Deal or No Deal?
Developments and Commentary on the NFL/NFLPA CBA Saga
02/29/2020 |
Deal or No Deal?The NFL/NFLPA CBA conundrum was slated for top billing this week until the coronavirus eclipsed it for the top spot in our regular edition of The Blitz, but it’s an extremely important story nonetheless. Here’s a look back at the week’s developments. While this is a positive development after NFLPA’s lawyers are done, players should have the CBA reviewed by privately retained, independent attorneys to make sure any problematic language is identified and no bias from those who are pushing this agreement was allowed to conceal language that may come back to bite players. #KnowYourWorth NFLPA provides more CBA details to players(ProFootball Talk-Mike Florio) — The players are getting more details about the deal on which they’ll soon be voting. In a memo sent to all players, a copy of which PFT has obtained, NFL Players Association president Eric Winston has provided more information to all union members regarding the proposed CBA. The email contains a link to a document that contains more details about the “principle terms” of the deal. Winston explains that the legal team is currently drafting the language of the final CBA. Continue reading… |
02/28/2020 |
Here are the NFLPA’s detailed highlights of the proposed CBA(The Score-Dom Cosentino) — Last week, after the NFL’s owners approved the “principal elements” of a proposed collective bargaining agreement with the NFL Players Association, the NFLPA put out a three-page fact sheet that provided a few vague details about what was in the deal for the players to consider. Tuesday night, after the union’s executive committee met with the owners and then huddled with player reps from each team, the NFLPA chose to send the proposal to its full membership. A vote is expected in the weeks ahead, with a simple majority required for approval. Continue reading… (Article contains embed of 02/2/2020 NFLPA Fact Sheet) NFLPA not sure when CBA ballots will go out to playersProFootball Talk-Josh Alper 02/28/2020) — When the week began, it was thought that the NFLPA might be sending the proposed Collective Bargaining Agreement to the entire membership for a vote shortly after a Tuesday meeting with ownership but that wasn’t the case. As the week comes to an end, it remains unclear when the ballots will go out to players to vote on accepting the deal. Jim Trotter of NFL Media reported that it looked like that would happen on Monday, but NFLPA assistant executive director of external affairs George Atallah said that was not the case. Continue reading… Worth your time: NFL players should never agree to extra games, but owners will coerce them to anyway(USA Today-Chris Korman) — The NFL and the union representing the league’s players appear to be nearing the end of negotiations — players will vote on the deal soon — for a new collective bargaining agreement that will determine how the business of the NFL is run for the foreseeable future… But it is truly brutal. There are dozens upon dozens of families that have been torn apart by a former football player’s crippled memory, debilitating headaches and violent outbursts — all likely caused or exacerbated by brain injuries incurred while playing and practicing football… The sensible thing to do, then, is to safeguard the game by creating an environment where players take fewer brain-jarring hits. Continue reading… UNIVERSITY POLL SHOWS ONLY 31% OF NFL FANS IN FAVOR OF 17-GAME SEASON (Sportsnaut-Jesse Reed) |
02/27/2020 |
Facts are Facts. Math is Math.(Advocacy for Fairness in Sports-Ivan F. Soto) — Sometimes the best move is No Move. Facts are Facts. Math is Math. Opinions will vary on their impact on an individual’s unique circumstances around the Globe. However, that doesn’t change the Facts or Math that sometimes No Move is your best move. As the NFL/NFLPA bargaining continues to be a hot topic of debate on social media many are taking a position on if the terms are good, bad or just “meh”. In giving some thought to where things stand between the Owner and the Players coming to an agreement, I found myself wondering more and more why anything had to be agreed upon or voted on at all? Sometimes the best negotiating move is in fact No Move at all. Continue reading… NFL’s hurry-up strategy on a new contract aims to counter leverage by players(LA Times-Sam Farmer) — Not only is the NFL putting the draft and a team in Las Vegas this year, but its pending collective bargaining agreement with players has the hurried feel of a wedding at a drive-through chapel. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Maybe it will be wedded bliss. But considering it’s a 10-year deal with no way for either side to wriggle out, there’s bound to be some bumpiness over the next decade. Continue reading… Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson come out against NFL’s proposed collective bargaining agreement(Washington Post-Des Bieler) — Some of the NFL’s biggest stars have come out strongly against a proposed new collective bargaining agreement for the league. Among the high-profile players pushing against a deal arrived at between team owners and the players union, which will soon go to a leaguewide vote, were Aaron Rodgers, J.J. Watt and Russell Wilson. Continue reading… NFL owners want a quick labor deal. Here’s why the players should slow down(The Score-Dom Cosentino) — Dear NFL players, The leadership of your union, the NFL Players Association, has moved to send a proposed collective bargaining agreement to you and your fellow members, with a vote expected in the next few weeks. A simple majority is all it takes to ratify the agreement. The new deal would run through the 2029 season and add a 17th regular-season game, in exchange for some modest concessions from the owners. But before you vote, ask yourself this question: What’s the hurry? Continue reading… Retired Steelers star James Harrison the latest to come out against NFL CBA proposal(TribLive.com –Chris Adamski) — Seeing as how he has been retired for two years, James Harrison doesn’t have a vote or formal say in the latest NFL collective bargaining agreement proposal. But as someone who was outspoken in his dislike for the previous terms between the league and its union, Harrison expressed a strong opinion against the proposed new one. In a message posted to his verified Twitter account Thursday, the former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker took aim at NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith and said the league’s offer to the union “shouldn’t have even been on the table!” Continue reading… |
