Didnt De Smith and the players collectively negotiate a deal with Goodell and his team. Goodell and DeSmith had to of agreed on the terms of the agreement that Goodell presented and sold to the owners yesterday.
Now the players last night act like they have no idea what is in the agreement and the owners have backed them into a corner... How the heck can that be possible, DeSmith, Jeff Saturday, Kevin Mawae, etc all negotiated the deal that Goodell got the owners to approve, how is that backing them into a corner. The players are playing press games trying to pull one over on the public IMO. If the the players negotiating team and DeSmith failed to communicate with team reps, who failed to communicate with the players on the team they represent, how is that the owners fault or them pigeon holing or backing the players into a corner?

Secondly it was good to see the owners take care of the teams making less money, by agreeing to a supplemental profit sharing program within their own ranks. So its seems like those with alot gave up some, so those with a little could become more profitable and agree to lift the lockout. Smart move to help close the deal within their owners own ranks.

The players said the owners added things to the CBA without permission, but none of them will state one thing or fact that has been added. Then out the other side of their mouth the players say they never got a chance to read it. SO which is it?
I think DeSmith and the players reps have failed the fans and the people they represent. The NFLPA failed to communicate properly with their members through out the process, that is what is sounds like to me. And DeSMith is sitting quitely back while players blame the owners for in reality sounds like, DeSmith and the player reps lack of communication. And then puff up their shoulders and talk of their exemplary will of solidarity, and that is what the owners ratifying the agreement did, was just trying to break the players wills and put them in a bad spot with the fans...lol. WTF?

apparently the owners added a new "revenue sharing" component which the players had never seen. you don't do something like this at the 11th hour when the other side expects you to be sending them the execution copy of the agreement you've been negotiating for months. If true (and I've heard nothing indicating it is not), I am not surprised (a) the players would be pissed and (b) they would not sign it that night but would wait till they went over the entire document with a fine toothed comb, and fully were on board with the "new" aspects, however long that took. That, plus I think the players were a little suspicious of a deal that the owners unamimously approved, thinking if every single owner liked it, it couldn't be a good deal for the players. I think the nfl was doing a little bit of a power play here and the players are cautious.
nevertheless I think it gets approved today.

Berk- the revenue sharing has nothing to do with the players side. It is internal revenue sharing among teams. It is like the owners griping about how the players split up their share of the pie, it is irrelevant to the negotiation of the CBA.
In order for the owenrs to get their side happy with a 99%salary floor this year and 95% there after, they had to share revenue with teams that dont make as much, to guarantee they could be comfortable with such a high salary floor. THis is total BS, if you think the internal revenue sharing has any impact on the NFLPA or gives them a reason to stall the deal, try again... Epic fail on players and De SMith part if this is what they are using as justification for not signing



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/2011 04:09AM by Crowder52.

in laymans terms- The supplemental revenue sharing deal was not and has never been part of the CBA, and that is still the case. It was a seperate deal that was voted on when the owners were all together, to make the CBA agreement demands of the owners work within their internal organization. It is just like the NFLPA have their own rules on fees and dues, the owners have nothing to do with what the NFLPA charges its members in dues.. it is like the owenrs saying the players voted to raise their dues to bein the union, that came out of nowhere, we better think it off and not sign a deal that has nothing to with the other..lol

Crowder, it misses the point to say that the revenue sharing part that was added has nothing to do with the players. you don't send someone a multibillion dollar agreement with new aspects never seen before and then excpect them to agree and sign immediately. I doubt you would do that in your business. You'd take the time to be sure of the implications of the new part, plus make sure there are no other "surprises," before agreeing and signing. If the players had done the same thing to the owners, I am sure you'd be viewing it differently.

This is completely idiotic.

The players feel disrepected because of a timeline....

If we don't have a timeline, we will miss more preseason games. If we miss more preseason games, then that effects the money.

The players are acting like a bunch of little girls.

Complete idiots!

