay Cutler have worked at the camp. But with the league's no-contact edict between players and coaches in effect because of the lockout, NFL players won't be at this year's camp unless the labor battle ends soon.
"That's just one of the things the situation has affected," John Pagano said. "That's the unfortunate thing as everybody waits to see what's going to happen. But there are a lot of stories like that, I'm sure. There are probably a lot of people around the game that could have things affected in some way if things continue the way they are. But we're all in the same boat. We're just waiting and watching right now.
"The camp is always one of the great things every offseason. I've been to every one as a participant, a counselor and now working on the coaching side. It's a highlight of the offseason, part of our vacation."
Because NFL players can't be involved this year, Pagano has tried to secure more members of his coaching brethren to assist with the camp. That group is expected to include Broncos head coach John Fox. Pagano said Fox has agreed to come to the camp, which is for children ages 8 to 14.
"We'll be ready for the kids," Pagano said. "We'll have a full staff of people ready to go and we're all going to be ready to coach, I'm sure. It will be nice to get on the field, be with the kids and our family, that's for sure." This article was written by Jeff Legwold and appeared in The Denver Post.
"They're just going to be a little younger is all, maybe a little smaller," Pagano said. "But football is football, and I'm excited we'll have another year working with these kids, getting back on the field."
Pagano, the San Diego Chargers' linebackers coach and a Fairview High School graduate; his brother Chuck, the Baltimore Ravens' defensive coordinator and a Fairview alumnus; and their father Sam have guided the Mile High Football camp for 36 years.
The Pagano brothers have seen their offseason turned upside down by the NFL lockout, and their June 19-22 camp at Colorado Christian University in Lakewood is on the growing list of things touched by the league's labor strife.
NFL players including Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Jay Cutler have worked at the camp. But with the league's no-contact edict between players and coaches in effect because of the lockout, NFL players won't be at this year's camp unless the labor battle ends soon.
"That's just one of the things the situation has affected," John Pagano said. "That's the unfortunate thing as everybody waits to see what's going to happen. But there are a lot of stories like that, I'm sure. There are probably a lot of people around the game that could have things affected in some way if things continue the way they are. But we're all in the same boat. We're just waiting and watching right now.
"The camp is always one of the great things every offseason. I've been to every one as a participant, a counselor and now working on the coaching side. It's a highlight of the offseason, part of our vacation."
Because NFL players can't be involved this year, Pagano has tried to secure more members of his coaching brethren to assist with the camp. That group is expected to include Broncos head coach John Fox. Pagano said Fox has agreed to come to the camp, which is for children ages 8 to 14.
"We'll be ready for the kids," Pagano said. "We'll have a full staff of people ready to go and we're all going to be ready to coach, I'm sure. It will be nice to get on the field, be with the kids and our family, that's for sure." This article was written by Jeff Legwold and appeared in The Denver Post.
Is it over yet? - Ingles
Seriously, you could fall asleep watching football practice, even if line coach Sweaty McBluster happened to be manically bull-horning something about "pad level" from 3 yards away.
He's just talking leverage, basically the same principle that applies to the NFL's tedious labor spat that's gone on just long enough to turn righteous indignation into the worst thing that could happen to an entertainment industry. And that would be apathy.
But wake up, because something's about to happen.
On Friday in St. Louis, lawyers and judges again get to scratch plays in the dirt. Outside of a Carolina-Cincinnati exhibition game, it's hard to imagine any football-related activity more mind-numbingly exhausting. But that's what it has come down to once more, finding the right pad angle for leverage in the courtroom.
It's fairly simple from here on. If the players win a decision that might take up to a month to reach, it's likely back to business. That way, the Packers could get their Super Bowl rings on June 16 without subjecting anyone to the awkward-moment equivalent of Scott Walker getting stuck in an elevator car with a couple of state workers.
If the owners win and the players don't cave, it becomes a countdown to how many games get lost to this nonsense.
We're less than 100 days from the Packers' scheduled season opener against the New Orleans Saints, which means it's getting close to the time when something's got to give if they're going to play all 16.
Your guess on the point of no return is as good as any. Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times recently identified Aug. 15 as the date teams would have to begin training camp to miss no games. That seems reasonable if the Packers are to keep most hamstrings intact on Sept. 8.
Anything after mid-August, and chances become better than good the season would have to be abbreviated or scrubbed altogether. When the players instigated work stoppage in 1982, they played nine games. With the next strike five years later, they played 12 real games and three with replacements. As most would agree, there would be no point in playing eight or fewer.
That's why this thing is probably over after the next ruling. All the macho huffing and puffing at the negotiating table was able to cross the line of civility back when winter was supposedly turning into spring. But the sudden reality of the calendar flipping to June is going to motivate a lot of football players to put down their video-game controllers and 9-irons.
As much as the players deserve to win this squabble the owners started, I can't see the players doing anything but eventually giving in if the lockout is upheld. Unfortunately, not enough of them are financially prepared to miss more than a paycheck or two. Not enough of them are willing to give up an entire season of a career that lasts, on average, less than four.
If the judges again rule in favor of the owners, Jerry Jones' pad level would become so low that even a 68-year-old little guy would be able to figuratively knock a monster like Ndamukong Suh off his game. That is the physics, as well as the economics, of leverage.
The owners got a little more of it recently when it was disclosed that season-ticket sales are up despite the lockout. In the event of another favorable ruling, they would have more than enough to wait around until the players surrendered.
After a face-saving period of a month or so, the players would be back. At least then, we could all be bored to distraction by chatter of a different kind of leverage. This article was written by Michael Hunt and appeared in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
He's just talking leverage, basically the same principle that applies to the NFL's tedious labor spat that's gone on just long enough to turn righteous indignation into the worst thing that could happen to an entertainment industry. And that would be apathy.
But wake up, because something's about to happen.
On Friday in St. Louis, lawyers and judges again get to scratch plays in the dirt. Outside of a Carolina-Cincinnati exhibition game, it's hard to imagine any football-related activity more mind-numbingly exhausting. But that's what it has come down to once more, finding the right pad angle for leverage in the courtroom.
It's fairly simple from here on. If the players win a decision that might take up to a month to reach, it's likely back to business. That way, the Packers could get their Super Bowl rings on June 16 without subjecting anyone to the awkward-moment equivalent of Scott Walker getting stuck in an elevator car with a couple of state workers.
If the owners win and the players don't cave, it becomes a countdown to how many games get lost to this nonsense.
We're less than 100 days from the Packers' scheduled season opener against the New Orleans Saints, which means it's getting close to the time when something's got to give if they're going to play all 16.
Your guess on the point of no return is as good as any. Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times recently identified Aug. 15 as the date teams would have to begin training camp to miss no games. That seems reasonable if the Packers are to keep most hamstrings intact on Sept. 8.
Anything after mid-August, and chances become better than good the season would have to be abbreviated or scrubbed altogether. When the players instigated work stoppage in 1982, they played nine games. With the next strike five years later, they played 12 real games and three with replacements. As most would agree, there would be no point in playing eight or fewer.
That's why this thing is probably over after the next ruling. All the macho huffing and puffing at the negotiating table was able to cross the line of civility back when winter was supposedly turning into spring. But the sudden reality of the calendar flipping to June is going to motivate a lot of football players to put down their video-game controllers and 9-irons.
As much as the players deserve to win this squabble the owners started, I can't see the players doing anything but eventually giving in if the lockout is upheld. Unfortunately, not enough of them are financially prepared to miss more than a paycheck or two. Not enough of them are willing to give up an entire season of a career that lasts, on average, less than four.
If the judges again rule in favor of the owners, Jerry Jones' pad level would become so low that even a 68-year-old little guy would be able to figuratively knock a monster like Ndamukong Suh off his game. That is the physics, as well as the economics, of leverage.
The owners got a little more of it recently when it was disclosed that season-ticket sales are up despite the lockout. In the event of another favorable ruling, they would have more than enough to wait around until the players surrendered.
After a face-saving period of a month or so, the players would be back. At least then, we could all be bored to distraction by chatter of a different kind of leverage. This article was written by Michael Hunt and appeared in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Shortened season will mean more blackouts in Tampa - Ingles
The ongoing labor impasse could reinforce Tampa Bay’s reputation as the blackout capital of the National Football League.
Ten weeks ago in New Orleans, Bucs co-chairman Joel Glazer said club officials were encouraged by strong season-ticket sales for 2011. But the uncertainty about when, or even if, the new season will begin has hurt marketing efforts for all 32 teams.
