NFLPA Exec Dir Gene Upshaw said yesterday that "he believes
it may be too late" to reach agreement with the NFL on extending
the current CBA beyond its '99 expiration date, according to this
morning's WASHINGTON POST. NBC had reported over the weekend
that Upshaw had given the league a Friday deadline for concluding
negotiations, but Upshaw said yesterday, "For this year, I think
an extension is dead unless something changes dramatically in the
next 48 hours." The league and the union have been discussing a
two-year extension through 2001, with the league seeking changes
on signing bonuses and the union wanting changes in the teams'
revenue-sharing arrangement and an increase in the salary cap.
Upshaw described the league's plan on signing bonuses as
"unacceptable." He said the league proposes bonuses spent by all
30 teams be totaled in order to provide an average -- or as
Upshaw called it, a "bonus cap." Upshaw: "They say it's a
freeze. We think it's a rollback. ... It looks to me like they
want a cap within a cap. I told them that at this point, because
a lot of players still don't like the cap, what made more sense
to us was to add some years to the deal and if we have problems,
let's work it out internally." Steelers Owner Dan Rooney, a
member of the NFL Management Council's Executive Committee who
has been negotiating with the union: "If that's the conclusion
Gene has reached, it's difficult to understand, and also
regrettable" (Leonard Shapiro, WASHINGTON POST, 12/12).
