**OFFICIAL** Labor Strife Thread (1 Viewer)

[Toads]

Seems like we're just ho-humming along, figuring that the sport we spend a fair amount of our selective time on will always be the same, that it will just keep ho-huming along with us.

"There's somethin' happening here.....what it is ain't exactly clear.

STOP Children...what's that sound?

Everybody look what's going down."

....For What It's Worth, Buffalo Springfield, 1967

We've got a New Players Union Representative elected....an Attorney named DeMaurice Smith. Week one, and first things first .....Smith starts firing in Congress about the NFL exemptions to the National Labor Act.

This is a news release from ProFootball Weekly on 03/16/09:

New NFLPA boss: We must 'prepare for war'

Smith wants to start talks with Goodell on collective bargaining agreement

updated 3:32 p.m. MT, Mon., March. 16, 2009

DeMaurice Smith wasted no time as the new NFL Players Association executive director, spending his first day on the job getting a start on labor talks with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and uniting the union ranks following a divisive seven-month search.

On Monday, less than 24 hours after he was elected, Smith had a brief phone conversation with Goodell and started putting together a transition team to assume the reins of North America’s most powerful sports union as it approaches a critical juncture.

Smith, speaking on a telephone conference call with reporters, said it was his intention to use his initial conversation with Goodell as “our first conversation of the collective bargaining agreement.”

There are bits and pieces we get as we travel through the news that effects our sport, just little things like the contract language written into labor agreements constructed in recent years that spell out the rights of each party in the event of Labor unrest; who pays what if there's not games played....stufff like that.

So, let's hear it and accumulate it in one place because this promisses to be a BIG topic as we progress towards a new Labor Agreement....or as we don't progress towards a new Labor Agreement....as the case may be.

 

[Sinrman]

Yeah, this is looming and it's been effectively ignored. No one wants a stoppage, but they better start hammering something out soon, as it will take quite some time to get all the details done. I applaud the new Players Union Rep, but talking about "We must prepare for war" does not ease tensions any. You have time. Work it out...

 

[Toads]

Yeah, this is looming and it's been effectively ignored. No one wants a stoppage, but they better start hammering something out soon, as it will take quite some time to get all the details done. I applaud the new Players Union Rep, but talking about "We must prepare for war" does not ease tensions any. You have time. Work it out...

As this unfolds, it will be interesting to monitor The CHANGES....as they roll on by. Here's a good article from PFW, dated today's publish, entitled "Sweeping Changes" that discusses moving the post/pre-season schedule around to have the Rookie Draft commencing in late February:



Pro Football Weekly -

March 22, 2009

NFL Features

Sweeping Changes

Owners might consider moving NFL draft to late February

By Mike Holbrook

March 22, 2009

Indications are strong that the annual NFL owners meeting to be held March 22-25 in Dana Point, Calif., could be one of the most compelling gatherings in many years.

And the country’s economic woes appear to be a big reason why.

Not only will the owners be hearing from the NFL’s Competition Committee on a number of rules changes to impact games during the season, but whispers are growing louder that the league may be ready to consider making dramatic changes to the offseason schedule, including changing the dates for the postseason all-star games, the Scouting Combine, the draft and veteran free agency.

Multiple inside sources throughout the league have told PFW that the economic climate, coupled with the uncertainty of the next Collective Bargaining Agreement with the players in addition to the potential for an uncapped year in 2010 and a potential lockout in ’11, have made cost-cutting measures a top priority.

The decision by commissioner Roger Goodell to take a 20 percent pay cut in annual salary and to eliminate 169 league jobs back in February might have been the prelude to bigger and bolder budgetary decisions, though nothing has been decided yet.

For instance, the draft has been held in late April or early May since 1977. However, there are a number of movers and shakers in the league who believe that veteran free agency should follow the draft, and with the CBA still to be agreed upon for the next contract, this issue could be a bargaining chip for owners.

Those same league insiders would like to see the draft moved to late February, with free agency to commence following rookie minicamps, most likely in mid-to-late March.

"They need to get the draft put ahead of free agency," one veteran talent evaluator told PFW.

If the draft were to be held two months earlier, it obviously would compress the time allowed to evaluate talent. All-star games for college seniors would be affected, as would the Scouting Combine.

The Senior Bowl, the most popular all-star game for player evaluation in the league and a traditional gathering spot for NFL coaches, GMs and scouts in the week before the Super Bowl, has been held in Mobile, Ala., for years. However, Senior Bowl organizers are looking for an NFL venue to move their event to and have given Tampa, Fla., exclusive negotiating rights to become the long-term home of the game.

The East-West Shrine Game, an all-star bowl game for college seniors that began in 1925 and spent 80 years in the San Francisco area before moving to Texas in 2006, is also seriously considering moving to Tampa.

By having both big senior showcases in the same city, the games could work in unison to attract the best talent and give prospects an opportunity to practice for two weeks in front of NFL decision makers, plus play games on back-to-back weekends.

The Combine would be held in early February following the Super Bowl. With little time for players to work out on their own and hold pro days at their school, the Combine would become even more important for prospects to show NFL scouts what they can do. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the number of invitees to the Combine was increased to accommodate more prospects.

The biggest upside for the league and its 32 teams in combining the Senior Bowl and East-West Shrine Game in the same city along with an expanded Combine is tremendous travel savings. Expenses have grown exponentially over the years, with teams sending scouts across the country from all-star game to all-star game and from pro day to pro day. By making travel more efficient for scouts and personnel men, the league believes each team could save millions of dollars.

One other key factor in holding the draft earlier is that it is likely to limit the amount of input from the head coach and his assistants. It will force teams to rely more on their scouting staffs and personnel departments. The earlier draft will reward well-organized and talented scouting departments and expose less-talented, less-informed scouts.

With the league streamlining the draft in recent years and moving in the direction of making the first two rounds a prime-time event, the timing of a late-February draft would be excellent in terms of taking place during one of TV’s key sweeps months. It also would be at a relatively dead time in the sports calendar — before college basketball’s March Madness or baseball’s spring training and well before the NBA or NHL playoffs begin.

The earlier draft would allow teams to select for need with younger players first, then see what they’ve got in minicamps before deciding whom to pursue in free agency. The system currently encourages teams to fill roster needs with veteran free agents before the draft.