Last year, the Bucs were the only NFL club with every home game blocked out in the local market. With sales stalled, Tampa Bay fans without a ticket may once again have to travel out of the blackout region to view games at Raymond James Stadium.
Even the one home game that appeared certain to be televised in the Bay area, an Oct. 23 matchup against the Bears at London’s Wembley Stadium, could be blacked out because the game will be played in Tampa if the lockout is still in place Aug. 1.
Until last season, the Bucs had not suffered a home blackout since Raymond James Stadium opened in 1998. Any momentum the club had generated from last year’s surprising 10-6 finish has been undermined by a prolonged labor impasse with no resolution in sight.
The Bucs typically stage their annual FanFest in June, drawing thousands of supporters to RayJay, but those plans currently are on hold.
Just like the 2011 NFL season.
This article was written by Ira Kaufman and appeared in the The Tampa Tribune.
Ten weeks ago in New Orleans, Bucs co-chairman Joel Glazer said club officials were encouraged by strong season-ticket sales for 2011. But the uncertainty about when, or even if, the new season will begin has hurt marketing efforts for all 32 teams.
Last year, the Bucs were the only NFL club with every home game blocked out in the local market. With sales stalled, Tampa Bay fans without a ticket may once again have to travel out of the blackout region to view games at Raymond James Stadium.
Even the one home game that appeared certain to be televised in the Bay area, an Oct. 23 matchup against the Bears at London’s Wembley Stadium, could be blacked out because the game will be played in Tampa if the lockout is still in place Aug. 1.
Until last season, the Bucs had not suffered a home blackout since Raymond James Stadium opened in 1998. Any momentum the club had generated from last year’s surprising 10-6 finish has been undermined by a prolonged labor impasse with no resolution in sight.
The Bucs typically stage their annual FanFest in June, drawing thousands of supporters to RayJay, but those plans currently are on hold.
Just like the 2011 NFL season.
This article was written by Ira Kaufman and appeared in the The Tampa Tribune.
Chargers assistant still gets to do what he loves - Ingles
John Pagano participates in coaching camps every summer, always enjoying them but sometimes having to find an extra gear to do so at the start of his only time off all year.
This year, though, his John Pagano Skills Camp, June 11 and 12 at Westview Park, provides an opportunity to do something the long-time Chargers linebackers coach has not been able to do – actually coach.
“We miss it constantly,” said Pagano, who like other NFL coaches has been working but due to the NFL lockout not coaching the players he normally would be in offseason workouts and minicamps. “Being able to coach the Sycuan fantasy camp I was trying to kill those guys the other day. (Coaching) is what we do. That’s what we’re about. ”
Pagano’s father, Sam, was a longtime high school coach in Colorado and runs the Mile High Football Camp, where his sons help him every June. Before he goes there again for the 36th year – first as a camper, then a counselor and then a coach – Pagano will run his camp to benefit Mira Mesa Youth Football.
“I love doing it,” Pagano said. “I love doing camps for kids, my son’s friends, (teaching) them what I know about the game …
Cost for the camp, which runs 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and is open to all AYF players is $100. That includes lunch and a t-shirt. Click here to download the registration form.
Unlike past year, Chargers players cannot participate due to the lockout, which forbids coaches from interacting with players. Among the Chargers coaches scheduled to participate are Carlos Polk, Greg Williams and Chris Dishman.
“We’re going to have the guys who coach the pros,” Pagano said. “It’s going to be a good time.” This article was written by Kevin Acee and appeared in The San Diego Union-Tribune.
This year, though, his John Pagano Skills Camp, June 11 and 12 at Westview Park, provides an opportunity to do something the long-time Chargers linebackers coach has not been able to do – actually coach.
“We miss it constantly,” said Pagano, who like other NFL coaches has been working but due to the NFL lockout not coaching the players he normally would be in offseason workouts and minicamps. “Being able to coach the Sycuan fantasy camp I was trying to kill those guys the other day. (Coaching) is what we do. That’s what we’re about. ”
Pagano’s father, Sam, was a longtime high school coach in Colorado and runs the Mile High Football Camp, where his sons help him every June. Before he goes there again for the 36th year – first as a camper, then a counselor and then a coach – Pagano will run his camp to benefit Mira Mesa Youth Football.
“I love doing it,” Pagano said. “I love doing camps for kids, my son’s friends, (teaching) them what I know about the game …
Cost for the camp, which runs 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and is open to all AYF players is $100. That includes lunch and a t-shirt. Click here to download the registration form.
Unlike past year, Chargers players cannot participate due to the lockout, which forbids coaches from interacting with players. Among the Chargers coaches scheduled to participate are Carlos Polk, Greg Williams and Chris Dishman.
“We’re going to have the guys who coach the pros,” Pagano said. “It’s going to be a good time.” This article was written by Kevin Acee and appeared in The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Former Packers capologist tries to decipher lockout jargon - Ingles
The doctor says the diagnosis is isolated systolic hypertension - and it sails right over the head.
The mechanic explains the recall is due to improper casting of the steering lock bar, which is a component of the interlock system - and it goes in one ear and out the other.
The anchorman says National Football League, $9 billion, lockout, mediation, litigation and appeal - and we're listening because we know somehow it all means no football. But we need to hear this in plain English.
And so, we need Andrew Brandt.
Former Green Bay Packers vice president, salary cap manager and negotiator, player agent, World League general manager - Brandt draws upon nearly three decades of experience in all of those fields to help him in his latest career venture:
Decoding the legal strategies and rulings of the NFL lockout. Brandt boils down the legal jargon into digestible terms.
"I know people are frustrated, angry and bored with the labor dispute, but I tell them to take a deep breath and realize this is all part of the process," said Brandt. "It is a negotiation, no more and no less. The courtroom wins and losses are merely ways of tilting leverage to one side or the other in the eventual negotiation of a new CBA."
Officially out of the NFL for three years now, the 50-year-old Brandt no longer has the edict of solving the league's problems, just explaining them. He does that in three ways:
With columns for National Football Post, a website he cofounded in 2008. Staffed with former front-office personnel men, agents and players, the site offers firsthand insight to the NFL game and the business behind it.
With instruction, teaching sports law and negotiations at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He's also done seminars in Chicago and Indianapolis.
With analysis on ESPN.
Brandt identifies June 3, when a ruling is expected on the NFL's latest appeal, as the next major event for the lockout.
"If the NFL loses the appeal, then they're paying players, business is open, they're under temporary rules and they need to forge a new deal," said Brandt. "If the players lose the appeal, they're locked out indefinitely and missing paychecks and they'll need to make a deal.
"At the end of the day, when it comes to negotiations, I always believed: Never let your adversary become your enemy. Unfortunately, I think that's happened a couple of times in this negotiation. There's been a bit of lack of trust. Or a lack of honest and open communication. Hopefully it's all just part of a process."
When it comes to haggling out deals, Brandt feels right at home.
After Georgetown University Law School, Brandt worked for ProServ in Washington, assisting agent David Falk with NBA and NFL players, including Michael Jordan, Boomer Esiason and Patrick Ewing. He was there when Nike began the Air Jordan phenomenon.
"It was a great experience. We had some remarkable negotiations, which I learned a lot," said Brandt.
After six years, Brandt left to try something different. In 1992, at age 31, he became the general manager of the World League's Barcelona Dragons. Brandt wasn't just running a team. He was introducing a new sport to an unfamiliar fan base.
"They cheered at the wrong times, they did the wave the entire game," said Brandt.
There were only 100 tickets sold for opening night in Montjuic Stadium, site of the 1992 Olympics, which holds 55,000. So Brandt asked a well-known soccer GM in Barcelona whether he could put his football team on their field at halftime to pique interest.
The GM just wanted to make sure the fans could still smoke cigarettes.
They could and it worked; 18,000 showed up for the Dragons' opener.
"Our first touchdown, our tight end broke three tackles on a seam pass. There was polite applause," said Brandt. "The kicker kicks the extra point - and they go nuts."
After a year and a half, the World League disbanded and Brandt went back to being a player agent, this time for Woolf Associates in Boston.
He picked up an unknown kicker, Adam Vinatieri, became friends with client Matt Hasselbeck and worked with Ricky Williams as his agent for baseball while he pursued him as a client for pro football.
Titletown comes calling
Then in 1999, the Packers called out of the blue. Ron Wolf, Green Bay's general manager at the time, had just lost coach Mike Holmgren and executive Mike Reinfeldt to Seattle.
