The RadRev Cast of Characters

Here’s a quick rundown of who we have identified to date as participating in the negotiations, or at least those commenting publicly.  Give it a look through and let us know who we’ve left off in the comments.

Filed under: NFLPA, NFLPA Player Representatives, Roger Goodell

Two NFL CBA Vets Draw Battle Lines

No, that’s not Mark Murphy & Doug Allen. But you get the idea. (copyright bret_libendorfer)

Sports Business Journal asked four veterans of the sports labor wars to share their thoughts on the state of labor relations in the NFL, NBA, and MLB.  For the NFL, Mark Murphy, president and CEO of the Green Bay Packers, lays out the owners’ and league’s case.  For the NFLPA, former assistant executive director of the NFLPA, Doug Allen sets the stage for the players’ positions.

Murphy’s arguments and issues (NFL):

• player salaries/costs are rising faster than revenues;
• NFLPA already has access to as much NFL financial data as needed to understand the business;
• owners need authority to recoup bonus money for suspended players;
• wants a rookie salary cap;
• ending NFLPA litigation against CBA-agreed anti-doping policy.

Allen’s points (former NFLPA):

• re-dedicate to growing the business of football together;
• owners need to work out revenue sharing; not cap salaries at the level a small market team can afford;
• players need to prepare to “decertify” the union and sue on antitrust grounds if owners attempt to restrict player movement.

My quick thoughts on this are: (1) Murphy’s pitch as a former NFLPA player rep to soothe the fears of the players is misplaced and a bit insulting–he’s switched sides; (2) the argument that salaries are rising faster than revenues is specious due to the salary cap and the probability that salaries are held lower than an open market would bear; (3) Allen is 20-year veteran of the NFLPA and likely has a bunker mentality from living through the previous negotiations; (4) that said, decertification is a real possibility (see NFLPA website).

There’s a lot more to be said about decertification and whether modern antitrust law would actually even be helpful to the union.  For another post.  But quickly, if the union “decertifies,” the league would no longer be protected by the non-statutory exemption to the antitrust laws, and thus would be subject to those laws.  Right now, the NFL is protected from an antitrust suit by the union because of the collective bargaining agreement it has entered into with the NFLPA, which was certified by the National Labor Relations Board.  The 1993 CBA gave the players the right to decertify and challenge the league’s salary cap, the draft, and free agency under the antitrust laws. More here.

Filed under: anti-doping policy, antitrust, NFL revenue, NFLPA, NFLPA Player Representatives, player contracts, restricted free agency, rookie salary cap, salary cap, Doug Allen, Green Bay Packers, Mark Murphy

RadRev News Roundup – Part I

I got a little busy at work the last few days, so here’s a round up of a few of the happenings in the NFL and NFLPA.  I’ll expand on some of the issues in later posts.

• Former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue spoke to high school coaches about curbing steroid use in the NFL and grassroots/high school leagues.

Money Quote: “The Players Association and players viewed steroids like coal miners viewed coal dust,” Tagliabue said. “They didn’t want it.”

• The Washington Examiner (DC) rails against pre-season football and encourages the sides to agree to an extended schedule in the next CBA.

Money Quote: “NFL teams mandate fans buy two preseason games as part of the overall package without any price break. That’s pure greed. Owners pay players $1,100 per preseason game, but still charge fans the max.”

• The Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA) reports that Robert Kraft and the Patriots are trying to stay flexible in their player contract situations due to the uncertainty of the labor negotiations and the possibility of an uncapped year in 2010.  Logan Mankins, Sebastian Gostkowski, and Vince Wilfork all have contracts expiring after this season.

Money Quote: ““We’re coming into a labor era where we don’t know what the rules are going to be. … So we want to be flexible.” ~ Pats Owner Robert Kraft

• Speaking of player contracts, Michael Crabtree has yet to sign in San Fran; the sportswriters and 49ers fans continue to vent.  John Lopez of Sports Illustrated breaks down the chances of a rookie salary cap/slotting system in the new CBA and finds little support, blames agents.

Money Quote:  ”Roger Goodell is right and so are you. It is an absurd system. But that doesn’t mean it’s going to change anytime soon. In fact, it probably won’t.”

• NFLPA Exec. Dir. DeMaurice Smith is visiting training camps to keep the players on the same page for the upcoming CBA talks.  Arrowhead Pride (KC) gives a quick update and links to a more in-depth piece at BobGretz.com (that I’ll more fully discuss soon).

Money Quote:  It’s us against them, as [Mike] Vrabel recently told reporters. ”Right now, that’s the unfortunate side of our business. There are owners and there is everybody else. We are everybody else and we need to stick together.”

Filed under: anti-doping policy, extended schedule, NFLPA, NFLPA Player Representatives, player contracts, rookie salary cap, 49ers, Bob Gretz, Chiefs, DeMaurice Smith, Kansas City Chiefs, Logan Mankins, Michael Crabtree, Mike Vrabel, New England Patriots, Patriots, Paul Tagliabue, Robert Kraft, San Francisco 49ers, Sebastian Gostowski, steroids, Vince Wilfork

Who Tweets?