Pro days won’t go away. In fact, less-heralded draft-eligible players who aren’t drafted could still hold pro days to showcase their skills when working out with juniors who are being evaluated in anticipation of the following year’s draft. As a result, teams would be encouraged to start collecting information for the next draft as soon as possible and have their scouting departments be prepared to hit the ground running in the fall.

Finally, pushing up the draft would naturally create a lengthy break from league business — allowing for ample downtime in May and June — something that many league insiders believe is desperately needed to prevent burnout and the feeling of being on a treadmill that they can’t get off.

"Some way, somehow, the NFL needs to find a way to give the league more of a break," a top executive told PFW. "It's like a treadmill that keeps getting faster and faster. They need to have a bigger window between the draft and free agency, regardless of which one comes first."

 

[CletiusMaximus]

Smith was considered the least likely of the four candidates due to his relatively unknown status and the fact that he was the only one without any NFL experience or football background. Smith's presentation to the NFLPA reportedly blew away the other three candidates, which is not surprising considering his background as a high-stakes trial lawyer for a large, politically savvy Washington law firm (Patten Boggs) (http://www.pattonboggs.com/dfsmith/). One of the NFL agent writers on NFPost.com (Jack Bechta) reported:

According to several team reps, the reason DeeSmith emerged as the winner was that he clearly was the most cerebral and dynamic candidate of the bunch. He wowed the reps with his knowledge of labor law, high-stakes litigation tactics and his connections on Capitol Hill. He delivered his message with swagger and confidence. As one player rep put it, he was an Ivy League professor giving a lecture, while the other candidates came across like students presenting a paper or a thesis.

So we know he's polished and is well-prepared to do battle. That said, I think most of the reports are being a bit sensationalistic in focusing on his "prepare for war" comment. My understanding is that he first spoke at length about the importance of maintaining labor peace, and then added the comment, "There isn't a day where I don't hope for peace. But at the same time, there isn't a day where I don't prepare for war.” (which is pretty standard stuff for a labor boss).

 

[Toads]

Smith was considered the least likely of the four candidates due to his relatively unknown status and the fact that he was the only one without any NFL experience or football background. Smith's presentation to the NFLPA reportedly blew away the other three candidates, which is not surprising considering his background as a high-stakes trial lawyer for a large, politically savvy Washington law firm (Patten Boggs) (http://www.pattonboggs.com/dfsmith/). One of the NFL agent writers on NFPost.com (Jack Bechta) reported:

According to several team reps, the reason DeeSmith emerged as the winner was that he clearly was the most cerebral and dynamic candidate of the bunch. He wowed the reps with his knowledge of labor law, high-stakes litigation tactics and his connections on Capitol Hill. He delivered his message with swagger and confidence. As one player rep put it, he was an Ivy League professor giving a lecture, while the other candidates came across like students presenting a paper or a thesis.

So we know he's polished and is well-prepared to do battle. That said, I think most of the reports are being a bit sensationalistic in focusing on his "prepare for war" comment. My understanding is that he first spoke at length about the importance of maintaining labor peace, and then added the comment, "There isn't a day where I don't hope for peace. But at the same time, there isn't a day where I don't prepare for war.” (which is pretty standard stuff for a labor boss).

You got to figure that in this forum (the presentation preceeding his election), and at that this level of the play....you've got to figure that the best equiped labor lawer in the land (Smith) is going to "Smell The Money".....Big Time.That's why the attack will come on the Labor Law side of the issue, as in requesting Congressional review of Labor Law pratice.

And, just who does Congress consult.. ...The Courts?

We're into a very serious topic here....Billions and Billions of at stake.

 

[broncofan13000]

Owners might consider moving NFL draft to late February

This would be big for Fantasy Football...I take it rookie drafts would start alot earlier if this happened....

 

[Rockchild]

I think there could be lots of issues brought up by both sides. The players would love to get rid of the Franchise Tag and the owners would like a rookie cap of some sort. I believe that there is some disagreement among owners on the revenue sharing side of things that need to be cleared up too. Hopefully, what might force the hand of both sides is the fact that the economy is very tight and neither side can afford to lose revenue.

 

[Jeff Tefertiller]

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nf...ce_N.htm?csp=34

By Sean Leahy, USA TODAY

NFL owners are formulating a strategy to begin negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement with the players' union, but commissioner Roger Goodell said Monday he expects a new deal will be in place before next March, when the salary cap is set to expire.

"I don't believe that will be the case," Goodell said when asked about the possibilities in an uncapped season in 2010. Owners opted out of the current CBA last year, which will trigger the end of the salary cap if no new deal is reached before next March.

Owners' priorities in the negotiations will include having the costs for building and operating stadiums recognized by the players and instituting a salary cap for rookies, Goodell said in a news conference at the NFL's annual meeting in Dana Point, Calif.

There is no timetable yet for when negotiations on a new CBA will begin. Goodell met with new NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith Friday for the first time.

The economy is hurting the league's revenue streams, and Goodell said the ramifications will have an effect on the negotiations. Money from sponsorships and licensing is down, and the league is concerned about the possibility for reduced ticket sales in 2009.

"The challenging times make it even more difficult," Goodell said. "But all that has done is accentuate the negatives of the current agreement.

"It's definitely hitting us on the revenue side, and meanwhile costs are going up."

The league is not going to consider lifting TV blackouts for games that do not sell out, said Goodell, who added that is a longstanding NFL policy he will not give up. But the league realizes fans and sponsors have less disposable income and will find ways to "create more value" for consumers.

"We're going to have to work harder, be more creative and respond to our fans' needs," Goodell said. "Not only this year but for a considerable time."

Among other topics Goodell addressed:

• A proposal to play more than one Bills home game per season in Toronto has not crossed the commissioner's desk. "That's something that would have to be approved by the membership," Goodell said. "It has not been presented to me."

• The owners discussed a potential change to a 17- or 18-game regular season on Monday, but Goodell said the earliest a new schedule would arrive would be 2011. Such a change would require modified contracts with the league's television partners and the approval of the players' association.

• Goodell reiterated that the NFL will not open up its financial records for inspection during the collective bargaining process. The players are familiar with the owners' revenues and most of their expenditures, including player costs that approach $4.5 billion, Goodell said. "I think they have a pretty good understanding of our economics," the commissioner said of the players' union. "But that's not the issue. The issue is trying to get an agreement that works and continues to grow the game."