"Ron wondered if I would switch sides," said Brandt. "I made a life decision between chasing Ricky Williams and moving to Green Bay. We decided the lifestyle of an agent - now we had young children - was not conducive to our family."
For the next nine years, Brandt negotiated all player contracts and managed the Packers' salary cap as vice president of player finance and general counsel.
"It was a little different going from Matt Hasselbeck's agent to being a manager on the other side of the table in Green Bay," said Brandt. "And then, of course, I was the one who told him he was traded."
Under Brandt, the Packers managed to keep their salary cap position healthy and strong. He was a valued cap expert and negotiator who never mortgaged the future of the Packers.
Two focuses
"It was always important to me to play for the present and the future," said Brandt. "I did not want our team to be struggling out of salary cap jail like we saw from other franchises."
That meant he had to resist constantly restructuring quarterback Brett Favre's contract, he said, to give the Packers short-term relief with long-term ramifications.
"I had seen the consequences of what happened to teams when their franchise quarterback either retired, was released or was traded," said Brandt. "I was adamant about not putting ourselves in that position and always structured our bigger contracts with that in mind."
When Packers president and CEO Bob Harlan retired at the end of the 2007 season, Brandt was a candidate to replace him. When the Packers went with Mark Murphy instead, Brandt and the Packers parted ways in February 2008.
"It was a good time for a change, for both the Packers and myself," said Brandt. "I had been there nine years; we had just hosted the NFC championship; most players were under contract for a while. I was caught in a web between the football and administrative sides of the organization. Feeling as though I was a senior executive and should apply, I put myself out there - warts and all - for the CEO position, and they decided to go another way.
"In the midst of the search process I was told I would no longer be reporting to Bob Harlan but to Ted Thompson. Ted and I once shared an office, got along well and had the same philosophy on team-building, but I think the CEO selection process made things difficult to continue in the role I had.
"I'm happy for all their success and stay in touch with many people in the organization and the community. The Packers are a true national treasure."
Brandt worked as a consultant for the Philadelphia Eagles 2009, helping with free agent and rookie contracts. He has since consulted other players and agents on contracts. But he was being pulled in a different direction.
Career change
While Brandt was an undergraduate at Stanford, a professor had told him he had the writing gift, but Brandt hadn't pursued it. Brandt launched into the high-risk, low-reward world of online sports journalism.
The National Football Post draws an average of 2.5million to 3 million page views a month.
Living in suburban Philadelphia brought his wife, Lisa, back home, but she still keeps tabs on the school she helped found, the Wisconsin International School in De Pere.
Best of all, there's time for his boys: Sam, 14, and Max, who turns 9 on June 3.
It's not clear whether working for National Football Post - and peeling back the curtain on the NFL business - would be a help or hindrance toward getting back in to the NFL.
But when asked whether he wants to get back into the NFL to run a team, Brandt sounded content for now.
"You never say never, but I'm certainly happy doing what I am doing now," said Brandt. "Even though I am somewhat busier than I was when I was with the Packers, I still have time for my boys. And I see teaching as a way of giving back. I certainly know it's not curing cancer, but it's a way of sharing a lot of practical experiences with students."
As for looking forward during this football drought, Brandt offered one more pitch for deal-making, as this has been his very nature all along.
"If the Eighth Circuit upholds the lockout on appeal - which I expect them to do - the NFLPA has to look in the distance and see a future of an indefinite lockout," Brandt said. "I would hope their strategy would turn to deal-making instead of litigating.
"And I would further hope that the NFL would not use that leverage in an unreasonable way.
"There is a deal to be made here; one that will not look much different than what was being discussed on March 11 when negotiation turned to litigation." This article was written by Lori Nickel and appeared in The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
The mechanic explains the recall is due to improper casting of the steering lock bar, which is a component of the interlock system - and it goes in one ear and out the other.
The anchorman says National Football League, $9 billion, lockout, mediation, litigation and appeal - and we're listening because we know somehow it all means no football. But we need to hear this in plain English.
And so, we need Andrew Brandt.
Former Green Bay Packers vice president, salary cap manager and negotiator, player agent, World League general manager - Brandt draws upon nearly three decades of experience in all of those fields to help him in his latest career venture:
Decoding the legal strategies and rulings of the NFL lockout. Brandt boils down the legal jargon into digestible terms.
"I know people are frustrated, angry and bored with the labor dispute, but I tell them to take a deep breath and realize this is all part of the process," said Brandt. "It is a negotiation, no more and no less. The courtroom wins and losses are merely ways of tilting leverage to one side or the other in the eventual negotiation of a new CBA."
Officially out of the NFL for three years now, the 50-year-old Brandt no longer has the edict of solving the league's problems, just explaining them. He does that in three ways:
With columns for National Football Post, a website he cofounded in 2008. Staffed with former front-office personnel men, agents and players, the site offers firsthand insight to the NFL game and the business behind it.
With instruction, teaching sports law and negotiations at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He's also done seminars in Chicago and Indianapolis.
With analysis on ESPN.
Brandt identifies June 3, when a ruling is expected on the NFL's latest appeal, as the next major event for the lockout.
"If the NFL loses the appeal, then they're paying players, business is open, they're under temporary rules and they need to forge a new deal," said Brandt. "If the players lose the appeal, they're locked out indefinitely and missing paychecks and they'll need to make a deal.
"At the end of the day, when it comes to negotiations, I always believed: Never let your adversary become your enemy. Unfortunately, I think that's happened a couple of times in this negotiation. There's been a bit of lack of trust. Or a lack of honest and open communication. Hopefully it's all just part of a process."
When it comes to haggling out deals, Brandt feels right at home.
After Georgetown University Law School, Brandt worked for ProServ in Washington, assisting agent David Falk with NBA and NFL players, including Michael Jordan, Boomer Esiason and Patrick Ewing. He was there when Nike began the Air Jordan phenomenon.
"It was a great experience. We had some remarkable negotiations, which I learned a lot," said Brandt.
After six years, Brandt left to try something different. In 1992, at age 31, he became the general manager of the World League's Barcelona Dragons. Brandt wasn't just running a team. He was introducing a new sport to an unfamiliar fan base.
"They cheered at the wrong times, they did the wave the entire game," said Brandt.
There were only 100 tickets sold for opening night in Montjuic Stadium, site of the 1992 Olympics, which holds 55,000. So Brandt asked a well-known soccer GM in Barcelona whether he could put his football team on their field at halftime to pique interest.
The GM just wanted to make sure the fans could still smoke cigarettes.
They could and it worked; 18,000 showed up for the Dragons' opener.
"Our first touchdown, our tight end broke three tackles on a seam pass. There was polite applause," said Brandt. "The kicker kicks the extra point - and they go nuts."
After a year and a half, the World League disbanded and Brandt went back to being a player agent, this time for Woolf Associates in Boston.
He picked up an unknown kicker, Adam Vinatieri, became friends with client Matt Hasselbeck and worked with Ricky Williams as his agent for baseball while he pursued him as a client for pro football.
Titletown comes calling
Then in 1999, the Packers called out of the blue. Ron Wolf, Green Bay's general manager at the time, had just lost coach Mike Holmgren and executive Mike Reinfeldt to Seattle.
"Ron wondered if I would switch sides," said Brandt. "I made a life decision between chasing Ricky Williams and moving to Green Bay. We decided the lifestyle of an agent - now we had young children - was not conducive to our family."
For the next nine years, Brandt negotiated all player contracts and managed the Packers' salary cap as vice president of player finance and general counsel.
"It was a little different going from Matt Hasselbeck's agent to being a manager on the other side of the table in Green Bay," said Brandt. "And then, of course, I was the one who told him he was traded."
Under Brandt, the Packers managed to keep their salary cap position healthy and strong. He was a valued cap expert and negotiator who never mortgaged the future of the Packers.
Two focuses
"It was always important to me to play for the present and the future," said Brandt. "I did not want our team to be struggling out of salary cap jail like we saw from other franchises."
That meant he had to resist constantly restructuring quarterback Brett Favre's contract, he said, to give the Packers short-term relief with long-term ramifications.
"I had seen the consequences of what happened to teams when their franchise quarterback either retired, was released or was traded," said Brandt. "I was adamant about not putting ourselves in that position and always structured our bigger contracts with that in mind."
When Packers president and CEO Bob Harlan retired at the end of the 2007 season, Brandt was a candidate to replace him. When the Packers went with Mark Murphy instead, Brandt and the Packers parted ways in February 2008.