In the post below, I did a quick search for those player reps who might tweet and I found only one (Darren Sharper who probably isn’t even a player rep anymore as he signed with the Saints — we’ll update when I get any sort of official word).

But that exercise made me think, who else might be good to follow.  I’ve started following these guys, as well as several of the players:

From the league:

NFLcommish (yeah, him)
NFLPRGuy (Brian McCarthy, who appears to be a PR guy…so there).
NFLonTheHill (Joe Browne, the legislative affairs guy from the NFL, I assume)

From the union:

DSmithNFLPA (supposedly DeMaurice Smith, though there have been no posts)
GAtallah (George Atallah, Assistant Executive Director, External Affairs for the NFLPA [another PR guy])

And of course, you should follow RadovichsRevenge (which sadly shows up as radovichsreveng [without the 'e'] because it’s too long for twttr…jrks).

Who’d I miss?

Filed under: NFLPA Player Representatives, Roger Goodell, Brian McCarthy, Darren Sharper, DeMaurice Smith, George Atallah, Joe Browne, twitter

Keep an Eye on the Player Reps

Just a quick post to note who serves as an NFLPA representative. We’ll be keeping a close eye on these guys to see how they think the process is going.  We already know that Muhsin Muhammad (Carolina Panthers rep) thinks a lockout is more likely than not. (Note: this is the list from the NFLPA’s page — it has not been updated since some offseason moves. I’ll try to update it as I can.)

Arizona Cardinals
	Rep:	Nathan Hodel

Atlanta Falcons
	Rep:	Erik Coleman

Baltimore Ravens
	Rep:	Matt Stover

Buffalo Bills
	Rep:	Robert Royal

Carolina Panthers
	Rep:	Muhsin Muhammad

Chicago Bears
	Rep:	Hunter Hillenmeyer

Cleveland Browns
	Rep:	Darnell Dinkins

Dallas Cowboys
	Rep:	Greg Ellis

Denver Broncos
	Rep:	Ebenezer Ekuban

Detroit Lions
	Rep:	Mike Furrey

Green Bay Packers
	Rep:	Mark Tauscher

Houston Texans
	Rep:	Chester Pitts

Kansas City Chiefs
	Rep:	Brian Waters

Miami Dolphins
	Rep:	Vonnie Holliday

Minnesota Vikings
	Rep:	Darren Sharper (link to twitter)

New England Patriots
	Rep:	Mike Vrabel

New Orleans Saints
	Rep:	Jonathan Stinchcomb

New York Giants
	Rep:	Shaun O’Hara

New York Jets
	Rep:	Tony Richardson

Oakland Raiders
	Rep:	Tony Stewart

Philadelphia Eagles
	Rep:	Brian Dawkins

Pittsburgh Steelers
	Rep:	Charlie Batch

San Diego Chargers
	Rep:	Nick Hardwick

San Francisco 49ers
	Rep:	Walt Harris

Seattle Seahawks
	Rep:	Brian Russell

St. Louis Rams
	Rep:	Adam Goldberg

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
	Rep:	Kevin Carter

Tennessee Titans
	Rep:	David Thornton

Washington Redskins
	Rep:	James Thrash

Filed under: NFLPA, NFLPA Player Representatives, Adam Goldberg, Brian Dawkins, Brian Russell, Brian Waters, Charlie Batch, Chester Pitts, Darnell Dinkins, Darren Sharper, David Thornton, Ebenezer Ekuban, Erik Coleman, Greg Ellis, Hunter Hillenmeyer, James Thrash, Jonathan Stinchcomb, Kevin Carter, Mark Tauscher, Matt Stover, Mike Furrey, Mike Vrabel, Muhsin Muhammad, Nathan Hodel, Nick Hardwick, Robert Royal, Shaun O'Hara, Tony Richardson, Tony Stewart, Vonnie Holliday, Walt Harris

Muhsin Muhammad: Lockout More Likely Than Not

The Herald (SC) interviewed Muhsin Muhammed about his experience as the new players representative for the union from the Carolina Panthers.  His view?  Get the players ready for no football in 2011.  Asked about his thoughts regarding the chance of a lockout in 2011, he responded:

“That’s what it’s scheduled to be right now” he said. “The owners were the ones who wanted to opt out of the deal. I’m not sure exactly how it’s going to play itself out, but I hope we can come to some resolve.

“I think it’s pretty high right now (the chance of a lockout). Unfortunately I think it is. Until the talks begin, my position is that it will more likely happen than not happen.

The good news is that Muhammad reports the NFLPA is encouraging its players to participate in a 50/50 plan whereby they save half their salaries so they will be in a stronger position to get by should the lockout come to pass.

Filed under: NFLPA, NFLPA Player Representatives, Muhsin Muhammad