• The NFL Network is not losing money, Goodell said, despite not being carried to a widespread audience by TV providers such as Comcast. Goodell said the league would wait out the stalemate with the cable TV giant and would not accept the network being placed on a subscription sports tier. "We are going to be patient and determined," Goodell said, "and we're going to make sure it gets the broadest possible exposure."

 

[SuperJohn96]

Dear Toads,

Using all bold and italics and some color changes on ALL your posts is more annoying than if you posted in ALL CAPS and it makes any message you have to post unreadable.

Plus it just screams LOOK AT ME.

Regards,

SJ96

 

[Sonny Lubick Blowup Doll]

Why in the world is EVERY single post from this guy so important?

 

[Toads]

Why in the world is EVERY single post from this guy so important?

Why is Sonny Lubick a "Blow Up Doll?"

 

[Toads]

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nf...ce_N.htm?csp=34

By Sean Leahy, USA TODAY

NFL owners are formulating a strategy to begin negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement with the players' union, but commissioner Roger Goodell said Monday he expects a new deal will be in place before next March, when the salary cap is set to expire.

• Goodell reiterated that the NFL will not open up its financial records for inspection during the collective bargaining process. The players are familiar with the owners' revenues and most of their expenditures, including player costs that approach $4.5 billion, Goodell said. "I think they have a pretty good understanding of our economics," the commissioner said of the players' union. "But that's not the issue. The issue is trying to get an agreement that works and continues to grow the game."

This will be interesting, to see if the Owners can negotiate and bargain in good faith. If the National Labor Relations Board recognizes the anti-trust claims that the NFL Players Unions raise, they may force the the books to be opened.

 

[Mr. Pickles]

Dear Toads,

Using all bold and italics and some color changes on ALL your posts is more annoying than if you posted in ALL CAPS and it makes any message you have to post unreadable.

Plus it just screams LOOK AT ME.

Regards,

SJ96

Dear Super John: you wouldn't recognize something important if it hit you upside the head....as in reading and understanding the issue(s) at hand.If you can't understand it/them, don't try to read it/them.

The point is not the presentation, it's the content.

Stop.

 

[nittanylion]

Classic Pickles. Bold, succinct and strong to the hole.

Great Thread, though - going to be interesting to see how this all plays out, and key to all things FF. Let's not muck it up, fellas.

 

[Faust]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writ...ex.html?eref=T1

NFL teams bearing down for major changes for '10 and '11 seasons

DANA POINT, Calif. -- The NFL in recent years has wisely started using the first day of its annual league meeting to debut the schedule for its prime time kickoff weekend games, thereby cranking up the hype machine for the coming regular season.

But while the 2009 season is beginning to come into focus thanks to us learning who's playing in Week 1's biggest games -- for starters, Tennessee at Pittsburgh on Thursday, Sept. 10 -- it may be the last one of its kind for a while. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news regarding 2010 and 2011, but the first of those seasons may bear little resemblance to any in recent NFL history, and the second one may never happen at all.

After a Monday morning spent speaking to NFL club owners and front office executives here at the plush St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort, I've gotten -- really for the first time -- a growing sense that the league's impending labor showdown will all but assure a season with no salary cap in 2010, with a decent bet for a subsequent work stoppage in 2011.

The pessimistic sentiments I heard, usually on deep, deep background, were that people within the league are not only bracing for an uncapped season, they're preparing for it as if it's almost a given at this point. And once that unfolds, it could be a short, hop, skip and a jump to the NFL's first work stoppage in 23 years.

"I can't imagine we get a deal before there's a work stoppage at this point,'' one team's general manager told me. "The players are going to dig in, and that's where this thing is headed.''

Said another club's general manager: "I don't think it's a long shot any more in regards to an uncapped season. It's probably going to happen. It's just the reality now and everyone's dealing with it.''

A third general manager told me that his team's every move this year has been made amid the backdrop of no salary cap next year at this time, and then the strong possibility of a work stoppage in 2011.

"There's a level of acceptance now that this is a reality,'' said the third GM, of 2010 being uncapped due to no new collective bargaining agreement being reached. "You hear it from everyone. From our perspective as general managers, we start being a little more calculated about what we do with our moves in free agency, our moves with re-signing guys to contracts, and such. There's just a general feeling that this is a reality, so let's take care of business. If we don't have some foresight, then our backs may be against the wall.''

What once seemed like a far-off possibility, NFL sources said, is now coming clearly into view. It's not an issue for the distant future any more, and that point was driven home to me Monday when I asked NFL owners and club executives why the doomsday scenario that an uncapped year once sounded like is being viewed quite differently.

"It's not scary at all to us,'' Patriots owner Robert Kraft said of the possibility of playing without a salary cap next year. "There are a lot of pluses to it. It's definitely not a doomsday scenario, and it might have to happen to get things right. I hope it's the vehicle to get us a deal. I hope it's the ultimate hammer.''

Once upon a time, conventional wisdom held that NFL owners wanted no part of an uncapped year because they were fearful that a few rich and aggressive owners (read Jerry Jones and Daniel Snyder) would go all George Steinbrenner on them and snap up a boatload of free agents. Such a move would spoil the NFL's unique competitive balance that has so-called small market teams prospering right alongside everyone else.

But in reality, there were so many new parameters built into the CBA's rules for an uncapped season that owners will have anything but free rein to make a killing for their teams in free agency. And I don't think the players really grasp those realities yet anywhere near as well as NFL owners and club executives do.

For starters, once the salary cap disappears, players can't be free agents until they've completed six NFL seasons, rather than four. That means there will be fewer quality young players in the 2010 free-agent pool, and less talent for any spend-happy teams to accumulate.

"That's huge, the six seasons before free agency,'' one of the general managers told me. "But it's also a bit of a funky spot to be in because, let's face it, there are going to be some unhappy players who thought they were about to get to free agency. You've got a guy who just finished his fourth season, but now he's not coming up [for free agency]. That's why I keep saying to some of my agent friends, 'Man, this is real. Don't think this will never happen or that it's going to go away and be fine. You've got to be right about this.' ''

In addition, teams in 2010 would own an extra transition tag, meaning a franchise could use both a franchise tag and a transition tag on two of its own free agents (or two transition tags) in the same season, as opposed to the one or another they get to designate now. Again, that stipulation should serve to limit the quality of the free agents who actually reach the open free agent market.