"It was a good time for a change, for both the Packers and myself," said Brandt. "I had been there nine years; we had just hosted the NFC championship; most players were under contract for a while. I was caught in a web between the football and administrative sides of the organization. Feeling as though I was a senior executive and should apply, I put myself out there - warts and all - for the CEO position, and they decided to go another way.
"In the midst of the search process I was told I would no longer be reporting to Bob Harlan but to Ted Thompson. Ted and I once shared an office, got along well and had the same philosophy on team-building, but I think the CEO selection process made things difficult to continue in the role I had.
"I'm happy for all their success and stay in touch with many people in the organization and the community. The Packers are a true national treasure."
Brandt worked as a consultant for the Philadelphia Eagles 2009, helping with free agent and rookie contracts. He has since consulted other players and agents on contracts. But he was being pulled in a different direction.
Career change
While Brandt was an undergraduate at Stanford, a professor had told him he had the writing gift, but Brandt hadn't pursued it. Brandt launched into the high-risk, low-reward world of online sports journalism.
The National Football Post draws an average of 2.5million to 3 million page views a month.
Living in suburban Philadelphia brought his wife, Lisa, back home, but she still keeps tabs on the school she helped found, the Wisconsin International School in De Pere.
Best of all, there's time for his boys: Sam, 14, and Max, who turns 9 on June 3.
It's not clear whether working for National Football Post - and peeling back the curtain on the NFL business - would be a help or hindrance toward getting back in to the NFL.
But when asked whether he wants to get back into the NFL to run a team, Brandt sounded content for now.
"You never say never, but I'm certainly happy doing what I am doing now," said Brandt. "Even though I am somewhat busier than I was when I was with the Packers, I still have time for my boys. And I see teaching as a way of giving back. I certainly know it's not curing cancer, but it's a way of sharing a lot of practical experiences with students."
As for looking forward during this football drought, Brandt offered one more pitch for deal-making, as this has been his very nature all along.
"If the Eighth Circuit upholds the lockout on appeal - which I expect them to do - the NFLPA has to look in the distance and see a future of an indefinite lockout," Brandt said. "I would hope their strategy would turn to deal-making instead of litigating.
"And I would further hope that the NFL would not use that leverage in an unreasonable way.
"There is a deal to be made here; one that will not look much different than what was being discussed on March 11 when negotiation turned to litigation." This article was written by Lori Nickel and appeared in The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
If there's no pro football, can the sun come up? - Ingles
Tuesday is Day 77 of the NFL lockout. If you don't care or you forgot about it because you're having fun Down the Shore or you're busy living life, that apparently makes you a terrible person. It might even mean you're anti-American or a terrorist or a thug looking to rob an unsuspecting rube.
You might think that's madness. I think it's madness, too. There are people, however, who evidently believe it, and some of them have even managed to say it on camera with a straight face or write it down without adding, Nah, just kidding, that's madness.
The NFL has always taken itself seriously. It's big business, and that's what big businesses do. But the lockout has somehow overinflated the sport's already bloated sense of self-worth. During the labor dispute, the NFL has morphed from America 's favorite league to something - according to the hyperbole - that's the most important anything in the history of everything.
I'm waiting for Harold Camping to predict that if the NFL doesn't return, the rapture will go down in September. Pretty sure that's next.
In the interim, plenty of other ostensibly reasonable people have been more than willing to raise the crazy quotient in the absence of offseason football. Who knew that workouts in shorts and helmets were directly linked to rational thought?
Most recently, Ray Lewis - you may remember him from such public productions as Baltimore Ravens football games and "I didn't stab anyone" court appearances - went on ESPN to implore the NFL and the players to come to an agreement because, he said, the lockout affects "way more" than owners and athletes.
"Do this research," Lewis said. "If we don't have a season - watch how much evil, which we call 'crime,' watch how much crime picks up, if you take away our game. . . . There's too many people that live through us - people live through us. Yeah, walk in the streets the way I walk the streets, and I'm not talking about the people you see all the time."
According to FBI reports, crime tends to drop in September. Lewis no doubt believes that's because the evil love to tailgate on Sundays, and if anything can get criminals to come together it has to be fantasy football. Still, the FBI reports point to more crime in the summer because the days are longer, the weather is better, and schools are out. Seems like specious reasoning. They're the country's top cops, but if they knew what they were talking about, wouldn't they be on SportsCenter?
Either way, linking football to crime prevention is fairly benign compared to those who think the NFL has something to do with acts of terrorism and/or patriotism. NBC's ProFootballTalk.com ran this headline not long ago: "Bin Laden's death could raise stakes in the lockout." From the piece:
"The finality that has come from the completion of the protracted mission to capture or kill bin Laden makes it even more important that the NFL properly commemorate the 10th anniversary of one of the darkest days in American history. . . . With bin Laden gone, September 11, 2011, will have an even more powerful impact on our country, and the sense of indignity to the American people resulting from a lockout that wipes out the 9/11 games will escalate."
ProFootballTalk.com's non sequiturs and loops of difficult-to-follow logic were traced by ESPN reporter Sal Paolantonio. He sent this e-mail to ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike in the Morning, and it was read on air:
"Now that bin Laden is dead, the 10th anniversary of 9/11 is going to be a day of somber national reflection," Paolantonio wrote. "The NFL better make sure there is football that day. Empty stadiums on that day now will be an unsettling example of greed and selfishness."
Well, yeah, empty stadiums would be a fairly obvious symbol of greed and selfishness, but what that has to do with remembering and mourning what happened 10 years ago is anyone's guess. Americans everywhere will observe the anniversary with proper respect regardless of whether or not they have 12 pregame beers in the parking lot before heading past the ticket-takers to watch grown men in uniforms tackle one another.
Aside from the bizarre thought process, I'm curious about something else: How did PFT and Sal Pal stop themselves from employing the old "If there's no football, the terrorists win" construct? The self-control there is astounding.
And on and on it goes. (This next part in sotto voce.) With Memorial Day weekend upon us, how are we expected to honor our veterans and their fine service if players aren't allowed to report to team facilities and get in early-morning workouts? And what of the Fourth of July? The absence of meaningless football mini-camps will undoubtedly be seen by someone somewhere as an insult to the Founding Fathers. It might even counterfeit the Declaration of Independence.
Pray for the Republic. These are dark days indeed. (source Philadelphia Inquirer)
You might think that's madness. I think it's madness, too. There are people, however, who evidently believe it, and some of them have even managed to say it on camera with a straight face or write it down without adding, Nah, just kidding, that's madness.
The NFL has always taken itself seriously. It's big business, and that's what big businesses do. But the lockout has somehow overinflated the sport's already bloated sense of self-worth. During the labor dispute, the NFL has morphed from America 's favorite league to something - according to the hyperbole - that's the most important anything in the history of everything.
I'm waiting for Harold Camping to predict that if the NFL doesn't return, the rapture will go down in September. Pretty sure that's next.
In the interim, plenty of other ostensibly reasonable people have been more than willing to raise the crazy quotient in the absence of offseason football. Who knew that workouts in shorts and helmets were directly linked to rational thought?
Most recently, Ray Lewis - you may remember him from such public productions as Baltimore Ravens football games and "I didn't stab anyone" court appearances - went on ESPN to implore the NFL and the players to come to an agreement because, he said, the lockout affects "way more" than owners and athletes.
"Do this research," Lewis said. "If we don't have a season - watch how much evil, which we call 'crime,' watch how much crime picks up, if you take away our game. . . . There's too many people that live through us - people live through us. Yeah, walk in the streets the way I walk the streets, and I'm not talking about the people you see all the time."
According to FBI reports, crime tends to drop in September. Lewis no doubt believes that's because the evil love to tailgate on Sundays, and if anything can get criminals to come together it has to be fantasy football. Still, the FBI reports point to more crime in the summer because the days are longer, the weather is better, and schools are out. Seems like specious reasoning. They're the country's top cops, but if they knew what they were talking about, wouldn't they be on SportsCenter?
Either way, linking football to crime prevention is fairly benign compared to those who think the NFL has something to do with acts of terrorism and/or patriotism. NBC's ProFootballTalk.com ran this headline not long ago: "Bin Laden's death could raise stakes in the lockout." From the piece:
"The finality that has come from the completion of the protracted mission to capture or kill bin Laden makes it even more important that the NFL properly commemorate the 10th anniversary of one of the darkest days in American history. . . . With bin Laden gone, September 11, 2011, will have an even more powerful impact on our country, and the sense of indignity to the American people resulting from a lockout that wipes out the 9/11 games will escalate."
