What’s the first thing Sean Gilbert will do if he is elected NFL Players Association executive director in March?
“Call Roger,” Gilbert said.
The second thing he will do, Gilbert said, is tell NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell that he is filing a collusion case against the league, a case he contends could overturn the collective-bargaining agreement.
Gilbert will face NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith when the union holds the election during its annual meeting in mid-March in Hawaii. The executive director candidate must get votes from a majority of the player representatives — at least 17 of the 32 — to win.
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Former defensive lineman Sean Gilbert says players deserve more from the league.
Photo by: Getty Images |
Gilbert, a Pro Bowl defensive lineman for 11 years and the uncle of Pro Bowl cornerback Darrelle Revis of the New England Patriots, said he had met with more than 500 NFL players and more than 100 agents in the last 16 months as part of his campaign.
“I do this all day,” Gilbert said this month. “This is what I do, 24 hours a day.”
The main thrust of Gilbert’s campaign is that Smith did a bad job for players in negotiating the CBA that ended the 2011 NFL lockout. He launched his campaign in September 2013 by releasing a book, “The $29 Million ‘Tip’: How Roger Goodell Earned His Big Payday.” The title of the book refers to the fact that Goodell’s salary in 2011, the year the CBA was negotiated, increased from $11.6 million in 2010 to $29.4 million.
The reason Goodell’s salary increased is the same reason players should vote Smith out and Gilbert in, Gilbert said.
That is, that $10 billion will be transferred from the players’ side of the table to the owners’ side of the table during the 10-year term of the CBA.
Smith has not commented publicly on Gilbert’s contentions or his campaign, and he declined a request for an interview for this story.
Gilbert’s promise to players and agents he has been meeting with is that he will get a better deal for them than the current CBA. Filing a collusion case is only part of the plan. That is the “stick,” Gilbert said. He said he will also use “the carrot” of offering to negotiate an 18-game regular season, something the owners wanted but did not get in the 2011 CBA negotiation.
Once owners agree to or are forced to renegotiate a new deal, Gilbert said, he will seek several changes beneficial for players, including increasing the minimum salary and reducing Goodell’s authority over player discipline.
In order to stand for election against Smith, Gilbert must have the written endorsement of three player representatives and must submit those letters to NFLPA player President Eric Winston 10 days before the election.
Gilbert said he had the required number of endorsements, but had not yet submitted them to the union.
The NFLPA is the only one of the four major team sports unions whose constitution requires the executive director to stand for re-election every three years. Gene Upshaw was NFLPA executive director for 25 years, until his death in August 2008, and his re-election was a formality, something that was voted on unanimously and without much or any comment, at NFLPA annual meetings.
Smith was first elected in 2009. In 2012, there was media speculation that he would be challenged for the position, but no one submitted the three required player representative endorsements, and Smith was unanimously re-elected.
No NFL agent would comment on Smith or Gilbert, noting that the NFLPA certifies agents to negotiate with clubs
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DeMaurice Smith (left) chats with Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti.
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and saying they didn’t want to offend either candidate.
Most agents and industry observers see a two-horse race between Gilbert and Smith, but that doesn’t mean that other candidates will not emerge between now and the NFLPA election.
In fact, when Smith won the election in 2009, he was seen as a dark horse candidate challenging former NFLPA presidents Trace Armstrong and Troy Vincent (now NFL executive vice president of football operations), seen as the two most likely winners at that time. Sports attorney David Cornwell also ran for the position.
A source said that Cornwell had been approached by two veteran agents about running for the position in March, but that Cornwell had not decided whether he would do so. Cornwell declined to comment for this story.
Another candidate has already publicly declared his intention to run for the position: James Acho, a labor attorney who has represented retired players, including at least one who has sued the NFLPA.
Acho’s No. 1 campaign plank is an overhaul of long-term health care benefits for players, with a retroactive inclusion for players who played in the league before 1993, Acho said.
Like Gilbert, Acho seeks more money and better contracts for active players, but would not try to overturn the current CBA in order to do it. Instead, Acho said, he would try to negotiate better terms with the owners in exchange for an 18-game season.