I agree they have to read the agreement, 100 percent absolutely. I just dont like the propaganda coming out of the players as to why they didnt sign it. If they said we need to read it and then we will comment, I would be fine with it. But that is not what has been coming out of the NFLPA camp.
I watched the meeting coverage yesterday on NFL network. The vote was suppose to happen at 5:30 it didnt happen until an 1 hour and half later. The reason being Goodell, was on the phone with De SMith finalizing the deal. That is fact... SO De SMith knew exactly what was voted on, Goodell cleared it with him on the phone before the vote...
The players have been kept out of the loop prior based on orders from Boylan, But they also had a meeting the day before in DC to go over it. If De Smith made an agreement with Goodell, that is on De SMith not the owenrs... The players need to be properly placing blame...
De SMith is using the supplemeental revenue sharing as the reason when in reality it has nothing to do with what is going on on the players side IMO

PF2- the supplemenatl profit sharing program is not part of the CBA, it is an internal agreement between owners, the Owenrs could have done it after the CBA if they really wanted to. But the less profitable owners wanted guarantees before they dish out all that cash as part of the salary floor in the CBA.. And the fact all the owenrs reps are not together all that often to make such a vote.. Plus they all are going to be tied up with Funeral obligation for Mr Krafts wife... ENd of story... CBA is not supplemntal profit sharing. A CBA is an agreement between a union and management on work and pay, it is not an internal agreement between managing partners, it is a deal between teams outside of the cba...

it's also harder to keep 1000s of players on twitter in line than it is 32 sophisitacated owners. So I don't think the fact you are hearing "real time" gripes from players on twitter in the heat of the moment necessarily means that there is an open revolt by the players over this. Cooler heads will prevail and the players will agree to this deal today or tomorrow.

A 10 yr agreement with no opt out Crowder and you're saying they should of signed it without seeing the final document? How does that kool-aid taste?

My problem with this position is that there are way too many players saying that they haven't seen the document.

Why hasn't the leadership of the NFLPA forwarded the documents to the players?

Not only that, they act as if they have NO awareness of their own version of this final document. And they certainly made NO ATTEMPT to sign their own version of the CBA.

IMHO, the players are getting spoon fed information in order to hold out for some type of final settlement ($$$$$) for the named plaintiffs of the law suite.

All this girlie...we are offended...talk is really weird.

That is a stand up position. I really hope they sign today.

Crowder52 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> DOlph, I guess you missed this part of my comments
> or ignored it? WHich one was it?
>
> I agree they have to read the agreement, 100
> percent absolutely. I just dont like the
> propaganda coming out of the players as to why
> they didnt sign it.

So your position changed from when you created the thread? Because the title suggests you were confused why they didn't vote last night........now I'm confused, which is it?

The fact that the NFLPA cant keep their players inline is hardly a blame of the Owners...
Kory Sheets and Sean Smith had a dialogue going yesterday on twitter that someone needed to slap De SMith if he doesnt close the deal and stop getting in the way of it...

Jim, according to the Titans rep (Jake Scott I think), he said on NFL radio that they didn't even have the final copy in hand at the END of their conf. call, if you believe that then how could they vote on it?

PF2- I think Jim B is saying that if the NFLPA didnt keep the players up to date when they met on wednesday, or the players team reps didnt advise their teammates that is not the owners problem. The players are dragging their feet. Havent you heard the line ignorance is no excuse.
A player that wanted to be engaged had every oppurtunity to be educated on the facts from team reps, and in the big NFLPA meeting wednesday in DC. Where their was talk that they would vote to ratify an agreement, they choose not to on Wednesday, and now are complaining when the owenrs pulled the trigger on thursday, the next day after they were possibly going to vote. If the players were going to vote before the owenrs dont you think they had a majority of the isses discussed and explained to them.... IF they didnt then they would have no one to blame but themselves IMO.

Any changes that happend during the 1.5 hour call between De SMith and Goodell before the owenrs vote, could have surly been discussed in the same amount of time or a little more on the conference call last night. Digest the agreement today and vote. WHich is what I think will happen, ultimately if the players are smart. THis PR game they have been playing since the owenrs committed, isnt good for anybody, especially themselves. The owners are letting you back in tomorrow, dont get in the way of that on a PR ploy.