"The pool of players in free agency shrinks dramatically in the uncapped year,'' another general manager said. "That means the quality of available players is going to be affected, and the ones who actually reach free agency, how good are they really?" Most teams have gotten very good at re-signing their own best players any way. So that uncapped year, with all the contingencies, all the parameters that are in it, those things are real and they're going to keep the rich from getting richer.

And there's more. In the uncapped season of 2010, the league would have a rule called the top eight plan, in which the eight teams that reached the divisional round playoffs in 2009 would have their activity in free agency limited. The NFL's final four teams wouldn't be able to sign an unrestricted free agent until they had lost one of their own. The other four teams among the final eight to be eliminated in 2009 would have some salary restrictions on the free agents they signed, which would serve to keep them from being able to afford any elite free agents.

When you factor in rules that took effect this year once the owners opted out of current CBA last May, they too seem to tilt heavily in favor of the owners, rather than reaping a potential bonanza for players who are no longer working under the salary cap system. This season, a player's base salary can't increase more than 30 percent from one year to the next, which restricts a team's ability to award a contract that includes a huge 2009 raise in anticipation of no salary cap in 2010.

No wonder team owners aren't as worried about life in a cap-less NFL as many assume. When you throw in the fact that there will be no league salary minimum (or salary floor) that teams must spend on players in 2010, some clubs will undoubtedly spend less than they have before.

All of which tells me that NFL owners believe they hold most of the cards when it comes to using the possibility of an uncapped season as leverage in their upcoming negotiations with the players, and that only strengthens their resolve for the potential of showdown over a work stoppage in 2011.

"The uncapped season was built into the design of the collective bargaining agreement for just the reason we have,'' Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. "Because of the provisions under an uncapped year, there's always been a very legitimate thought that we're better off with those provisions than we were in a capped year.

"So I feel better about our ability to operate without a cap and keep our league competitive and keep the game progressing, moving forward, than any way I could have felt when we were in a capped structure.''

The owners and the league seem prepared for the consequences of an uncapped season and a potential work stoppage in 2011 in a way I can't possibly imagine the players are at this point. Having just this month elected DeMaurice Smith as the NFL Players Association's new executive director, the union is just beginning to approach the upcoming negotiations with a sense of focus. An NFL club source on Monday told me that some owners have implemented far-reaching contingency plans into their business operations that reflect the potential for no season in 2011.

"Some owners have set up every component for the future,'' the club source said. "From building triggers into coaches' and front-office executives' contracts that stop those deals if there's a work stoppage in 2011, to other ways where they found they can limit their exposure and their expenses. They're getting themselves ready for this.''

According to a league source, some NFL owners with particularly huge slices of debt service on the new stadiums that they own and operate have even prepared for a possible work stoppage in 2011 by having "Force Majeure'' clauses inserted into their contracts -- which frees one from liability when an extraordinary event or circumstances beyond the control of the parties prevents one of them from fulfilling their obligations. In other words, if there's no NFL season in 2011, some owners may not get hit as hard as they might have from the loss of revenue.

"It's like anything in life, the wealthiest will be able to survive,'' one general manager said. "But these players are going to be facing the loss of a year of their earning potential in the prime of their careers, a year they can never get back. And they're short careers to start with. Look at the minimum salaries these days. To lose even that for an entire year, there'll be a small group that will be OK. But not most of them. It's going to be tough.''

It sounds like some tougher times are coming in the NFL. After years of labor peace, the rumblings of trouble are very real and drawing nearer all the time. That's why NFL fans would do well to enjoy this coming season, which in a small way got a bit of an unveiling on Monday. Because 2010 and 2011 might wind up looking and feeling very differently than 2009, this is a season that could be remembered as the calm before the storm.

 

[Faust]

I think that the players position is not looking very good...they lose eligibility towards free agency if the CBA lapses and the owners will have a war chest of cash to ride this out:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writ...ex.html?eref=T1

DirecTV deal is lockout insurance

DANA POINT, Calif. -- In securing an incredible rights fee from DirecTV to air games on satellite TV -- $1 billion per year from 2011 through 2014 -- the league got something far more valuable than money alone. The NFL got lockout insurance.

Even if games are not played in 2011, the NFL's deal with DirecTV calls for the league to be paid the billion-dollar rights fee, a source close to the talks told SI.com here at the league meetings.

That certainly won't drive the league away from the bargaining table with new NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith when negotiations begin this spring, but it will give the owners a powerful strike fund of approximately $31 million per team in 2011.

The league's current deal with DirecTV runs through the 2010 season. By announcing the new satellite deal so far in advance of its effective date, and by quietly publicizing that the rights fees in a bad economy have grown from $700 million a year to $1 billion, the NFL is showing the players that it has a war chest and won't be pressured into making a deal it doesn't want just for the sake of avoiding a work stoppage in 2011.

This will be a huge factor in the looming negotiations, one that clearly will make the league not as desperate to resolve a simmering dispute with the players that began when owners opted out of the current collective bargaining agreement last year.

The NFL will have uninterrupted business as usual through the 2011 draft, 25 months from now. The next two seasons -- one with a salary cap this year, and one without a cap in 2010 -- will be held whether a new deal is struck or not. But without a new labor contract, the league presumably would lock the players out of training camp in 2011.

At these meetings, commissioner Roger Goodell has begun to lay out how advantageous it would be for players to get a deal done before the uncapped year in 2010. Veterans would have to have six years of credited service to be free agents instead of the current four; veterans with three to five years of experience would be restricted free agents. In addition, the top eight teams from the 2009 season would have significant free-agency restrictions; they'd be unable to sign free agents until they lost unsigned players of equal or higher value than the one they want to sign to another team.

DirecTV airs all Sunday afternoon games exclusively on satellite on its NFL Sunday Ticket package.

 

[SuperJohn96]

Dear Toads,

Using all bold and italics and some color changes on ALL your posts is more annoying than if you posted in ALL CAPS and it makes any message you have to post unreadable.

Plus it just screams LOOK AT ME.

Regards,

SJ96

Dear Super John: you wouldn't recognize something important if it hit you upside the head....as in reading and understanding the issue(s) at hand.If you can't understand it/them, don't try to read it/them.

The point is not the presentation, it's the content.

Stop.

LOL...dude is bonkers...Jack Nicholson from the Shining bonkers even

 

[Seymour Corn]

We're into a very serious topic here....Billions and Billions of at stake.

Why so serious? It's not your money.NOTE: I took the bold/italics BS out.

