By David Haugh
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Chad Ochocinco of the OCNN -- Ochocinco News Network -- asked the first question of NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith at Thursday's news conference.
And it was a good one.
Ochocinco asked Smith how serious it was that there would be no football due to a lockout in 2011.
Smith stepped toward him from the stage for emphasis.
"On a scale of 1 to 10, it's a 14," Smith said.
His answers to subsequent, similar questions left little doubt that Smith wanted to make a strong statement that he expects an NFL work stoppage.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Chad Ochocinco of the OCNN -- Ochocinco News Network -- asked the first question of NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith at Thursday's news conference.
And it was a good one.
Ochocinco asked Smith how serious it was that there would be no football due to a lockout in 2011.
Smith stepped toward him from the stage for emphasis.
"On a scale of 1 to 10, it's a 14," Smith said.
His answers to subsequent, similar questions left little doubt that Smith wanted to make a strong statement that he expects an NFL work stoppage.
The room inside the Fort Lauderdale Convention Center was full, but
optimism was nowhere to be found. Lack of progress in negotiations over
a new collective bargaining agreement has led to the likelihood of a
2010 season without a salary cap -- and threats of a lockout in 2011
that nobody wants and concerns players such as Ochocinco.
Smith's biggest contentions were with NFL teams' failure to disclose profits, which prevents the NFLPA from knowing all they need to know. He estimated all 32 teams make an average of $31 million, based on a Forbes report.
"How many people would invest in a restaurant without knowing what the profit margin is?" Smith asked.
Titans center Kevin Mawae, the NFLPA players representative, complained about a league making "$8 billion asking its employees to take an 18 percent pay cut."
"There has to be give and take -- not just take," Mawae said.
In the only glimmer of positive developments, the tension between current and former players was addressed. Discussing the pension system in place for retired players who helped build a league now worth $800 billion, Smith said bluntly, "Our current system is not working."
"And I'm going to fix it," he added.
He detailed plans to establish a legacy fund that takes 2 percent of the league's profits and distributes them to retired players who long have fought for a change. Smith thought any active player who didn't support the need to help former players was making "an immoral decision."
Smith also announced the NFLPA's new partnership with AARP, a program called "Create The Good," intended to focus on community service and addressing the needs of retired players.
"If you were in a locker room, then you were part of a legacy that existed before you and will exist after you," Smith said. "This partnership will touch each of our former players."
A video was shown explaining the "One Team" effort by all four major sports leagues to help relief efforts in Haiti.
Smith's biggest contentions were with NFL teams' failure to disclose profits, which prevents the NFLPA from knowing all they need to know. He estimated all 32 teams make an average of $31 million, based on a Forbes report.
"How many people would invest in a restaurant without knowing what the profit margin is?" Smith asked.
Titans center Kevin Mawae, the NFLPA players representative, complained about a league making "$8 billion asking its employees to take an 18 percent pay cut."
"There has to be give and take -- not just take," Mawae said.
In the only glimmer of positive developments, the tension between current and former players was addressed. Discussing the pension system in place for retired players who helped build a league now worth $800 billion, Smith said bluntly, "Our current system is not working."
"And I'm going to fix it," he added.
He detailed plans to establish a legacy fund that takes 2 percent of the league's profits and distributes them to retired players who long have fought for a change. Smith thought any active player who didn't support the need to help former players was making "an immoral decision."
Smith also announced the NFLPA's new partnership with AARP, a program called "Create The Good," intended to focus on community service and addressing the needs of retired players.
"If you were in a locker room, then you were part of a legacy that existed before you and will exist after you," Smith said. "This partnership will touch each of our former players."
A video was shown explaining the "One Team" effort by all four major sports leagues to help relief efforts in Haiti.
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