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Vrabel Says There Is Not Enough Incentive
Yet For Players To Agree To 18 Games |
Two NFLPA Exec Committee members "maintained staunch opposition Tuesday to plans for an 18-game regular-season schedule," according to Jarrett Bell of USA TODAY. Chiefs LB Mike Vrabel and Broncos S Brian Dawkins during a conference call "insisted there was widespread sentiment among players to reject an expanded schedule that would increase revenue." That issue apparently is "a sticking point in labor talks," as is the "not-too-small matter of the owners' proposal to roll back the slice of revenue shared with players." Vrabel said, "There's not enough return on our investment to play another two games. ... I just don't see it happening." Dawkins said that "his optimism was based on a 'half-full' mind-set." Dawkins: "Revenues are at an all-time high. Ratings are at an all-time high. Sponsorships are at an all-time high" (USATODAY, 12/29). Dawkins contends that NFL owners and players "have a sense of urgency to avoid a lockout because they don't want to alienate fans." He said, "I would think common sense would say at the end of the day, after all the fighting and after all the words are said, we understand who butters our bread. That's where the urgency comes in at." As a potential work stoppage looms, Vrabel "believes fans can relate more to players than to owners." He said, "We don't have 32 players who have private jets in the NFL" (AP, 12/28). In Minneapolis, Mark Craig wrote, "My beef with the longer season is the fact it will hurt the quality of play late in the season and into the playoffs" (STARTRIBUNE.com, 12/28).
TIME TO GET TOUGH: In Raleigh, Eric Ferreri reported several Univ. of North Carolina trustees believe that the NFL "should take a tougher stance with sports agents who tempt college athletes with the promise of riches." Trustee Eddie Smith said, "I'm not sure you can absolutely, 100 percent fix the agent thing. We can do everything we can on our side of the ball, but I just think that thing is out of control. The NFL and the NCAA and others need to do everything they can to bring that car out of the ditch." Six UNC trustees agreed to discuss the issue after the school's football season was "in turmoil before it began earlier this summer when allegations surfaced about improper relationships some players had with a sports agent." Some of those trustees contend that the NFL "needs to do more to keep agents away from college campuses." Trustee Don Curtis said, "We're not getting any help from the pros at all." But NFL Senior VP/PR Greg Aiello "points to the league's proposed wage scale for rookies, an attempt to reign in their rapidly escalating salaries" (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 12/26).