 

[Finless]

We're into a very serious topic here....Billions and Billions of at stake.

Why so serious? It's not your money.NOTE: I took the bold/italics BS out.

Korn....you da man.Recent developments are the Assistant Coaches Labor Union ripples and strike possibilities because the Assistant Coaches have no "security basket.".....this is just another in a long line of stuff that's gonna take your game SOUTH, Korn Dog.

You'll be trying to submit lineups in Leagues that don't function.

Go get 'um, Tiger!

update?

 

[Seymour Corn]

We're into a very serious topic here....Billions and Billions of at stake.

Why so serious? It's not your money.NOTE: I took the bold/italics BS out.

Korn....you da man.Recent developments are the Assistant Coaches Labor Union ripples and strike possibilities because the Assistant Coaches have no "security basket.".....this is just another in a long line of stuff that's gonna take your game SOUTH, Korn Dog.

You'll be trying to submit lineups in Leagues that don't function.

Go get 'um, Tiger!

TOADSTER!I THINK YOU MEAN ASSISTANT COACH LABOR UNION RUFFLES AND SECURTIY BLANKET. PLUS IF MY GAME GOES SOUTH, MY GAME WILL BE THE MIKE CUBAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE.

PS: I ONLY DO AUTOSTART LEAGUES.

I LOOK FORWARD TO MORE NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Bri]

The point is not the presentation, it's the content.

really?

 

[SuperJohn96]

The point is not the presentation, it's the content.

really?

YEah ReALlY!

 

[Toads]

Future of NFL Draft Is In Jeopardy

By Hub Arkush (hub@pfwmedia.com)

May 11, 2009

So, did you enjoy the 2009 NFL draft? Like me, do you start to look forward to it about 10 minutes after the final gun of each Super Bowl? Do you marvel, as I do each year, at the unbelievable job Nolan Nawrocki does of breaking it all down for us? Did your favorite club finally have that draft that you’ve been waiting for, which guarantees it a crack at the next few Super Bowls? Which clubs do you think did the best, and who came up short once again?

All great questions, all a part of why so many of us so look forward to the draft as one of our favorite sports events annually, in and of itself. So, what do you think the National Football League would be like if there were no more draft? Sorry for the buzz kill, folks, but unless everybody starts to take this little collective bargaining problem seriously soon, the 2010 NFL draft could very well be the last!

That there has been an NFL draft ever since NFL commissioner Bert Bell and George Halas (historians will debate to this day which one of them actually thought it up first, so I prefer to credit both) came up with the idea in 1936 is irrelevant. The fact is, it violates antitrust laws and restricts free trade, and the NFL owners are able to conduct it and abide by it only because it’s been included in every Collective Bargaining Agreement the owners and players have negotiated since the NFL Players Association was first recognized in 1968. Antitrust restrictions can be overridden by agreements between recognized unions and management, and that’s the only reason that players coming out of college are forced to work for the team that drafts them.

So, here’s the reality of what’s at stake between the owners and players, and for all of us as fans, with the owners’ decision to opt out of the current CBA early. If there is no extension of the current CBA or a new agreement negotiated by March 2010, there will be a draft in 2010, but the salary cap goes away for the season and veteran players will need six years of service to become unrestricted free agents rather than four. And if the spring of 2011 rolls around without a new deal, there will be no CBA at all, and although the league maintains that there would be another draft in 2011, the legality of holding a draft under those circumstances is debatable. In other words, the NFL would be facing complete anarchy. It is assumed but not a given that, with no rules to play by, the owners would choose to lock the players out, and there would be no football in 2011 until one side or the other cries uncle.

NFLPA executive director

DeMaurice Smith

What happens if, during an interim period in the spring of 2011 with negotiations ongoing but no deal in place, one of the league’s wealthier owners — let’s say a Daniel Snyder or a Jerry Jones — chooses to sign the 10 or 15 best players coming out of college to contracts, even if a deal is eventually struck and the draft reinstated? Anarchy is right around the corner, guys, and it’s time somebody gets serious about it, right now.

DeMaurice Smith may have logged just days, rather than months or years, on the job leading the NFLPA, but the calendar is not the friend for any of us who love the NFL. All we’ve heard from Smith so far is that if the owners want the significant givebacks they’re looking for, they’re going to have to open up their books to justify the request. It’s a position that I couldn’t possibly agree with more, but it’s a development that Roger Goodell has already indicated is highly unlikely to happen. So, the reality is there’s a stalemate before talks can even begin.

The players have stated as emphatically as they can that if the salary cap is allowed to go away next year, it’s never coming back. Could the same be true of the draft? I know the owners are playing poker here, but I sure hope they don't call the players bluff.

 

[Toads]

defn: som.nam.bu.list:

1) the state of sleep walking;

2) one who walks but is not conscious;

3) head in the sand."

I went back and dug this out....it was sleeping....waiting for the tidal wave to catch up to it.

There's less than a hundred logged onto these boards....it's February for crumb sake!

It's looking like a storm brewing as the focus for the players appears seems to be turning towards "saving money to be able to last through a Locked Out 20011 Season."

"....an almost certain lockout" is a phrase that was in the Denver paper this morning.

We've got nothing if we got nothin'.

There it goes....again.....

 

[Toads]

From the Mock Draft thread :

"......there it goes again.....

I'd much prefer a strike than a lockout. Scab players would be so cool. Imagine having to dump half your roster via waivers for replacement players that you had never heard of.

This labor deal is promising to effect our game.It looks like the NFL is brewing for a stewin'....as in the Owner's forcing the issue of the un-capped year. Once there's an un-capped year, it's over as far as an orderly transition.

I started the **OFFICIAL** Labor Strife thread last Summer. It's funny: don't confuse 25,000 FFB players with anything close to reality as they:



JUST DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT!

It looks to me as if denial is the only consensus.

It also looks to me as if sites like FBG's will find out that the standard of living that they count on, with the endless drivel of "meaningful interactions" and "pointed discussions" about NFL related topics will all come down to discussions that no one want's to address:

NO ONE WANTS TO TALK ABOUT WHY THEY CAN'T TALK ABOUT IT! .....

It comes and it goes (but, I just don't want to talk about it).

 

[AhrnCityPahnder]

Dear Toads,Using all bold and italics and some color changes on ALL your posts is more annoying than if you posted in ALL CAPS and it makes any message you have to post unreadable.Plus it just screams LOOK AT ME.Regards,SJ96

this x 1000. Just stop.