ProFootballTalk.com's non sequiturs and loops of difficult-to-follow logic were traced by ESPN reporter Sal Paolantonio. He sent this e-mail to ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike in the Morning, and it was read on air:
"Now that bin Laden is dead, the 10th anniversary of 9/11 is going to be a day of somber national reflection," Paolantonio wrote. "The NFL better make sure there is football that day. Empty stadiums on that day now will be an unsettling example of greed and selfishness."
Well, yeah, empty stadiums would be a fairly obvious symbol of greed and selfishness, but what that has to do with remembering and mourning what happened 10 years ago is anyone's guess. Americans everywhere will observe the anniversary with proper respect regardless of whether or not they have 12 pregame beers in the parking lot before heading past the ticket-takers to watch grown men in uniforms tackle one another.
Aside from the bizarre thought process, I'm curious about something else: How did PFT and Sal Pal stop themselves from employing the old "If there's no football, the terrorists win" construct? The self-control there is astounding.
And on and on it goes. (This next part in sotto voce.) With Memorial Day weekend upon us, how are we expected to honor our veterans and their fine service if players aren't allowed to report to team facilities and get in early-morning workouts? And what of the Fourth of July? The absence of meaningless football mini-camps will undoubtedly be seen by someone somewhere as an insult to the Founding Fathers. It might even counterfeit the Declaration of Independence.
Pray for the Republic. These are dark days indeed. (source Philadelphia Inquirer)
United they still stand - divided they're sure to fall - Ingles
So far, there's no indication that a great deal of players are under enormous financial pressure and getting so antsy with the lockout that they are ready to storm the doors of the NFL's Park Ave. headquarters or the NFLPA's office on 20th St. in Washington demanding that a deal gets done.
This is not a strike, so there is no picket line for the players to cross. This is not 1987, so there will be no replacement games to entice them back to work. This is a lockout, so it's not up to them to call it off.
And even though the lockout is reaching its three-month anniversary, it's still only late May and other than players missing out on their workout bonuses, the big money doesn't start rolling in until the regular season opens in September.
So the complaining hasn't really started yet.
But it will.
The NFL won a stay by a 2-1 vote in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis of the April 25 court ruling that had granted a preliminary injunction to lift the lockout. Now those same three judges will hear arguments Friday from the owners and players on the NFL's appeal of the preliminary injunction.
Based on the wording in the stay ruling by the judges siding with the league, the NFL is expected to win the appeal. A decision is anticipated within the next month. If the players pull off the upset victory, the lockout is over. But if the league wins, the lockout stays and it gives all the leverage to the owners.
Either way, I think negotiations will resume in early July and I've said all along that I think this nonsense ends Aug. 1, just in time for training camp.
But it's completely logical to believe there will be some kind of player revolt in August if the lockout is still in place, if there's still no sign of an imminent agreement and it becomes apparent that regular-season game checks will be missed.
It's just a question of how many players will speak up and who they are. The pressure will be on NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith to keep the players together. The strength is in their unity.
The owners can afford to think long-term, even though shutting down a $9.3 billion-a-year industry doesn't help those making big mortgage payments on those big new stadiums. The players have short careers and have to think in the present. And any money they lose will not be made up.
One former player who is keeping a very close watch on the labor situation thinks the players have it in them to hold it together. But I asked him what he thinks the player mindset will be on Aug. 1 if there is no deal.
"I think there will be increasing concern. To deny that is to deny the obvious," he said. "I still think De (Smith) and his staff and the player reps have done enough in communicating why the players are in this position that they are in. They may have to do more as the time approaches."
In 1987, superstars such as Joe Montana, Lawrence Taylor, Randy White and Howie Long crossed the picket line. But with current superstars Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees being three of the 10 named plaintiffs in the players' antitrust lawsuit against the owners, the former player I spoke believes that will help keep the players unified.
"If Peyton Manning isn't the Joe Montana of his day, then Tom Brady is. Drew Brees is the same caliber guy," he said. "Some of the biggest stars of the game have taken a very pro-player position."
But will players making $10 million or more a year be able to pacify the players who rely on their checks to make ends meet? Until now, there's been a handful of players calling for a resumption of negotiations, but there is not the player revolt that took place in 1982 and 1987 and crushed the strike.
Can the players force Smith back to the bargaining table? Will that uprising come? "I think the vast majority of the players will stick together," the former player said.
But he says it will be inevitable that some players will start speaking out, just as some owners have become more chatty recently about the need to get a deal done. And with all the social media avenues to get a point across, he is concerned that even if a few speak out that it will appear that the "entire 1,800 will pack up the tent and call it a day," when that won't be the case. "The squeaky wheel gets a lot of oil," he said. (source New York Daily News)
This is not a strike, so there is no picket line for the players to cross. This is not 1987, so there will be no replacement games to entice them back to work. This is a lockout, so it's not up to them to call it off.
And even though the lockout is reaching its three-month anniversary, it's still only late May and other than players missing out on their workout bonuses, the big money doesn't start rolling in until the regular season opens in September.
So the complaining hasn't really started yet.
But it will.
The NFL won a stay by a 2-1 vote in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis of the April 25 court ruling that had granted a preliminary injunction to lift the lockout. Now those same three judges will hear arguments Friday from the owners and players on the NFL's appeal of the preliminary injunction.
Based on the wording in the stay ruling by the judges siding with the league, the NFL is expected to win the appeal. A decision is anticipated within the next month. If the players pull off the upset victory, the lockout is over. But if the league wins, the lockout stays and it gives all the leverage to the owners.
Either way, I think negotiations will resume in early July and I've said all along that I think this nonsense ends Aug. 1, just in time for training camp.
But it's completely logical to believe there will be some kind of player revolt in August if the lockout is still in place, if there's still no sign of an imminent agreement and it becomes apparent that regular-season game checks will be missed.
It's just a question of how many players will speak up and who they are. The pressure will be on NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith to keep the players together. The strength is in their unity.
The owners can afford to think long-term, even though shutting down a $9.3 billion-a-year industry doesn't help those making big mortgage payments on those big new stadiums. The players have short careers and have to think in the present. And any money they lose will not be made up.
One former player who is keeping a very close watch on the labor situation thinks the players have it in them to hold it together. But I asked him what he thinks the player mindset will be on Aug. 1 if there is no deal.
"I think there will be increasing concern. To deny that is to deny the obvious," he said. "I still think De (Smith) and his staff and the player reps have done enough in communicating why the players are in this position that they are in. They may have to do more as the time approaches."
In 1987, superstars such as Joe Montana, Lawrence Taylor, Randy White and Howie Long crossed the picket line. But with current superstars Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees being three of the 10 named plaintiffs in the players' antitrust lawsuit against the owners, the former player I spoke believes that will help keep the players unified.
"If Peyton Manning isn't the Joe Montana of his day, then Tom Brady is. Drew Brees is the same caliber guy," he said. "Some of the biggest stars of the game have taken a very pro-player position."
But will players making $10 million or more a year be able to pacify the players who rely on their checks to make ends meet? Until now, there's been a handful of players calling for a resumption of negotiations, but there is not the player revolt that took place in 1982 and 1987 and crushed the strike.
Can the players force Smith back to the bargaining table? Will that uprising come? "I think the vast majority of the players will stick together," the former player said.
But he says it will be inevitable that some players will start speaking out, just as some owners have become more chatty recently about the need to get a deal done. And with all the social media avenues to get a point across, he is concerned that even if a few speak out that it will appear that the "entire 1,800 will pack up the tent and call it a day," when that won't be the case. "The squeaky wheel gets a lot of oil," he said. (source New York Daily News)
An inside look - Ingles
Sione Pouha was tired of answering the same questions everywhere he went this offseason.
He heard them in stores. At his kids' school. Even at the dinner table.
“Everybody was asking two general things: ‘What's up with the lockout? What are you doing with no football?“’ the big New York Jets defensive tackle said. “I was kind of like a broken record. So, I thought to myself, ‘Dude, what am I doing? I can just show them.“’
So, Pouha (BO-oo-ha) grabbed a video camera, got a film crew together and started rolling on a behind-the-scenes series that fans can subscribe to for free on his own YouTube channel. The 4-minute preview for the Life of a Lock Out series has gotten more than 1,500 views since it was posted a week ago, and the first full-length episode airs Wednesday.
