Friday, March 4, 2011

Allow Me To Explain...

I understand that the looming NFL lockout and negotiations can be a little confusing. So let me try to break it down for you.

First off, the fact that the deadline was extended by 24 hours last night means very little. The only thing that it could mean is that the owners have finally budged and are willing to talk. The two sides (players and owners) are still very far apart in terms of money distribution. In fact, that figure is approximately $25,000,000 (million) apart.

The owners and the NFLPA are trying to figure out how to evenly distribute $9 billion across three groups:
  1. Owners
  2. Players
  3. Retired Players

Here is where they stand right now:

The players have asked the owners to extend the negotiation period by 7 to 10 days. We are currently still waiting for the owners to either except or decline that offer. The players could also decertify the current union. Doing so would seemingly bring the NFL apart at the seams. That would allow every player in the NFL to bring law suits against their owners.

Having that type of power provides great leverage for the players. The owners desperately do not want that to happen. Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and Tom Brady are at the forefront when it comes to saying that they will be bringing law suits to the ownership. This is most likely nothing more than a ploy to scare the owners. It seems to be working.

What does this mean for the future of the NFL?

Nothing can happen until a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) has been reached. There will be no signing of any players until there is a new (CBA). The future of the NFL is in a conference room in a high rise in Washington DC. No free agency, no trades, no player moves what so ever until a new CBA has been reached.

I hope that makes things a little easier to understand. If not, just comment and leave a question.

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