Internal tensions over the NFL's proposed CBA have reached new heights, and while sources familiar with the players and owners have "expected the deal to pass, the acrimony has reached the point that both sides have to prepare for the other possibility," according to Andrew Beaton of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. One exec said if the deal does not pass, it is "totally and ridiculously disastrous" and "everybody loses." Execs familiar with both sides of the negotiations "warned that if the players reject the current offer, a future deal would likely be financially worse for them." Sources said that the internal rancor "stems from the complexities of negotiating a deal on behalf of a union representing players with vast and often disparate interests." Meanwhile, a source said the "tide really turned" on Monday. That was when the players "began comparing the current proposal with the last CBA side-by-side and observing the substantial differences and gains." The vote initially scheduled to run through today was extended through Saturday (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 3/12). In Pittsburgh, Ron Cook writes players are normally "united against" the owners and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. But with this CBA, it is "clearly a civil war" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 3/12).
IMPERFECT UNION: In N.Y., Mark Whicker writes the NFLPA by definition "cannot be a perfect union." It also is "difficult to find commonality when NFL careers are so short." More and more, rich quarterbacks are "playing into their late 30s." Whicker: "They can't be expected to relate to the typical grunt, who wants to get through his second contract, hang it up at age 30, and be welcomed back into the world like a surviving soldier, which he is." The divided players are "relatively easy to conquer when it comes to contract negotiations." NFL agent Peter Schaffer said, "This is uncharted territory. I don't remember a time when we didn't know how this vote would come out" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 3/12).