“I would call it a low-budget reality series,” Pouha said with a big laugh. “It's not quite ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians.’ It's the non-football life of a football player and what they do during the lockout.”
The preview shows clips of Pouha working out and getting a visit from teammate Nick Mangold, hanging out in Times Square in Manhattan and waiting to reward a Jets fan with tickets to the home opener — when and if that happens — and singing in the kitchen with one of his daughters.
“I thought it would be awesome to give people, kind of like a reality show, a chance to see what we do other than on the fields,” he said. “A lot of people just see us on Sundays and obviously that's what we get paid to do, but we have adventures and have families and take our kids to school and do homework and that sort of stuff.”
But, would fans really care? The 32-year-old Pouha is one of the more under-the-radar guys on a team filled with headline-making personalities. But he got all the confirmation he needed that night in Times Square when fans flocked to him.
“You see them and it's like they're dehydrating (without football),” he said. “It just looked like they were absorbing it like a dry sponge. That's when you understand, as a player, how much energy the fans give to you. It's like, ‘Wow!“’
Pouha, who had a career-high 59 tackles and two sacks last year while filling in for the injured Kris Jenkins for the second straight season, is not alone in trying to keep fans entertained. Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez has begun posting videos and pictures on his Facebook page of things he's doing this offseason, such as his “Jets West” camp with some offensive teammates in Southern California and his recent appearance on NFL Network. Safety Emanuel Cook is also starting his own YouTube channel, and several Jets players are active on Twitter.
Pouha began thinking about his project in early May, when “the flakes of the idea” came to him. Three weeks ago, he decided to go ahead with it and called a camera crew that shoots commercials for his business venture, Bula Beverage — a kava root-based Pomegranate-flavored soda which hit stores in the West and Southwest a year ago. The crew showed up a week later and the cameras have been shooting ever since.
“Usually around this time, fans are excited and buying rookie jerseys and everyone's starting to set up their fantasy teams and welcoming in their new acquisitions through free agency,” he said. “None of that's going on right now, so I thought I'd give fans something to watch.”
Using Bula's marketing budget to pay for the crew's expenses, all Pouha needed was to run it by his wife, Katie.
“She thought I was crazy, kind of,” Pouha said, laughing. “My wife was kind of like, ‘What are you going to think of next?' It's crazy because this is kind of against my nature. I'm not really the kind of guy who goes and has a Web page. It's kind of like out of character, but at the same time, I don't know what's come over me.”
His family is originally from the South Pacific island kingdom of Tonga, and this will allow relatives and friends there to keep up with the Pouhas.
“You get access at any time,” Pouha said. “It's free and you can find it anywhere around the world.”
There will be shots of him and the rest of the Jets' defensive linemen when they get together soon for position workouts, but not all the footage will be filmed by the crew. Pouha will use his own camera and produce vlogs — video-style blogs — that will be included in each episode. He took his camera back home to Utah for Memorial Day weekend, and will introduce fans to his mother, and even take them on some private moments, such as when he visits his father's grave site. Pouha stopped cutting his hair last season in tribute to his father and has also started growing a beard, but fans will have to tune in to find out why.
He'll give demonstrations on Polynesian cooking, and if the lockout is still going on, he'll take the fans on a video tour of Tonga. He might go down to Miami to hang with friends Koa Misi and Paul Soliai, who play for the Dolphins. There will also be games in which subscribers can win prizes, and Pouha will answer questions from Twitter followers.
“People will be like, ‘Oh, he doesn't just two-gap. He multitasks and these guys really juggle a few things more than football,“’ Pouha said, laughing again.
He already has over a hundred hours of footage and plans to post a new episode every other week. While Pouha hopes the lockout ends soon so he can get back to work, that doesn't mean the video series will then end.
“We'll start it off with Life of a Lock Out, and then when that's done, we can change it up and do something else,” Pouha said. “I feel like we'll have a lot of stuff, even throughout the season. It's fun for me and it'll be fun for the fans.” This article was written by Dennis Waszak Jr. and appeared in The Globe and Mail.
He heard them in stores. At his kids' school. Even at the dinner table.
“Everybody was asking two general things: ‘What's up with the lockout? What are you doing with no football?“’ the big New York Jets defensive tackle said. “I was kind of like a broken record. So, I thought to myself, ‘Dude, what am I doing? I can just show them.“’
So, Pouha (BO-oo-ha) grabbed a video camera, got a film crew together and started rolling on a behind-the-scenes series that fans can subscribe to for free on his own YouTube channel. The 4-minute preview for the Life of a Lock Out series has gotten more than 1,500 views since it was posted a week ago, and the first full-length episode airs Wednesday.
“I would call it a low-budget reality series,” Pouha said with a big laugh. “It's not quite ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians.’ It's the non-football life of a football player and what they do during the lockout.”
The preview shows clips of Pouha working out and getting a visit from teammate Nick Mangold, hanging out in Times Square in Manhattan and waiting to reward a Jets fan with tickets to the home opener — when and if that happens — and singing in the kitchen with one of his daughters.
“I thought it would be awesome to give people, kind of like a reality show, a chance to see what we do other than on the fields,” he said. “A lot of people just see us on Sundays and obviously that's what we get paid to do, but we have adventures and have families and take our kids to school and do homework and that sort of stuff.”
But, would fans really care? The 32-year-old Pouha is one of the more under-the-radar guys on a team filled with headline-making personalities. But he got all the confirmation he needed that night in Times Square when fans flocked to him.
“You see them and it's like they're dehydrating (without football),” he said. “It just looked like they were absorbing it like a dry sponge. That's when you understand, as a player, how much energy the fans give to you. It's like, ‘Wow!“’
Pouha, who had a career-high 59 tackles and two sacks last year while filling in for the injured Kris Jenkins for the second straight season, is not alone in trying to keep fans entertained. Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez has begun posting videos and pictures on his Facebook page of things he's doing this offseason, such as his “Jets West” camp with some offensive teammates in Southern California and his recent appearance on NFL Network. Safety Emanuel Cook is also starting his own YouTube channel, and several Jets players are active on Twitter.
Pouha began thinking about his project in early May, when “the flakes of the idea” came to him. Three weeks ago, he decided to go ahead with it and called a camera crew that shoots commercials for his business venture, Bula Beverage — a kava root-based Pomegranate-flavored soda which hit stores in the West and Southwest a year ago. The crew showed up a week later and the cameras have been shooting ever since.
“Usually around this time, fans are excited and buying rookie jerseys and everyone's starting to set up their fantasy teams and welcoming in their new acquisitions through free agency,” he said. “None of that's going on right now, so I thought I'd give fans something to watch.”
Using Bula's marketing budget to pay for the crew's expenses, all Pouha needed was to run it by his wife, Katie.
“She thought I was crazy, kind of,” Pouha said, laughing. “My wife was kind of like, ‘What are you going to think of next?' It's crazy because this is kind of against my nature. I'm not really the kind of guy who goes and has a Web page. It's kind of like out of character, but at the same time, I don't know what's come over me.”
His family is originally from the South Pacific island kingdom of Tonga, and this will allow relatives and friends there to keep up with the Pouhas.
“You get access at any time,” Pouha said. “It's free and you can find it anywhere around the world.”
There will be shots of him and the rest of the Jets' defensive linemen when they get together soon for position workouts, but not all the footage will be filmed by the crew. Pouha will use his own camera and produce vlogs — video-style blogs — that will be included in each episode. He took his camera back home to Utah for Memorial Day weekend, and will introduce fans to his mother, and even take them on some private moments, such as when he visits his father's grave site. Pouha stopped cutting his hair last season in tribute to his father and has also started growing a beard, but fans will have to tune in to find out why.
He'll give demonstrations on Polynesian cooking, and if the lockout is still going on, he'll take the fans on a video tour of Tonga. He might go down to Miami to hang with friends Koa Misi and Paul Soliai, who play for the Dolphins. There will also be games in which subscribers can win prizes, and Pouha will answer questions from Twitter followers.
“People will be like, ‘Oh, he doesn't just two-gap. He multitasks and these guys really juggle a few things more than football,“’ Pouha said, laughing again.
He already has over a hundred hours of footage and plans to post a new episode every other week. While Pouha hopes the lockout ends soon so he can get back to work, that doesn't mean the video series will then end.
“We'll start it off with Life of a Lock Out, and then when that's done, we can change it up and do something else,” Pouha said. “I feel like we'll have a lot of stuff, even throughout the season. It's fun for me and it'll be fun for the fans.” This article was written by Dennis Waszak Jr. and appeared in The Globe and Mail.
