State Of The League: Goodell Confident About Labor Peace

Goodell Discusses Upcoming Labor Negotiations With NFLPA In State-Of-The-League Address

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Friday during his annual state of the league address said that he "hopes to avoid a clash with the [NFLPA] that could interrupt the sport's long-standing labor peace" for the '11 season, according to Mark Maske of the WASHINGTON POST. Goodell also disputed the findings of an NFLPA-commissioned study that claimed that NFL teams "remain highly profitable and no financial concessions by the players are needed." Goodell "rejected the union's suggestion that having the teams share more revenue among themselves would solve any economic problems that the NFL might be experiencing, without involving the players by asking them for givebacks" (WASHINGTON POST, 1/31).

GOODELL OPTIMISTIC ABOUT DEAL: Goodell said he is "optimistic" the league and the union will "reach an agreement that will continue our labor peace and allow the players to continue to flourish." Goodell: "What’s happened now with the economy turning so difficult for all of us, it’s just accentuated the negatives in (the CBA) and the owners feel it’s critically important for the future of the game, the future of the business, that they reevaluate this. ... The people at the table -- the players and the owners -- will understand the economics of the NFL, and I think that’ll be done and it will lead to a constructive dialogue and hopefully a very positive agreement." Goodell said of opening the league's books to the NFLPA, "The union has very in-depth knowledge about our economics. They know all of our revenue down to the penny because they share in that and that’s part of our system. They also know our largest cost: player cost. What’s happened very clearly here is the system has changed and our environment has changed. We’re now investing in stadiums, we’re operating stadiums. Those are significant costs and significant risks to our ownership and that’s a risk borne by the ownership alone. The model has shifted over the years and we have to address that and we will do that directly at the collective bargaining table" (NFL Network, 1/30).

UNION RAILROAD: Goodell disputed the contention in the NFLPA-commissioned report that teams averaged nearly $25M in profit last year. Goodell: "There's a lot of fiction in that report. The $24[M] in profits is completely inaccurate. We understand our numbers. Ownership has spent a lot of time evaluating the current CBA and determined it is better to terminate that agreement and come up with a new one that will be beneficial to the clubs and players" (N.Y. TIMES, 1/31). In Philadelphia, Paul Domowitch wrote while Goodell disputed the report, there is "precious little evidence that the NFL is making less money today than it was last year or the year before." Many observers believe that "all the league's cost-cutting is nothing more than posturing for the upcoming labor negotiations." Meanwhile, Goodell Friday "sort of suggested" that the NFLPA, and not the owners, are "to blame for the layoffs around the league." Goodell in his press conference said, "Labor unions and management have to work together to address this" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 1/31).

Rooney Says NFL Could End Up Playing '10 Without A Salary Cap

TIME TO WORRY? Steelers Chair Dan Rooney said it is a "definite possibility" the '10 NFL season will be played without a salary cap, which will happen if the NFL and the NFLPA cannot reach a new CBA by March '10. Rooney: "Unless we get people to sit down and be reasonable and work things out, anything can happen" (Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 1/31). But SI.com's Don Banks wrote, "Nothing happens in the NFL in terms of negotiations until it absolutely has to," so discussion about the NFLPA-commissioned report and the NFL's "refuting of those figures was just wasted effort." Rooney: "Nothing happens anywhere, in any negotiation, until the last minute. It's always that way." Rooney added, "We're not there yet. You have to get to the table, and they (the NFLPA) don't even have a leader yet.  We have to see who it is, and then we'll work with that person and get people to sit down and be reasonable and work things out" (FANNATION.com, 1/31). Vikings C and player rep Matt Birk said the talks of CBA negotiations are "just like an election." Birk: "You start throwing jabs early" (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/31).

BATTLE IN THE TRENCHES: NFL Network's Adam Schefter said, "We’ve got two seasons guaranteed of football and then it’s up to the NFL and the NFLPA to work out their differences and come up with some kind of agreement that saves football in 2011, which they have time to do.” Schefter: "One of the reasons that this league has been so popular is because of the labor peace that it has enjoyed for as long as it has, and to go back on that would be a hit to the game. ... This will be the biggest challenge that Roger Goodell faces as commissioner of the NFL" (NFL Network, 1/30). In Milwaukee, Tom Silverstein wrote the NFLPA "seems to be daring the owners to try [to lock out players], figuring they won't give up a year or more of profits to get a better agreement." Goodell during his address Friday "wasn't asked about a lockout and he didn't bring it up, either" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 1/31). In Baltimore, Rick Maese wrote the "rhetoric thrown around Tampa this week ... makes clear that both sides are gearing up for a bloody battle" (Baltimore SUN, 1/31). On Long Island, Bob Glauber wrote fans are "in for some bruising negotiations." Once the NFLPA in March elects a permanent Exec Dir, the "gloves will be off" (NEWSDAY, 1/31).

NEED TO REACH A DEAL: The Baltimore SUN's Maese wrote as the two sides "sharpen their knives they seem eager to use the struggling economy as justification for their fight," but this "scary landscape should give them every reason to work out an agreement, to not wait until the last minute." Both the NFLPA and the owners "should be plenty scared," because if they "drag this out, they stand to lose their biggest asset -- fans" (Baltimore SUN, 1/31). Fanhouse.com's Jay Mariotti said Goodell should mandate both sides to "avoid labor strife." Mariotti: "If he’s the great unifier, then keep this out of the papers, keep this out of the media, and try to settle things behind the scenes." Dallas Morning News columnist Tim Cowlishaw said of Goodell, "I hope privately he's meeting with the owners and telling the ones who have wanted to get away from the cap. ... 'We can’t do that to this league, we can’t do that in this economy, we can’t get into a situation in this year with unemployment and bankruptcies and everything being what they are of having a bunch of rich owners fighting a bunch of rich football players.’ That will take the league’s credibility to a new low" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 1/30).