bprevost21 Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 NFL labor talks broke off Tuesday three days before the start of free agency, leaving teams and players in a quandary about negotiating new contracts.Gene Upshaw, executive director of the NFL Players Association, spent the last three days meeting in New York and Washington with commissioner Paul Tagliabue. "We're deadlocked. There's nowhere to go," Upshaw said. "There's no reason to continue meeting." The NFL acknowledged the talks had broken off and said no further discussions were scheduled. The league said it would not extend Friday's deadline for the start of free agency. Although the contract does not expire until after the 2007 season, this is a critical period in the negotiations to extend the 12-year-old contract. Talks have been going on for more than a year. Without an extension, the 2007 season would become a so-called uncapped year with no spending limit and no minimum, and players could potentially face a lockout in 2008. Team officials and player agents have said that doing business without an extension -- particularly with the free agent signing period set to begin Friday and the draft on April 29-30 -- will prove virtually impossible. Because of the extreme circumstances that would exist with an uncapped year on the horizon, it would be difficult to meet the financial expectations of free agents and high-round draft choices. "We're too far apart on our economics and too far apart on revenue sharing -- the ball is in their court," Upshaw said. "We'll go to the uncapped year, there won't be an extension." Free agency is scheduled to start Friday. If the deal is not extended, this would be the last year with a salary cap, so agents and team officials want to know how to structure contracts. For example, if there is no extension, the salary cap is expected to be about $95 million this season and annual raises after 2006 in a long-term deal would be limited to 30 percent. If the deal is extended the cap could be $10 million or more higher. The sides have agreed on a number of issues. The biggest one is changing the formula for the amount of money to go to the players from "designated gross revenues" -- primarily television and ticket sales -- to "total gross revenues," which include almost every bit a money a a team generates. They differ, however, on the percentage of revenues to be allocated to the players -- the union is asking for 60 percent and the league's current offer is 56.2 percent. But there are also disputes among groups of owners on that issue, too. Tagliabue has called a league meeting in New York for Thursday to explain to NFL clubs why the sides have been unable to come to an agreement. Teams with lower revenues -- mostly small-market clubs -- say that if the contributions to the players' fund are equally apportioned among 32 franchises, they will have to pay a substantially larger proportion of their nontelevision and ticket money because they have less. Owners of high-revenue teams, like Dallas' Jerry Jones, claim spreading the load equally would force some teams to work harder to generate new sources of money. Another high-revenue owner, New England's Robert Kraft, says the formula does not take stadium debt into account, as he has on Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli reported Monday that league owners were scheduled to meet Tuesday via conference call to discuss the status of negotiations. Two owners told Pasquarelli on Monday afternoon that they have delayed their departures from Indianapolis, site of the NFL scouting combine since Wednesday, to accommodate the 6 p.m. ET timing of the conference call. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said "internal revenue-sharing issues" would not be discussed at the meeting. Source Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy1 Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 They differ, however, on the percentage of revenues to be allocated to the players -- the union is asking for 60 percent and the league's current offer is 56.2 percent. Those greedy SOBs. :no: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjbeckwith Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 You would think after Hockey and Baseball they would learn. People are going to loose patience with these people if they dont get their acts together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
method Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 Even if the players and the NFL don't reach an agreement soon we will still have at least two years before a possible lockout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
method Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Everyone can sleep easy tonight. The Nfl agreed to the terms of the CBA. The vote was 30-2 with the Bengals and Bills voting no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbluepride35 Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 :jump: :bounce: That's a relief. The best pro league in the U.S. showed why it is and came to its senses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gfunk4life Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 it wouldnt have been a lock out, just no Cap. and this is a great thing for the NFL(and us fans) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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