 

[Toads]

Seems like this is a resilient theme with you.

Using the capacities of the boards doesn't dimish the content, Big Guy.

Get past the look and work on the content.....your brain is more than a hat rack.....use it as you are able.

 

[Toads]

From Scout.com:

Impending Doom?

By Tom Mackie

Giants Insider

Posted Jan 19, 2010

The NFL is on the verge of unleashing a huge wrecking ball at the 2010 season due to the owner’s decision to opt out of the collective bargaining agreement in 2008.

As a result, the 2010 campaign could operate without a salary cap, which would be the first time since it was first implemented in 1993. Such ramifications could damage the foundation of the most popular league in major sports. Teams will be able to spend as much or as little as they want on draft picks and free agents. Think Major League Baseball with the Cowboys and Jerry Jones imitating the Yankees, and the Redskins and Dan Snyder doing their best Red Sox impersonation.

What will happen when the perfect league opens Pandora’s Box? Will the NFL become another MLB with the rich getting richer and smaller-market teams like the Jaguars being forced to order from the McDonald’s dollar menu?

Beyond the ugliness of a cap-free season in 2010, the 2011 season could be even worse with the possibility of a lockout by the owners, something NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith believes the owners want, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell denies.

So far, nothing has happened since the 2009 season kicked off to indicate a deal will get done.

"It's been over 400 days since the owners opted out of this agreement,” said Smith on ESPN radio a few months back. “I hope that we don't go another 10 days before we hear … an initial proposal from the league.”

Smith toured training camps this summer and said he has advised players to be prepared for a lockout in 2011, even advising players to save 25 percent of what they earn this year and next just in case.

“We have to be ready for what the owners are going to do,” Chargers star LaDainian Tomlinson said to reporters. “I’ve been telling all the guys in [the locker room], ‘Be ready, save your money.’ The owners aren’t going to play around. They’re going to lock us out; they’re going to try to split the union; they’re going to try to scare guys into taking a bad deal. We have to understand that.”

“The owners’ intent here is to get to an agreement,” said Goodell to reporters before the season. “The idea that the owners are looking for a lockout and that would be their objective is foolish. That’s really not a practical outcome for them in the sense of being beneficial to the league.”

59 percent too much

The owners decided to opt out of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) largely because of the 2006 CBA that resulted in players getting 59 percent of the revenue, the biggest slice of the pie ever for top American professional sports. Owners believe that 59 percent is too much to give to players. But the biggest issue for owners is the cost of all the new stadiums cropping up in the NFL. The Cowboys new stadium is so big it can hold the state of Delaware. Many owners, like Jerry Jones, have had to use some of their own money to foot the bill. Add in an economy of recessionary proportions, and owners are worried about how they can turn a decent profit while paying players larger salaries, bonuses and a share of the pie.

As a result, nearly half of the NFL teams started this season $10 million under the salary cap, something that has never happened before in the NFL.

The truth is, while some teams may spend like they’re in a bidding war with Donald Trump and go well beyond the current maximum of $128 million, many teams may spend very little since they will no longer have to abide by the minimum cap of $112.1 million.

Fans can probably think of at least three notoriously tightwad organizations, such as the Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, and Arizona Cardinals, that could drastically cut spending and save nearly $40-50 million of their payrolls for one season. What will happen if owners decide to considerably reduce their payrolls to around $100 million? Chances are they will renegotiate a new deal with players reinstating a salary cap for 2011 and thereafter. And should a lockout occur in 2011 instead, the owners will still make money from the existing broadcast deals.

Confided one team executive, “The owners are going to make a point [in 2010] that they can get by paying a lot less and then they’ll see how the players react.”

What an uncapped year may look like:

During an uncapped year, free agency will be available to players who have played at least six seasons, not four. That means, 2005 first-round draft picks DeMarcus Ware and Shawne Merriman would not become unrestricted free agents when their contracts expire in February.

While Merriman may be deciding to change his Mohawk to bright yellow to reflect his frustration, Ware no longer has to worry about missing out on the big money. Sensing that Ware might not be a happy camper in 2010, Jerry Jones opened his big-as-Texas wallet in October by signing Ware to a new contract that makes him one of the richest non-quarterback players in the NFL.

Ware signed a six-year contract extension through 2015 worth $78 million, with $40 million guaranteed. The deal includes a $20 million signing bonus.

Of course, not everyone is lucky enough to play for Jones or Snyder, ahem, Albert Haynesworth.

Along with the extension in years of service required for free agency, another distinction of the uncapped season is teams may designate a second Transition Player to go along with their Transition and Franchise players.

A Transition Player must be offered a minimum of the average of the top 10 salaries of the prior season at the player’s position or 120 percent of the player’s previous year’s salary, whichever is greater. A Transition Player designation gives the club a first-refusal right to match within seven days an offer sheet given to the player by another club after his contract expires. If the club matches, it retains the player. If it does not match, it receives no compensation.

A Franchise Player, on the other hand, must be offered a minimum of the average of the top five salaries at the player’s position for the current year or 120 percent of the player’s previous year’s salary, or the average of the top five salaries at his position as of the end of last season – whichever of the three is greatest.

The Crazy 8 Plan, er, the Final 8 Plan

As if the other rules aren’t confusing enough, the Final 8 Plan is a doozey. During the uncapped year, the eight clubs that make the divisional playoffs in the previous season have additional restrictions that limit their ability to sign Unrestricted Free Agents from other clubs.

The rule will prevent the final eight teams in the playoffs from signing free agents. The final four teams cannot negotiate and sign any unrestricted free agent to a player contract except for players who were cut or on the final four team when their contract expired.

Meanwhile playoff teams five to eight get a break to sign one player with a salary of $4,925,000 or more and any number of players with a first-year salary of no more than $3,275,000 and an annual increase of no more than 30 percent in the following years.

There’s a chance that Paul Volcker may be summoned to help with the calculations. What this all means is free agency will not be the rampant Pandora’s Box that was first believed. Close to 200 players that were hoping to get a Manning-size contract will likely have to wait at least a year and risk injury.

Cardinals linebacker Karlos Dansby put it perfectly: “When you fight about money, it gets ugly.”

Giant trouble?

Both Giants Owner John Mara and GM Jerry Reese recently acknowledged the fact that the upcoming season might be sans salary cap, but neither said that they had yet formulated any plans on how to deal with the possible madness.

