Holding the draft in a lockout is a joke (1 Viewer)

[Sebowski]

Seriously. What a sham.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

The lockout has been lifted.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Seriously. What a sham.

Yep, because the owners obviously have no intention of starting the NFL back up again. Ever.

 

[az_prof]

The lockout has been lifted.

Legally, yes, but are the team's abiding by it? I'll believe it when I see them sign a few FAs.And I don't see what the legal grounds for a draft are when there is no effective CBA. What gives one team a right to exclusive negotiating rights with a player? It can't be the old CBA because that was arrived at with a no longer existing NFLPA. So, on what grounds does the league avoid anti-trust violation by holding a draft and limiting the market freedom of rookie players?

 

[Ksquared]

The lockout has been lifted.

Legally, yes, but are the team's abiding by it? I'll believe it when I see them sign a few FAs.And I don't see what the legal grounds for a draft are when there is no effective CBA. What gives one team a right to exclusive negotiating rights with a player? It can't be the old CBA because that was arrived at with a no longer existing NFLPA. So, on what grounds does the league avoid anti-trust violation by holding a draft and limiting the market freedom of rookie players?

Prof - I have been asking this question myself and cannot get an answer. The victories the courts have given the NFLPA/trade association makes this a free for all. I would be very worried if I was a Buffalo, Detroit, Cincinnati, Jacksonville, etc fan. If the player we draft does not like the location/management/style, I would expect some lawyer to be filing on his behalf in the very near future to allow him to negotiate with any team. The draft has been declared illegal - the only thing allowing it is an agreement with an non-existing entity (NFLPA), so I don't know why it is valid.

 

[Sebowski]

The lockout has been lifted.

Seriously. What a sham.

Yep, because the owners obviously have no intention of starting the NFL back up again. Ever.

So hold the draft up until it starts back up again. Coaches aren't even allowed to talk to players right now. That means that a coach can call, say, Cam Newton before they pick him to tell him they are going to pick him. They can even have him come in for a workout and show him the playbook if they want. But then after the pick is in they have to hang up the phone, take the playbook back, and lock him out of the facility. Ridiculous.

 

[Sebowski]

The lockout has been lifted.

Legally, yes, but are the team's abiding by it? I'll believe it when I see them sign a few FAs.And I don't see what the legal grounds for a draft are when there is no effective CBA. What gives one team a right to exclusive negotiating rights with a player? It can't be the old CBA because that was arrived at with a no longer existing NFLPA. So, on what grounds does the league avoid anti-trust violation by holding a draft and limiting the market freedom of rookie players?

Prof - I have been asking this question myself and cannot get an answer. The victories the courts have given the NFLPA/trade association makes this a free for all. I would be very worried if I was a Buffalo, Detroit, Cincinnati, Jacksonville, etc fan. If the player we draft does not like the location/management/style, I would expect some lawyer to be filing on his behalf in the very near future to allow him to negotiate with any team. The draft has been declared illegal - the only thing allowing it is an agreement with an non-existing entity (NFLPA), so I don't know why it is valid.

Maybe they're playing right into the players' hands by doing this draft. After they do it the player's anti-trust suit gets that much stronger. That is as clear as collision gets. Right on National TV.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

The lockout has been lifted.

Seriously. What a sham.

Yep, because the owners obviously have no intention of starting the NFL back up again. Ever.

So hold the draft up until it starts back up again. Coaches aren't even allowed to talk to players right now. That means that a coach can call, say, Cam Newton before they pick him to tell him they are going to pick him. They can even have him come in for a workout and show him the playbook if they want. But then after the pick is in they have to hang up the phone, take the playbook back, and lock him out of the facility. Ridiculous.

Nope.

NFL teams plan to open facilities Friday morning

Posted by Michael David Smith on April 28, 2011, 12:47 PM EDT

Getty Images

NFL teams are turning players away from team facilities this morning. But they won’t do that tomorrow, barring an appeals court giving the league an immediate stay of Judge Susan Nelson’s order ending the lockout.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said on today’s PFT Live that, unless something happens with the appeals court this afternoon, players should be allowed into team facilities tomorrow.

“We — just moments ago — notified our clubs that we think it’s appropriate under the circumstances to take additional steps in response to the injunction,” Aiello said. “So the facilities will open tomorrow at 8 a.m. Eastern time. In the meantime, clubs are free immediately to start contacting players and let them know when the facilities will be open for use.”

Aiello said players can also go to team headquarters for medical exams, meetings with coaches, distribution of playbooks and film study, among other things. And that all 32 clubs can start setting up schedules for organized team activities.

Shortly after Aiello’s appearance, the NFL issued a statement saying that voluntary workouts can begin as well. Players will be paid $130 a day for showing up and, more importantly, these workouts will count toward any offseason workout bonus in the player’s contract. So for players like D’Brickashaw Ferguson, this news could be worth $750,000.

That doesn’t mean, however, that the league year has begun: Transactions like trades and free agent signings can’t start just yet.

“Judge Nelson said it was up to us to determine how to proceed, and we think in light of the fact that the first round of the draft is tonight, clubs are fully focused on that,” Aiello said. “The best way to proceed is for the veterans to start working out at facilities tomorrow, and then we’ll set up the process of starting the league year, which would include player trades and player signings. . . . No player transactions until we start the league year.”

So there will be no trades of players under contract today, although it’s at least theoretically possible that the league year could start tomorrow and players under contract could be traded tomorrow and the next day, during Rounds 2-7 of the draft.

Of course, all of this is moot if the appeals court ruling goes the way the NFL is hoping.

“If they issue that stay, these arrangements would change, obviously,” Aiello said.

So stay tuned.