CBA update

[Happy Panther]

Wasn't some teams de-certifying the unions to prevent a lockout? I haven't heard anything about it since the summer

It was an idea that had no legs

[thunderraiden]

wasn't some teams de-certifying the unions to prevent a lockout? I haven't heard anything about it since the summer

ಠ_ಠ Blatant bluff on their part.

[Kurb]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5864736

[DevilCat]

It was also mentioned yesterday on the pre-game show, that Pat's owner Robert Kraft was keen that a lock-out would be avoided. Kraft is one of the more buisness savvy owners, who his peers say chooses his words carefully. Sounds like positive news for football in "11

[Darth Bobo]

Wasn't some teams de-certifying the unions to prevent a lockout? I haven't heard anything about it since the summer

I'll try to explain something here because it is vital that everyone interested understand it clearly.

If 30% of all players abandon the union, or vote to decertify it, any form of collective bargaining agreement is instantly dissolved. It would then be illegal for players or the NFL to attempt negotiate details of a new CBA. A new certified union would have to be formed first before a new CBA could be legally negotiated.

The NFLPA is only threatening to decertify the union (not actually doing it), because if they hypothetically did decertify the NFL would be forced to create new contestible rules on player acquisition and retention that applied to all 32 teams, which by Supreme Court ruling in the American Needle case, are legally considered separate businesses. There would surely be legal contests.

Being union-less would allow players to sue, by class action or individually, the individual teams using ANTITRUST laws, rather than LABOR law. The reason the players would want to do this is because antitrust lawsuits tend to have harsher penalties, and because they have also tended to be more likely to rule in favor of the litigant, and as I mentioned above their case otherwise against the NFL is pretty weak, and because each NFL owner may face multiple lawsuits, which when tallied across the league could theoretically be 100 or more total lawsuits.

The NFL has operated without a CBA before (circa 1987), so if the union decertifies that does not necessarily mean that there will be a lockout, it just means that any unrestricted free agents must negotiate a new contract that does not give consideration to a CBA, and the language of those contracts will surely differ. The same would be true for any drafted player.

In the event that each owner is left out to dry to face various player lawsuits, the NFL would lose some capability to create parity at the least, and at most some franchises may simply stop playing football, unless the money they receive from their TV income insurance is enough to pay their stadium bills. This, my friends, is what scares me the most, and I hate even mentioning it here, because I don't want to put you guys into a wave of undue paranoia, but at the same time it is a possible outcome, and some teams would be more likely than others.

There is also a possibility that PASH was not exaggerating the owner unity. I hope for the sake of the Panthers that is the case.

[Jackofalltrades]

Wasn't some teams de-certifying the unions to prevent a lockout? I haven't heard anything about it since the summer

It wasn't a bluff, nor was it directly related to stopping a lockout. By de-certifying it allows players to file anti-trust suits against the NFL, which is more like posturing.

[Anybodyhome]

The votes that have taken place in locker rooms across the league are nothing more than indicators as to who and how many players would vote to de-certify the union.

Basically, the votes have been, "If it came down to it, would you vote to de-certify the union?" And, as we all know, the vast majority of the teams that have voted have overwhelmingly said, "Yes."

The 1987 de-certification was landmark in that it marked the birth of free agency in the NFL.

[Montsta]

None of this would be happening if Matt Moore was the fuging starter.

[Darth Bobo]

It is unlikely that a new CBA will be applied before the current one expires. In other words, it is likely that for an undefined period there will be no CBA. That has some PSL's worried about whether they should invest in their seat licenses. However, the league has announced that it will refund any ticket costs for games that are cancelled.

The specifics of the league-wide policy for general admission tickets are reasonable and give fans the incentive to take a leap of faith by offering a full refund or credit for season ticket holders on pre-season and regular-season home games that are cancelled.

Sure, it's a message to fans that they will never pay any money for a game that doesn't happen. Great. It's also a message to the NFLPA that the league has an economic plan prepared for scheduled games which never occur...

John Clayton from ESPN is advising fans to pay close attention to a few franchises; Cowboys, Vikings, Texans. If any sign contracts with a high profile coach, we may interpret that a labor agrement is imminent. Otherwise, not. I don't know if that is an effective litmus test, but it is an persuasive point to say the least.

At the heart of the NFL's economic profile is how the salary cap changed since the new one was created in 2006. The cap was:

2005 - 85.5m

2006 - 102m

2007 - 109m

2008 - 116m

2009 - 127m

2010 - uncapped

The owners argue that this growth easily exceeds the revenue growth of practically any industry in the USA. At the same time, public/municipal stadium construction funds around the country have withered. Though ticket prices have risen a bit for some teams, this has been offset by relatively poor sales for many teams owing to the recession.

One thing that is slowing negotiations down is that we have a new commissioner Roger Gooddell, and a new players union executive DeMaurice Smith. Unlike Tagliabue and Upshaw, these men DO NOT KNOW EACH OTHER, so there is a lot of positioning going on.

Panther fans are excited about the idea that we may get the very first pick in the 2011 draft, but they need to remember that even though the draft will take place, any rookies who get signed cannot participate in workouts, training camps, practice field, preseason, or beyond until a new CBA is applied. Its even worse for undrafted free agents because they might never get a shot in preseason, and teams may have no opportunity to evaluate them before waivers apply.

Some colleges which customarily produce NFL draft picks are telling junior year studs not to consider entering the draft at all because of the uncertainty of the NFL lockout {and because USC is ineligible for the national title (ala Reggie Bush)}, so we are likely to see an overall reduction in the quality of draft picks.

Lots of things to consider.