The popular opinion at the NFLPA annual meeting in Maui is that owners will impose a lockout on the players next March when the current collective bargaining agreement expires.
"Everyone believes it. It's not a strike. It's a lockout," Bears wide receiver Rashied Davis told Liz Mullen of Sports Business Daily. "The owners are the ones. We want to play. That is what the players want to do. Owners don't want to let us play, so they are planning to lock us out."
Davis is an alternate player representative for the Bears and is attending the meetings with about 100 players from around the league, including Bears player rep Hunter Hillenmeyer.
One of the primary hang-ups for the players is that the owners have not opened up their books to show how they are struggling financially. They say it's pointless to concede their share of revenue if the owners cannot show them specifically where their troubles are and how deep they run.
Hillenmeyer told the Tribune last week that players are hopeful to see a greater sense of urgency out of owners. Watching them detail their financial records would have a heck of a start, at least from the players' perspective.
"We, as players, are getting pretty frustrated with the owners lack of urgency," Hillenmeyer said. "While it's a virtual certainty that this league year will start with all the poison pills in place on both sides, it's my sincere hope that we don't wait 51 weeks from right now to make any substantive progress towards an agreement.
"The owners' first proposal would have taken us back over two decades in terms of players' percentage of revenues. They know the offer is ludicrous, and they know that we know that. Rather than leaving that as their only offer for the next year, and trying to anchor us at some unrealistic number, I wish we could move on to real, substantive, interest-based negotiations."
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A new football league needs to be brought in to play. One where the owners TELL the players how much they will pay for a given position. If they don't like that number, don't play.
When the NFL, if they're lucky, turns into a TV only league, because the PSL's have gone out of reach of even the highrollers, because there is no limit to the size of the contracts of even pedestrian players, wouldn't it be nice to pay $25 to get a seat in a modest stadium to watch players who play because they love the game, not because their contracts demand it. Think about it.
Free enterprise. It's being suppressed but still works.
ralphie
your name says it all
know nothing
sick of it on March 16, 2010 4:41 PM
WWJT4
that's probably because it didnt have any big words you could understand or didnt have anything you had to sound out
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Are you trying to prove his point or are you an impostor trying to make his point?
WWJT4
that's probably because it didnt have any big words you could understand or didnt have anything you had to sound out
seriously you think if some franchises are in trouble... wait forget it I cant explain everything to you. At some point your going to have to start acting like a big boy. All I'm doing is enabling your stupidity.
Let's hope the players aren't dumb enough to think that they are the most important in this, they will be forgotten very quickly but the jerseys will be filled by those who will be happy to collect their checks.
sick of it on March 16, 2010 1:54 PM
the league may possible fold.
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That is one of the dumbest things I have ever seen written.
Guess no one remembers 1987 or 1983? These guys are by far the greatest football players on the planet. The cream of the crop. It will be a sad day if replacements come along. Ticket sales will plummet and tv ratings will drop, the league may possible fold.Of course it's a LOCKOUT not a strike so it's not going to happen.
The owners put up the money, they make the rules.
If the guys they hire to play don't like the rules the guys with the money make, go flip some burgers, no one cares and there are plenty of people waiting to replace you at your job.
If the players are dumb enough to think the fans care about them they are living in a fantasy world. We have demonstrated over and over that they are replaceable parts and it makes no difference if it's them or the next group who wears the jersey.
Complain about your million dollar salary at your own risk.
Does it really matter? I do feel the players make the NFL! They are todays gladiators and i give them a thumbs up! I feel bad they dont have guaranteed contracts! The owners dont care for them or their future. It's just like the moview Roller Ball! Peace.
GYB on March 16, 2010 11:58 AM
Fire them and bring in the next batch, within one season, no one will care. There will be far more damage if there is a strike/lockout.
. . . . . . . . .
I agree, if they don't like it, replace them. It will take almost no time for the product to be better than it is now if they do fire them. They could have the same talent level with good and appreciative attitudes which will equal a better league by putting their foot down and taking back control of the league.
If the players don't like it, form your own league.
Well their are a few teams that are broke and almost all the money goes to the players. Jacksonville, Detroit, Cleveland, and a few other teams are all in trouble, they can't afford to pay players anymore revenue, they are already opperating at or near a loss.
If not for Revenue sharing half these guys don't even have jobs, Teams like Dallas, Chicago, New York and other major Market teams pay for teams like the Packers to be competative. Thats what the real hold up is, some of the big name owners are sick of paying for other teams.
scabs? you want scabs? Go to an arena football game then see if you still want scabs, because those are the guys that will be your Chicago Bears. Davis just happens to be an exceptional AFL alumni. HHMMMMMM
Fire them and bring in the next batch, within one season, no one will care. There will be far more damage if there is a strike/lockout.
It would be nice if salaries were brought down and ticket prices were brought down to a reasonable level. I am positive the NBA will have a hold out next year so It would be nice if the NFL could get a deal done. A million dollars is a massive salary for someone who only works part time. 15 million a year is just crazy. I would like to go to games but it is just so expensive it makes more sense to watch the game at home in HD with my surround sound closest I can get.
That said I think the NFL has a solid salary system the rookie scale really needs to be fixed though and some other fine tuning. The NBA with their fully Guaranteed salaries is just a joke. Major changes are needed there and the commish knows it so I suspect a lengthy holdout of which the owners will win cause most athletes need a constant flow of cash.
jeff mangano
there probably nothing that Rashied Davis couuldnt do better than you. Including ball your wife.
Rashied Davis SUCKS. He is dead weight and couldn't catch a cold.
NFLPA annual meeting in Maui, eh? Now that really ought to put the public firmly on their side.
It looks like the players are too stupid to realize they are very replaceable and that fan loyalty is not with them. If they don't like the deal, go ahead and get another job. But to takes shots at your current employer publicly in a weak attempt to gain public sympathy as transparent as it laughable.
New York just completed a billion dollar football stadium, so did Dallas. Julius Peoppers inked a 100 million dollar contract, no one is broke so the only issue I see is GREED.
While I agree that Rashied's hands are non-existent, I don't think this is the time for personal attacks. I believe that this as all about GREED from both sides of the fence and we, the fans are going to be the ones that suffer from it.
It's not as if Rashied has to worry about it, at least not with the Bears.
That's not true, Brett.. Season ticket holders will still be charged the full amount. Which makes it even worse because we are the ones that put the most money into the teams we cheer for, and now were throwing away thousands of dollars because we can't lose our PSL's
Fans should and hopefully will blame both the players and the owners. Both will be to blame for any work stoppage.
The only thing that ought to be locked out is Rashied's oven-mitt hands.
No games played equals zero dollars.
That ought to be enough math for both sides to comprehend