Not all players suffer equally - Ingles
While the NFL players and owners remain at an impasse in negotiations, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees said some players are suffering more than others as a result of the work stoppage.
"If you combine rookie free agents that aren't able to sign with a team right now and the veteran free agents, you're talking over a thousand guys that literally don't have a job right now but have NFL talent," said Brees, who has been one of the players' leading voices during the labor dispute. "Those are the guys that are really struggling right now. There have been a few comments by guys out there, Ray Lewis, Wes Welker, Reggie (Bush), 'Oh yeah I love this (time off).' Well, yeah, you're an established player, and you've been getting a big paycheck here for a long time, so you really have nothing to worry about.
"But think about the thousand-plus others that make up the majority of this league, that don't have a job. There's a lot of uncertainty in their life and their families. It's tough for those guys. I hope people understand that. I mean, we're not asking people to feel sorry for us, but this is just the situation we're in. How do we make the most of it? Well, each team just stick together and take care of one another." This article was written by Mike Triplett and appeared in The New Orleans Times-Picayune.
"If you combine rookie free agents that aren't able to sign with a team right now and the veteran free agents, you're talking over a thousand guys that literally don't have a job right now but have NFL talent," said Brees, who has been one of the players' leading voices during the labor dispute. "Those are the guys that are really struggling right now. There have been a few comments by guys out there, Ray Lewis, Wes Welker, Reggie (Bush), 'Oh yeah I love this (time off).' Well, yeah, you're an established player, and you've been getting a big paycheck here for a long time, so you really have nothing to worry about.
"But think about the thousand-plus others that make up the majority of this league, that don't have a job. There's a lot of uncertainty in their life and their families. It's tough for those guys. I hope people understand that. I mean, we're not asking people to feel sorry for us, but this is just the situation we're in. How do we make the most of it? Well, each team just stick together and take care of one another." This article was written by Mike Triplett and appeared in The New Orleans Times-Picayune.
An opportunity for horse racing - Ingles
Horse racing has two peak periods in the public eye during the year. The first is now for the Triple Crown of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes. The other is for the two-day Breeders' Cup in the fall.
This autumn there is potential for a different media and fan dynamic because of labor unrest in the NFL and NBA. There is a possibility the start of their regular seasons could be delayed -- or worse.
If that happens, horse racing will be competing with other sports to help fill the void. That scenario could play even stronger in Las Vegas, where race and sports books rely heavily upon the NFL. I suspect those dollars typically bet on pro football will still be in play some way, somehow. It would be interesting if horse racing was made attractive enough to capture some of that action.
A standoff between owners and players in both leagues will create ill will among fans. Who can sympathize with either side in a strike between billionaires and millionaires? Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas once told one of his clients, Eugene Klein, then owner the San Diego Chargers, that one of the benefits of owning top racehorses was after a good season the horse won't hold out for more money.
An opportunity like this might not come again, so let's hope there are some creative horse racing minds at work.
¡ PREAKNESS STAKES -- Is Preakness winner Shackleford a better horse than Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness runner-up Animal Kingdom? I doubt it, but he was a better horse at Pimlico on Saturday. Shackleford earned his victory by showing a resolve that was missing in the deep stretch at the Derby. You really test the heart of an athlete when the gas tank is empty but you still find more to give.
The Belmont Stakes is June 11, and it remains to be seen if Animal Kingdom and Shackleford will go on to New York. It is a lock there will be a full field of fresh-faced newcomers laying in wait. Thus the very real probability of three different winners of the Triple Crown races.
This could be another year in which the Haskell at Monmouth Park and the Travers at Saratoga will go a long way toward crowning the 3-year-old division champion. And before calling this generation of 3-year-olds a bunch of slowpokes, let's see how they fare against older handicap horses in the fall. This article was written by Richard Eng and appeared in The Las Vegas Review-Journal.
This autumn there is potential for a different media and fan dynamic because of labor unrest in the NFL and NBA. There is a possibility the start of their regular seasons could be delayed -- or worse.
If that happens, horse racing will be competing with other sports to help fill the void. That scenario could play even stronger in Las Vegas, where race and sports books rely heavily upon the NFL. I suspect those dollars typically bet on pro football will still be in play some way, somehow. It would be interesting if horse racing was made attractive enough to capture some of that action.
A standoff between owners and players in both leagues will create ill will among fans. Who can sympathize with either side in a strike between billionaires and millionaires? Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas once told one of his clients, Eugene Klein, then owner the San Diego Chargers, that one of the benefits of owning top racehorses was after a good season the horse won't hold out for more money.
An opportunity like this might not come again, so let's hope there are some creative horse racing minds at work.
¡ PREAKNESS STAKES -- Is Preakness winner Shackleford a better horse than Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness runner-up Animal Kingdom? I doubt it, but he was a better horse at Pimlico on Saturday. Shackleford earned his victory by showing a resolve that was missing in the deep stretch at the Derby. You really test the heart of an athlete when the gas tank is empty but you still find more to give.
The Belmont Stakes is June 11, and it remains to be seen if Animal Kingdom and Shackleford will go on to New York. It is a lock there will be a full field of fresh-faced newcomers laying in wait. Thus the very real probability of three different winners of the Triple Crown races.
This could be another year in which the Haskell at Monmouth Park and the Travers at Saratoga will go a long way toward crowning the 3-year-old division champion. And before calling this generation of 3-year-olds a bunch of slowpokes, let's see how they fare against older handicap horses in the fall. This article was written by Richard Eng and appeared in The Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Bucs' Freeman leads the charge - Ibgles
Buccaneers tight end Kellen Winslow planned to work out in San Diego this offseason until quarterback Josh Freeman gave him a call.
Freeman was organizing his own practices during the NFL lockout and requested Winslow's presence in Tampa. There would be no pay. There would be no coaches to give instructions. There would be no trainers to tape them up. There would be no cold tub after practice. There would be no facility to watch film.
Winslow's response to Freeman reflected the respect he and other teammates have for their leader.
No problem.
"There is no question he is the leader of this football team," Winslow said.
Freeman began working out in April with running back Cadillac Williams and former Bucs receiver Michael Clayton at the IMG Academy in Bradenton. As the lockout lingered and more team-organized workouts were missed, Freeman took it to another level.
He found a facility in Tampa willing to host his daily workouts, and asked teammates to practice with him. The plan was to lift weights for 90 minutes and then hit the practice field for an hour or two, depending on what Freeman wanted to accomplish that day.
Receiver Micheal Spurlock flew in from Mississippi. Backup quarterback Rudy Carpenter flew in from California. Right tackle Jeremy Trueblood flew in from Indiana. Receiver Arrelious Benn flew in from Washington, D.C.
At times, more than 30 Bucs players have attended Freeman's daily workouts. Even former Bucs tight end Alex Smith, who played with Cleveland last season, usually attends.
"It was definitely necessary," Freeman said. "With a young team, you've got to get together. You've got to get this work in. It's good. It was a great week. We had a couple of guys get in from Cali. We hit the weight room hard and the field hard. It's real good."
Coach Raheem Morris heard about Freeman's practices and was not surprised.
"I'm fired up for Freeman," Morris said. "That's the type of leader we brought here and I had no doubt in my mind he would be doing that type of thing. It's not shocking to me. It's kind of expected from the standpoint of business as usual for that guy."
Freeman was more the type to mind his own business when Tampa Bay made him a first-round draft pick in 2009.
The Bucs already had quarterbacks Byron Leftwich, Luke McCown and Josh Johnson. Leftwich and McCown were battling to be the starter, while Johnson was in his second season. Freeman was the odd man out and forced to follow Tampa Bay's other leaders.
"His first year when he came in, you could tell he was wet behind the ears a little bit," Winslow said. "He was just raw."
After Tampa Bay began the season 0-7, Freeman made his first start in the season's eighth game. He led a surprising 38-28 victory against Green Bay, throwing for 205 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Yet, it was during a loss the next week when he earned Winslow's trust.
Freeman helped erase a 13-point deficit at Miami. He led a go-ahead drive, running for 14 yards on first down and throwing to Winslow four times. Cadillac Williams scored on a 1-yard run to give the Bucs a 23-22 lead with 1:14 to play. The defense collapsed and the Bucs lost, 25-23.
Yet, that loss is when Freeman earned the leadership role on his team.