02/26/2020 |
NFLPA board narrowly approves CBA for full union vote(ProFootball Talk-Mike Florio) — The NFL Players Association unexpectedly raised the bar for sending the current CBA proposal to the full union for a vote. Early Wednesday, that bar was cleared. Per a league source, the vote by the 32-member board of player representatives was 17 for, 14 against, and one abstention. That gave the measure the minimum number of votes needed to send the measure to the full union, based on the re-interpretation of the NFLPA Constitution that the union communicated to agents on Monday. The proposed CBA won’t go to the full union with a recommendation for the players to accept it, however. Continue reading… |
02/25/2020 |
NFL labor talks come on heels of market plunge, ViacomCBS stock swoon(The Athletic-Daniel Kaplan) — An underlying theme of the NFL’s push to get an early renewal of the collective bargaining agreement is to strike while the economy is hot and a surfeit of media companies — traditional and streamers — are clamoring for more NFL games. Then came Monday’s 1,031-point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average as fears about the coronavirus upending the global economy spooked the markets. The equity swoon comes as the NFLPA’s leadership meets with key NFL owners Tuesday in a high-stakes faceoff, apparently to seek added concessions in management’s proposal with a deadline looming. Continue reading… |
02/24/2020 |
NFLPA clarifies (and perhaps changes) the rules for adopting new CBA(ProFootball Talk-Mike Florio) — The rules they are a-changin’. Amid multiple reports that the NFL Players Association will send the current CBA proposal to full membership for a simple-majority vote to ratify it regardless of the outcome of the vote conducted by the 32-man board of player representatives — and despite NFLPA Constitution language apparently to the contrary — the NFLPA has made an adjustment. Per a league source, the NFLPA will be submitting the full CBA to all players for a formal vote only if a simple majority of the board of player representatives approves the deal. Continue reading… | NFLPA 2017 Constitution Open Letter to NFLPA from Ivan F. Soto, Executive Director AFLPU(Advocacy for Fairness in Sports-Ivan F. Soto) — Having led and been directly involved in successful union side pro football CBA’s covering the Arena Football League and AFL China over the last 7 years has given me a unique opportunity to witness and participate in the delicate ballet we call collective bargaining. Specifically, as it relates to professional sports which has similarities to other labor industries but also has some very unique qualities not experienced in other industries. In my experience, the Labor/Management collective bargaining process is foreign to most workers and managers even for those that are covered by a CBA or attempting to reach mutual agreement on a contract. Continue reading… Have owners held back terms in anticipation of renewed talks?(ProFootballTalk-MIke Florio) — The threshold question for Tuesday’s session between the NFL and NFL Players Association in Indianapolis is this: Will the NFL say “we have nothing more to discuss” or will the NFL show some flexibility? Embedded within the latter question is a more fascinating one. Has the NFL deliberately held back terms in anticipation of this development? Continue reading… |
02/23/2020 |
Four reasons the NFL’s CBA proposal is bad for the players(NBC Sports-Philadelphia-Reuben Frank) — The NFL’s current collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2020 season, but negotiations have been ongoing this offseason. The NFLPA executive committee voted 6-5 to not recommend the current proposal to the members, so negotiations continue. The complete proposal hasn’t been made available to the public, but enough details have leaked over the last two days to get some sense of what’s included. The NFLPA released this fact sheet outlining key points in the CBA proposal. And there are a lot of positives for the players. It expands pension eligibility and improves insurance benefits for retired players and raises minimum salaries, eases drug testing and reduces fines. All good. But there are plenty of red flags, enough that numerous high-profile players have been tweeting against the proposal. Continue reading… Antitrust litigation gives players a powerful weapon, but there’s risk in using it(ProFootballTalk-Mike Florio) — The traditional union model doesn’t give players maximum leverage against the league, because the fundamental differences between football and other industries make it much, much harder for NFL workers to endure a work stoppage. As noted on Saturday, the strongest potential weapon comes from the players’ power to shut down the union and to proceed as individuals who have the same rights that individuals would have against independent businesses that attempt to coordinate the handling of their workforces. Continue reading… |
Advocacy for Fairness in Sports salutes the leadership demonstrated by the following players and former players who’ve been outspoken in their opposition of the rush to ratify a deal that in reality gives the players very little and keeps the owners firmly in the driver’s seat. #KnowYourWorth
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| Russell Okung | Richard Sherman | Aaron Rogers | Maurkice Pouncey |
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| Robert Griffin III | J.J. Watt | Russell Wilson | Eric Weddle |
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| Cam Heyward | Terron Armstead | Steffon Diggs | Tyler Lockett |
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| Julian Edelman | LaAdrian Waddle | Allen Robinson II | Marlon Humphrey |
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| Rich Ohrnberger | Tyrann Mathieu | Michael Thomas | James Harrison |
Our apologies if we’ve missed anyone.
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