Today is turning out to be a good day for the fans of the NFL. Raymond T. Rivard photograph

Ever so slowly, reports about what is contained in the new collective bargaining agreement are surfacing.

Over the weekend, we saw the reports about fewer contact days in camp and now this morning the report about protections for career-ending injuries, especially for rookies, has been implemented.

In keeping in line with the players association and Commissioner Roger Goodell’s focus on player safety, the new wrinkle, as reported this morning by Sports Illustrated’s Peter King, will allow an injured player to recoup up to $1.5 million. (more…)

As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk has emphasized, this shouldn’t even be a bone of contention. 

Because the players would be paid from gross revenues, it’s in their best interest to make the TV people happy with a deal that is stable. By continuing to linger on this opt out issue, it will only succeed in alienating people – namely the fans.

We here at lombardiave.com say that the players should simply agree to the 10-year deal and move on. 

Enough of the drama already. 

The fans can see through this foot-dragging and wont be happy with any delays. At this point, the fans are expecting action this week and the start of camps.

Don’t let them down.

Commissioner Roger Goodell could still come out of this mess smelling good if he can help usher in a CBA that benefits both sides and gets football players on the field soon. Raymond T. Rivard photograph

The players’ reps email allegedly went out Friday (though there are those claiming it was never sent) saying they would huddle again on Monday to consider how to proceed. Now Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk is reporting today that the work continues behind the scenes through the weekend.

That’s a good thing … and at least sheds some light on the situation.

He cites Ravens cornerback and players association executive committee member Domonique Foxworth’s Twitter that everything is happening by phone today (Saturday). Florio also reports that Michael Lombardi of NFL Network is saying the owners, who despite Packers’ President Mark Murphy’s statement that the league has put down its pens, is having a conference call today to discuss the situation.

In addition there are many reports that are claiming the 10 named plaintiffs in the Brady case are moving out of view to allow the process to continue. Yet to be decided is how the NFLPA is to be recertified as a union … a question that should have been determined weeks or months ago and a situation Florio rightly points to as the fault of both sides.

Why didn’t someone take a look at this necessary step weeks or months ago and come up with a plan to make it happen in a timely manner?

Like one league source who was quoted in Florio’s post so succinctly said: “It’s like putting a man on the moon and worrying about how he’ll get back after he gets there.”

Yes, it’s even worse than Apollo 13 … our hope is that the league and players association have enough duct tape to fix the situation.

Florio said:

“It’s hard not to point to the lack of urgency in May and June, once the parties realized that the time had come to start talking, as one of the primary causes of the current predicament. Two days per week ultimately weren’t enough, and now that the plane is supposed to be landing, the pilots are circling the runway trying to figure out how in the hell to put the wheels down. For two supposedly sophisticated parties poised to do a deal that, over time, will kick out well over $100 billion dollars, it’s worse than disappointing. It’s embarrassing.”

We here at lombardiave.com simply can’t believe it. Aren’t these people supposed to be smart?

Packers President Mark Murphy, a former player himself, was toeing the management line yesterday with his comments about where things stood with the CBA. Raymond T. Rivard photograph

Packers president Mark Murphy’s statement last night as reported by Kareem Copeland of the Green Bay Press Gazette today, “NFL owners are done negotiating,” is pretty tough sounding, especially coming from a former player who should know better.

Murphy’s statement,

“We’ve put our pens down,” Murphy said. “We’ve negotiated in good faith with the union. We’ve reached an agreement on all the key points.

“They know what we ratified and they’re voting to ratify the same thing.”

was made last night during the hectic few hours of finger-pointing and miscommunication, but it still emphasizes the point that there are and always will be deep divisions between employees and management.
With sideways glances and mistrust, the players were pissed yesterday when the owners passed their own version of the collective bargaining agreement … a document that players said they hadn’t fully seen and wanted to study before even considering a vote. (more…)