Mara disputed the notion that the Giants’ best plan of attack would be to break the bank in free agency.

“Well, I think it has been proven that that doesn’t work,” Mara stated. “If there are players that we are interested in, we are going to go after them. But how many times do we have to see evidence of the fact that spending a lot of money on free agency doesn’t necessarily improve your team. It is a lot of times about chemistry and having the right nucleus and having leadership in the locker room. We are going to look at the free agency market and we will make decisions if we think we can improve the team.”

Reese added that he believed an uncapped offseason could lead to a slew of trade activity.

“A lot of things can happen,” he said. “Some of these guys will get what we call non-qualifying offers. Those guys will come into play. Probably more trades this offseason than you have seen in the past. That kind of stuff will probably come into play. But the market itself will be thin. It will be thin with older guys.”

At this point, the only thing that’s certain is that uncertain times lay ahead for the National Football League.

Editor Ken Palmer contributed to this report.

 

[Orange Crush]

So NFL owners are arguing that the players should receive a drop from 59.5% of revenue to 41% of revenue. A 30% cut in their salaries (18% difference divided by 59.5% overall = 31.09%).

That's gargantuan.

I don't have much sympathy for NFL owners who argue that their more expensive stadiums are cutting into their profits. The teams are the ones who decided to build those stadiums using their own money. If they made a bad business decision, then their profits should go down. If they're losing too much money, then they can sell their team (and probably take a loss while they're at it). This was a cost that was completely within the owners' control, they miscalculated badly, and now they are trying to force the players to take on all of those costs so that they can keep their same profit margins? Pfft.

 

[Toads]

The most telling sentence in that whole article is:

"As a result, nearly half of the NFL teams started this season $10 million under the salary cap, something that has never happened before in the NFL."

The NFL is now tied up in court with the determination of a single enty for the NFL or 32 separate identities for the NFL.

It looks like big money will determine the outcome. If the NFL (the 32 Owners) makes money by not playing in 2011.....well, were headed for a lock out.....all most for sure certain.

The only wild card in this is the public, with their fasination for the Sunday games. Once the owners in basball looked the other way in the steroid deal, I absolutely refused to go to another MLB game; you talk about hypocracy!

Once the NFL Owners decide to kill this Goose, I'll probably do Football the same favor. There's only so many FFB deals to keep track of in a locked out labor stopped year. Once I'm broken of the habit (I liken it to stopping smoking), I'll (probably) never come back.

To stop it over paying players too much is the ultimate in greed. You can't fool me into supporting that sham. It would be a huge public relations mistake for the Owners to call the card game off. The public would respond by dropping the game like a hot potatoe.

This is from the Faust post, #16 above. It's telling (actually, the whole post #16 article is top notch) because the Owner's adopted a closed mouth policy last week:

"The pessimistic sentiments I heard, usually on deep, deep background, were that people within the league are not only bracing for an uncapped season, they're preparing for it as if it's almost a given at this point. And once that unfolds, it could be a short, hop, skip and a jump to the NFL's first work stoppage in 23 years.

"I can't imagine we get a deal before there's a work stoppage at this point,'' one team's general manager told me. "The players are going to dig in, and that's where this thing is headed.''

Said another club's general manager: "I don't think it's a long shot any more in regards to an uncapped season. It's probably going to happen. It's just the reality now and everyone's dealing with it.''

A third general manager told me that his team's every move this year has been made amid the backdrop of no salary cap next year at this time, and then the strong possibility of a work stoppage in 2011.

"There's a level of acceptance now that this is a reality,'' said the third GM, of 2010 being uncapped due to no new collective bargaining agreement being reached. "You hear it from everyone. From our perspective as general managers, we start being a little more calculated about what we do with our moves in free agency, our moves with re-signing guys to contracts, and such. There's just a general feeling that this is a reality, so let's take care of business. If we don't have some foresight, then our backs may be against the wall.''

What once seemed like a far-off possibility, NFL sources said, is now coming clearly into view. It's not an issue for the distant future any more, and that point was driven home to me Monday when I asked NFL owners and club executives why the doomsday scenario that an uncapped year once sounded like is being viewed quite differently.

"It's not scary at all to us,'' Patriots owner Robert Kraft said of the possibility of playing without a salary cap next year. "There are a lot of pluses to it. It's definitely not a doomsday scenario, and it might have to happen to get things right. I hope it's the vehicle to get us a deal. I hope it's the ultimate hammer.''

 

[Orange Crush]

So this Uncapped Year is going to have some anachronistic rules:

* Players must have 6 years experience to be an Unrestricted Free Agent. Otherwise, players without that requisite experience and with an expired contract will be deemed Restricted Free Agents.

* I've seen conflicting reports on this one: Instead of one tag (either franchise or transition), each team will have THREE such tags. But some reports say the tag system is the same as it ever was.

* There are also a series of rules to prevent the best teams from being very aggressive in free agency. Teams that finished in the final 4 in the playoffs (Saints, Colts, Vikings, and Jets) may only sign a free agent who was cut from another team (as opposed to an expired contract) or who was on their roster in 2009. The next four finishers (Ravens, Chargers, Cowboys, and Cardinals) may only re-sign their own players, sign a player who was cut, sign a free agent to a term less than what a player that they lost in free agency signed for, plus one player with a 2010 salary greater than $4.925M. They can also sign additional players so long as the 2010 salary is less than $3.275M and succeeding salary increases are less than 30%.

* Also, while an uncapped year means there will be no salary cap, there also will not be a salary floor. So low revenue teams like the Bills and Jaguars are free to slash their rosters to save money, with no "salary cap hit" from such moves as in previous years. There will be minimum player salaries based on number of years accrued, but it will increase at a lesser rate than in previous years.

 

[gump]

An NFL high-ranking employee said at the SB that while we are hearing nothing but negative outlooks on the future, this period of 'negative press' was planned/expected and that there was no doubt the owners and players would work out a deal.

Could have just been a unified front the league has decided to put on...but he seemed pretty sure of himself.

 

[GroveDiesel]

Everyone keeps mentioning the Bills as a low revenue team and that's not really accurate. They were a top 10 team as far as profits went last year. Obviously that doesn't mean that they won't cut salary and generate even more profits, but they're not as poor as everyone perceives them to be.

Part of that is due to the way money is shared around the NFL, but the courts have already ruled that the NFL can't change that at this point. So the Bills will still be bringing in plenty of money.

