NFL Owners Feel No Choice But To Opt Out Of Current CBA Deal
By Daniel Kaplan, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal
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Owners Opt Out Of CBA To Give Upshaw (l),
Goodell Time To Negotiate New Labor Deal |
NFL team owners today felt they had no choice but to terminate their CBA deal early because the players would not budge from their position otherwise. "What was there to talk about," said one NFL source, when asked why the owners would not try to talk with the NFLPA through the November 8 deadline. The league also did not want a November opt-out to be a midseason distraction. Now that the owners have opted out of the CBA, which presently runs through 2010, real talks can begin on a new deal, said the source. SportsCorp President Marc Ganis, who also is a sports consultant with ties to several NFL teams, said the early opt-out was an effort to give both sides as much time as possible for serious negotiations. Without an opt-out, players would never have given anything back. Since signing the CBA extension in '06, the owners have been complaining about the seven-year deal as too tilted toward the players. The owners had until November 8 to decide whether to shorten the deal to five years, with the last season being one without a salary cap. The 2010 season will be played without a cap unless a new deal is negotiated before then. The NFL said in a statement, "As we have explained to the union, the clubs must spend significant and growing amounts on stadium construction, operations and improvements to respond to the interests and demands of our fans."
NFLPA REACTION: NFLPA Exec Dir Gene Upshaw this morning on Sirius Satellite Radio said of receiving notification of the decision from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, "My response to his e-mail was very simple: 'What a surprise.' ... When we negotiated this deal we had two stop points that you could decide to terminate -- either side. Obviously the owners have decided to take this termination early. We expected it. But it means that there is football through 2010, not through 2012. And it also means that, as they say during the Draft, we're on the clock. That's basically what it means."
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