"We were driving the ball and it was like an 'Any Given Sunday' moment," Winslow said. "He was like, 'This is what I'm talking about. Let's go. It's us or them.' I was like, 'All right, this is the dude right here.' "
Freeman did not fully embrace his leadership role until last offseason. He and Greg Olson, Tampa Bay's offensive coordinator, began watching film daily and the quarterback made it his goal to have an impact in 2010.
"By the time we got to the offseason, I took it upon myself to have no reason not to be a leader," Freeman said. "I wanted to take that role upon myself. You have to step in and do the work. As a leader, you have to clean up your yard before you start talking about other people's yards. I made sure to have all my stuff in order.
"I was hoping to put a good product on the field. Guys followed that. If I'm not playing good football or taking care of business, how can I be a leader? I just feel like it's my job as a quarterback to take care of business."
As Freeman became more comfortable and confident in his abilities, he also learned how to get the most out of each teammate.
"Certain people react to leadership in certain ways," Freeman said. "If somebody busts a route, and I'm just giving you an example, if it's Kellen, he draws motivation from you getting loud and getting in his face and that's good for Kellen.
"You might have a guy like Mike (Williams). He and I are on the same page, so if one of us messes up, there is really nothing that needs to be said. I know that I messed up or Mike knows that he messed up."
Freeman was able to lead effectively in 2010 because he rarely made mistakes. He became the first quarterback younger than 23 to lead his team to a 10-win season since Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger in 2004. Freeman threw for 3,451 yards with 25 touchdowns and six interceptions, and established himself as Tampa Bay's go-to guy because of his late-game heroics.
Seven of Freeman's 13 career victories are fourth-quarter or overtime comebacks, including an NFL-best five last season. With only 25 career starts, he is tied for the most fourth quarter/overtime victories in a player's first two seasons, matching Indianapolis' Peyton Manning (seven in 31 games) and Denver's Jake Plummer (seven in 25 games).
"Leadership for Josh is natural," Bucs fullback Earnest Graham said. "He's a leader because of how poised he is, how talented he is. Respect comes to him. It's not something that he really demands. It just happens by way of him being calm in tough situations.
"To be honest, I've been around for a long time and for us to win as many games as we did last year, we had a team, but we had Josh Freeman on the field, as well. A lot of games are decided in the fourth quarter. There is a lot of parity in the NFL and what you do on those last couple of drives in the NFL will determine it all, and Josh Freeman stepped up. We had other guys, of course, who had to catch balls and run balls, but having Josh Freeman is putting this franchise in good hands for a while."
Freeman plans to call teammates soon and inform them about his next practice. He expects, eventually, to have full participation if the lockout continues. They likely will give their leader the same reply Winslow did.
No problem.
"He's the dude. I'm not leaving him," Winslow said. "If it's my decision, I'm never leaving him. I want to play with him until he retires. I wouldn't want to play with anybody else." This article was written by Anwar S Richardson and appeared in The Tampa Tribune.
Freeman was organizing his own practices during the NFL lockout and requested Winslow's presence in Tampa. There would be no pay. There would be no coaches to give instructions. There would be no trainers to tape them up. There would be no cold tub after practice. There would be no facility to watch film.
Winslow's response to Freeman reflected the respect he and other teammates have for their leader.
No problem.
"There is no question he is the leader of this football team," Winslow said.
Freeman began working out in April with running back Cadillac Williams and former Bucs receiver Michael Clayton at the IMG Academy in Bradenton. As the lockout lingered and more team-organized workouts were missed, Freeman took it to another level.
He found a facility in Tampa willing to host his daily workouts, and asked teammates to practice with him. The plan was to lift weights for 90 minutes and then hit the practice field for an hour or two, depending on what Freeman wanted to accomplish that day.
Receiver Micheal Spurlock flew in from Mississippi. Backup quarterback Rudy Carpenter flew in from California. Right tackle Jeremy Trueblood flew in from Indiana. Receiver Arrelious Benn flew in from Washington, D.C.
At times, more than 30 Bucs players have attended Freeman's daily workouts. Even former Bucs tight end Alex Smith, who played with Cleveland last season, usually attends.
"It was definitely necessary," Freeman said. "With a young team, you've got to get together. You've got to get this work in. It's good. It was a great week. We had a couple of guys get in from Cali. We hit the weight room hard and the field hard. It's real good."
Coach Raheem Morris heard about Freeman's practices and was not surprised.
"I'm fired up for Freeman," Morris said. "That's the type of leader we brought here and I had no doubt in my mind he would be doing that type of thing. It's not shocking to me. It's kind of expected from the standpoint of business as usual for that guy."
Freeman was more the type to mind his own business when Tampa Bay made him a first-round draft pick in 2009.
The Bucs already had quarterbacks Byron Leftwich, Luke McCown and Josh Johnson. Leftwich and McCown were battling to be the starter, while Johnson was in his second season. Freeman was the odd man out and forced to follow Tampa Bay's other leaders.
"His first year when he came in, you could tell he was wet behind the ears a little bit," Winslow said. "He was just raw."
After Tampa Bay began the season 0-7, Freeman made his first start in the season's eighth game. He led a surprising 38-28 victory against Green Bay, throwing for 205 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Yet, it was during a loss the next week when he earned Winslow's trust.
Freeman helped erase a 13-point deficit at Miami. He led a go-ahead drive, running for 14 yards on first down and throwing to Winslow four times. Cadillac Williams scored on a 1-yard run to give the Bucs a 23-22 lead with 1:14 to play. The defense collapsed and the Bucs lost, 25-23.
Yet, that loss is when Freeman earned the leadership role on his team.
"We were driving the ball and it was like an 'Any Given Sunday' moment," Winslow said. "He was like, 'This is what I'm talking about. Let's go. It's us or them.' I was like, 'All right, this is the dude right here.' "
Freeman did not fully embrace his leadership role until last offseason. He and Greg Olson, Tampa Bay's offensive coordinator, began watching film daily and the quarterback made it his goal to have an impact in 2010.
"By the time we got to the offseason, I took it upon myself to have no reason not to be a leader," Freeman said. "I wanted to take that role upon myself. You have to step in and do the work. As a leader, you have to clean up your yard before you start talking about other people's yards. I made sure to have all my stuff in order.
"I was hoping to put a good product on the field. Guys followed that. If I'm not playing good football or taking care of business, how can I be a leader? I just feel like it's my job as a quarterback to take care of business."
As Freeman became more comfortable and confident in his abilities, he also learned how to get the most out of each teammate.
"Certain people react to leadership in certain ways," Freeman said. "If somebody busts a route, and I'm just giving you an example, if it's Kellen, he draws motivation from you getting loud and getting in his face and that's good for Kellen.
"You might have a guy like Mike (Williams). He and I are on the same page, so if one of us messes up, there is really nothing that needs to be said. I know that I messed up or Mike knows that he messed up."
Freeman was able to lead effectively in 2010 because he rarely made mistakes. He became the first quarterback younger than 23 to lead his team to a 10-win season since Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger in 2004. Freeman threw for 3,451 yards with 25 touchdowns and six interceptions, and established himself as Tampa Bay's go-to guy because of his late-game heroics.
Seven of Freeman's 13 career victories are fourth-quarter or overtime comebacks, including an NFL-best five last season. With only 25 career starts, he is tied for the most fourth quarter/overtime victories in a player's first two seasons, matching Indianapolis' Peyton Manning (seven in 31 games) and Denver's Jake Plummer (seven in 25 games).
"Leadership for Josh is natural," Bucs fullback Earnest Graham said. "He's a leader because of how poised he is, how talented he is. Respect comes to him. It's not something that he really demands. It just happens by way of him being calm in tough situations.
"To be honest, I've been around for a long time and for us to win as many games as we did last year, we had a team, but we had Josh Freeman on the field, as well. A lot of games are decided in the fourth quarter. There is a lot of parity in the NFL and what you do on those last couple of drives in the NFL will determine it all, and Josh Freeman stepped up. We had other guys, of course, who had to catch balls and run balls, but having Josh Freeman is putting this franchise in good hands for a while."
Freeman plans to call teammates soon and inform them about his next practice. He expects, eventually, to have full participation if the lockout continues. They likely will give their leader the same reply Winslow did.
No problem.
"He's the dude. I'm not leaving him," Winslow said. "If it's my decision, I'm never leaving him. I want to play with him until he retires. I wouldn't want to play with anybody else." This article was written by Anwar S Richardson and appeared in The Tampa Tribune.
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