 

[Orange Crush]

Everyone keeps mentioning the Bills as a low revenue team and that's not really accurate. They were a top 10 team as far as profits went last year. Obviously that doesn't mean that they won't cut salary and generate even more profits, but they're not as poor as everyone perceives them to be.Part of that is due to the way money is shared around the NFL, but the courts have already ruled that the NFL can't change that at this point. So the Bills will still be bringing in plenty of money.

I'd love to see a link regarding franchise profits where you got that info. The NFL guards that info like it's the KFC secret recipe. The Packers are the only team that discloses their accounting due to their being a public company. All other clubs are privately owned and will only give up that info if they are sued and the other side gets a court order.Didn't the Bills spend the bare minimum to the cap in '09? I'm pretty sure they ranked last in coaches, scouting, and front office salaries. They were also dead last in ticket prices (in spite of raising prices 15%), and they have the crappiest stadium in the league in regards to generating extra income from luxury suites, club seats, etc.I assume the only reason the Bills spent $100M on player salaries was because they had to per the CBA. We'll see if that's true this year when there's no minimum they have to spend up to.

 

[GroveDiesel]

Everyone keeps mentioning the Bills as a low revenue team and that's not really accurate. They were a top 10 team as far as profits went last year. Obviously that doesn't mean that they won't cut salary and generate even more profits, but they're not as poor as everyone perceives them to be.

Part of that is due to the way money is shared around the NFL, but the courts have already ruled that the NFL can't change that at this point. So the Bills will still be bringing in plenty of money.

I'd love to see a link regarding franchise profits where you got that info. The NFL guards that info like it's the KFC secret recipe. The Packers are the only team that discloses their accounting due to their being a public company. All other clubs are privately owned and will only give up that info if they are sued and the other side gets a court order.Didn't the Bills spend the bare minimum to the cap in '09? I'm pretty sure they ranked last in coaches, scouting, and front office salaries. They were also dead last in ticket prices (in spite of raising prices 15%), and they have the crappiest stadium in the league in regards to generating extra income from luxury suites, club seats, etc.

I assume the only reason the Bills spent $100M on player salaries was because they had to per the CBA. We'll see if that's true this year when there's no minimum they have to spend up to.

Actually, the Bills were about $10M over the salary floor last season. The salary floor was 86.4% of the salary cap figure of $127M, or about $109.7M. The Bills were approximately $7.5M under the cap last season. Here's the link showing that the Bills had the 12th highest Operating Income in the league. Granted, that figure is just net profits before interest, depreciation, taxes and amortization are included, but it's about the closest figure anyone has on actual net profits for teams.

Also, I'm not sure that it's really true that the Bills are super cheap when it comes to staff either. They're not spending like the Redskins or Cowboys, but I'd venture to guess that they're somewhere in the middle of the bunch. Maybe in the lower third, but certainly nothing like the Bengals without even a scouting department.

 

[Bri]

Toronto games greatly improved the Bills franchise spending capital

 

[Bri]

An NFL high-ranking employee said at the SB that while we are hearing nothing but negative outlooks on the future, this period of 'negative press' was planned/expected and that there was no doubt the owners and players would work out a deal.Could have just been a unified front the league has decided to put on...but he seemed pretty sure of himself.

Brady from ESPN Mike ReissThere is a lot of uncertainty with the CBA, and you are in the last year of your contract. Is there any uncertainty there for you with your future with the Patriots?“With my contract? [Laughs]. I really don’t like … we’re so fortunate to be playing. I think we’re way overpaid as it is; all of us. We get to go play football for a living. I love playing and I’m very fortunate to play, and I’m very fortunate to walk off the field this year and end the season without having surgery. That’s not really a concern.”So you’re willing to take a pay cut? [joking]“Like I said, we’re all overpaid. We have the greatest job in the world and I have the greatest job in the world. I love being here and I love Boston, I love the city, I love the community, that’s where our home is.”Would you like to have that settled before the start of the season?“The contract? Well, I’m under contract and I signed a six-year contract five years ago. There are a lot of players that end up being in my situation. There is a lot of uncertainty with the league and being a player rep now, I realize all the different issues that we’re facing. It’s a really unique time in the league and as a team player, I don’t sit here saying ‘What about me, What about me?’ I’m under contract and I’m going to go out there and play and play my butt off.”With your role with the players association, can you give a feel where things are with the labor situation?“I’m a player rep and I get emails and [have] conversations with our leaders on the state of the negotiations. I think we’re a long way away, from the way it sounds. That’s what everyone is saying. But in a sense, we’re a whole season away from it happening too. We’re really going to see what transpires over the next 12 or 13 months.”

 

[Toads]

FA Tags and Tender amounts from scout.com:

2010 RESTRICTED FREE AGENT TAGS (tender amounts)

Tender amounts are 2010 salaries. Normally, this is the amount that counts against the salary cap, but this year it is the amount a team pays to the player. Because of the lack of a collective bargaining agreement, 2010 is not expected to have a salary cap, so players with four and five years of NFL experience are restricted free agents instead of unrestricted free agents, and teams can spend as much as they want on free agents (a cap would require team salaries to be limited to a total between $111 and $128 million). Teams can tender players at four different compensation levels, which determines what a team receives in return if the player signs with another team. The four levels are original pick compensation, a second round tender, a first round tender, and a first and a third round tender. Teams must apply tags by March 4 or the player becomes an unrestricted free agent.

Original pick compensation: $1.176 million.

Second round tender: $1.759 million.

First round tender: $2.521 million.

First and third tender: $3.168 million.

FIVE YEARS OF NFL EXPERIENCE:

Original pick compensation: $1.226 million.

Second round tender: $1.809 million.

First round tender: $2.621 million.

First and third round tender: $3.268 million.

 

[Toads]

Just caught an ESPN Radio feed where the discussion came around to the use of the franchise tag to restrict player movement.

The hosts said that hey....you don't necessarily have to use that tag because it's a high priced option....and that this year would be the year that is most restrictive to player movement because the use of the Tender Offer allowed the NFL teams to sift through their rosters and to elect to restrict the players that they wanted to keep and to do so at a lower price and to accomplish essentially the same thing.

In that respect, they referred to this year as the most restrictive on record.

When you consider that angle it makes sense: the Owners make out like bandits in this deal by restricting more players and paying less for them.