With the end of the NFL lockout near, the "inescapable realization is that Armageddon was avoided," according to Don Banks of SI.com. No regular-season games "will be lost," and "no long-term and lasting damage of true significance was done to the fans of the game." After "so many predictions of doom, the worst didn't happen." Both the players and owners "have the right to claim success." They both "won their share of points, but the biggest victory of all was the one they managed jointly: Not damaging the game or its fans" (SI.com, 7/24). CBSSPORTS.com's Clark Judge detailed the winners and losers of the lockout and noted the owners gained a greater share of all revenues; no judicial oversight; a rookie wage system; more equitable supplemental revenue sharing; and "credit for actual stadium investment" and up to 1.5% of revenue each year. The players gained "vast improvements" in safety; no 18 game schedule; unrestricted free agency after four years; and a "league-wide commitment to cash spending of 99 percent of the cap in 2011 and 2012, with each club spending 89% for 2013-20 -- up from 87.6" (CBSSPORTS.com, 7/24). In Buffalo, Jerry Sullivan wrote, "This is a good deal. It's good for the players and good for the owners" (BUFFALO NEWS, 7/24). In DC, Dan Daly writes 10 years of labor peace is a "boon to the fans." And as long as revenue growth "meets projections, the deal should be good for the players, too." Maybe the "best thing about the CBA is that it reins in rookie salaries" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 7/25).
GIVE AND TAKE: CBSSPORTS.com's Mike Freeman cited sources as saying that both sides "gave up something which in turn moved talks along to a conclusion while also building trust." The players "relented on judicial oversight of the new CBA before Judge David Doty, long a thorn in the side of the owners." That was "one of the biggest demands from the owners: they despised Doty." The players "figured since Doty is in his 80s this wasn't a huge compromise." One player said, "We had a good run with Doty, but it was clearly coming to an end." The players were also "willing to meet owner demands of paying less money up front to rookies." The owners also "gave in on a number of compromises the players desired." One of the "big ones was how the union reconstitutes itself" (CBSSPORTS.com, 7/24). SI.com's Peter King writes the owners won the following: "Not having to pay the $320 million in benefits they didn't pay last year in exchange for the players getting an uncapped year; franchise and transition tags; no judicial oversight in major-league disputes between players and owners, a major sticking point from the last CBA; the ability to keep 60 percent of all club-generated revenue." Meanwhile, the players won the following: "The continuation of the 16-game schedule; five weeks less of the rigidly organized offseason programs; $1 billion in additional benefits for retirees -- an important point from day one for De Smith; a true salary floor, with teams having to spend 99 percent of the cap in years one and two of the deal and 95 percent thereafter" (SI.com, 7/25).
SCORE ONE FOR THE PLAYERS: In Boston, Christopher Gasper wrote the new CBA is a "good deal for the players," and the NFLPA "served its members well in this dispute." Smith "got his constituents landmark health and safety gains while surrendering less money to the owners than initially expected" (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/23). CBSSPORTS.com's Pete Prisco wrote, "The players scored a TKO." The deal will include "almost everything the players wanted to get." Smith "deserves plenty of praise for getting his players this deal." The issues "all went the way of the players." One player said, "Yeah, when you look at all the stuff, this is a good deal for us" (CBSSPORTS.com, 7/22). ESPN BOSTON's Mike Reiss wrote, "Players held a harder line than I anticipated and it sounds like a deal that both sides can feel good about" (ESPNBOSTON.com, 7/24). Vikings G and player rep Steve Hutchinson said, "There's some things that we made some pretty significant strides in player safety. ... The economic side of it on our behalf is good. All around, I think it's a good deal" (L.A. TIMES, 7/25). In Seattle, Jerry Brewer wrote, "The owners started this fight, and then the players took it to another level" (SEATTLE TIMES, 7/24). ESPN’s Adam Schefter said the players believe they "won" the labor fight due, as Smith "took them to the promise land.” Schefter: “I believe that’s what they think. I believe that they feel encouraged and pleased with the way that he did his job. ... He grew into the job. I think he got better at it as he went along" ("Mike & Mike in the Morning," ESPN Radio, 7/25). In N.Y., William Rhoden wrote the players "stuck together and stood toe to toe with the owners, more or less forcing a series of standoffs." The lockout "could be seen as a moral victory for them." However, every dispute "must have a winner and a loser." The owners "got the concession they wanted: a major redistribution of the $9 billion in annual league revenue." Players "resisted valiantly but, alas, they have been outflanked" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/24).
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Top draft picks will see fewer dollars in initial
contract under new rookie wage scale |
FAIR AND BALANCED: In Baltimore, Kevin Van Valkenburg wrote, "There is a lot in the current proposal that is good for both sides" (Baltimore SUN, 7/23). In DC, Sally Jenkins wrote the owners are winners because they will get 10 years of "labor peace and a measure of payroll relief from their players to help with their costs." However, the owners who "now have to spend 95 percent of the salary cap" are losers in the deal. The players are winners because they will get "better health benefits" and a "reduction in offseason workouts and limits to hitting in practices." But rookies and players who will see a "slightly smaller percentage of league revenue" are losers in the deal (WASHINGTON POST, 7/23). One agent said, "Overall, it's pretty balanced when you consider all the details." Another agent said, "A lot of players looked at what the owners did, even the 31-0 vote, and started saying, 'If they think it's so great, they must be killing us at the table.' I don't know every detail of the deal, but it really doesn't look that way when you consider the whole package" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 7/23). In Tacoma, Dave Boling wrote everyone wins in the new agreement and the NFL's "dispute resolution is to be applauded" (Tacoma NEWS-TRIBUNE, 7/24). But SPORTING NEWS' Greg Couch wrote the owners "are about to win this labor battle because the players bought in to the idea that they had too good of a deal before." Couch: "The players have given up too much, and are on the verge of locking that in for 10 years. ... Too many things can change by 2021" (SPORTING NEWS TODAY, 7/23).
