Jones on the CBA
7:21 PM Sun, Feb 24, 2008 | Permalink
Albert Breer E-mail News tips
On Wednesday, NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw discussed the league's wealthy owners' desire to opt out of the collective bargaining agreement on Nov. 8.
"Someone asked me morning, what's the biggest issue, why is this such a problem now?" Upshaw told us. "I said it's very easy. The owners feel as if they're giving the players too much and the players should give some back, so Jerry Jones and (Bob) Kraft and the rest of them can make more money. That's not happening."
Jones addressed the idea of opting out today during his lengthy chat with local media types.
"I don't want to talk about what is best for the Cowboys or where I am relative to opting out," Jones said. "That is not something that I'm sure where I am just to show where you are. What I am saying is that it takes 24 votes not to opt out. It is difficult to get 24 votes to do anything in the NFL, because you could easily have nine different teams for nine different reasons that don't want to go along with different aspects of the labor deal. It's a real challenge when you have nine clubs that can decide they want to opt out and it affects all 32 teams. ... Think about that.
"That is what makes me say, 'Boy, this thing has a real good chance of the league opting out because it has the hurdle of 24 votes.' There are complaints of different perspective by every club in the NFL. Not 90 percent. One-hundred percent of clubs have aspects to the labor agreement they don't like. When you have that kind of dynamic going, there is a chance for an opt out."
Jones doesn't think the loss of Paul Tagliabue will affect this negotiation. In fact, he thinks new commish Roger Goodell will do fine.
He also shot down the idea that this is about consensus-building, in a political sense. In the past, Jones felt like Tagliabue worked to get proposal that wouldn't get shot down, and thinks Goodell will do the same.
And that's about compromise.
"It wasn't like, 'Jones you vote for this deal and I wont suspend Leon Lett," he said with a laugh. "I would say there isn't as much of that, as much as there is 32 guys sitting down and saying 'This is the best for my club and the best for the league.' I never saw much of 'You vote for this and I'll give you the Super Bowl.'"
