Did Smith screw up or was this always his plan?

[Chocolate Lab]

Not wanting to make a deal for 500 Alex?

 

[arglebargle]

The owners' offered an unaudited conglamerated five year history of expenses, while the PA had always called for audited individual team expenses, iirc. Not the same thing. If you are claiming the previous CBA had been bad for owners, I guess someone might want to compare it to the previous years then, maybe yes?

The owners always knew this was a possibility. Now they've got it.

From following the info and debate on this, it always looked to me like the players ended up with the most leverage in the case of 'nuclear' solution by decertifying. If it went to a lockout, the owners had considerably more leverage.

It is a sad thing that lawyers tend to view legal wranglings as solutions to problems instead of evidence of failure of solutions. But that is an unfortunate American characteristic.

 

[AbeBeta]

It's cute to see people who think so highly of their own opinion, that it is no longer an opinion in their eyes, but an absolute fact that makes anyone who dissagrees intellectually inferior.

zzzzzzzz. knowing these posters who I am talking about, it is clear that this could be any union and any situation -- the evaluation would be the same

 

[JD_KaPow]

The owners made concessions yesterday and this morning; but the players did not.

So frankly I put this on Smith.

One guy says, "How about if I shoot you in the head with a .45?"
The other says, "How about you not shoot me at all."
The first guy says, "Ok, how about if I shoot you in the head with a .22?"
The other guy says, "No."

Clearly, the first guy is making concessions and the other guy is not.

 

[sago1]

Seems to me that if some of the owners were having financially problems living on the money they are getting, why not just sell the team? Since haven't heard any owner expressing interest in selling, must assume they making enough money to get by.

 

[JD_KaPow]

So they waited - what did Smith do? He pulls out that 10 year thing after they had already offered 5 years- dates back to the last CBA. Then at the LAST minute he wants 10 years. What do you call that?

The owners "offer" was completely worthless, as the players' independent auditor told them.

 

[67CowboysFan]

Yes. Of course it was. I said it a month ago. He doesn't have the best interest of the players at heart.

It is starting to look that way more and more.
http://nfllabor.com/2011/03/11/exclusive-summary-of-nfl-proposal-to-nflpa/

 

[speedkilz88]

EXCLUSIVE: Summary of NFL proposal to NFLPA

1. We more than split the economic difference between us, increasing our proposed cap for 2011 significantly and accepting the Union’s proposed cap number for 2014 ($161 million per club).

2. An entry level compensation system based on the Union’s “rookie cap” proposal, rather than the wage scale proposed by the clubs. Under the NFL proposal, players drafted in rounds 2-7 would be paid the same or more than they are paid today. Savings from the first round would be reallocated to veteran players and benefits.

3. A guarantee of up to $1 million of a player’s salary for the contract year after his injury – the first time that the clubs have offered a standard multi-year injury guarantee.

4. Immediate implementation of changes to promote player health and safety by:

* Reducing the off-season program by five weeks, reducing OTAs from 14 to 10, and limiting on-field practice time and contact;
* Limiting full-contact practices in the preseason and regular season; and
* Increasing number of days off for players.

5. Commit that any change to an 18-game season will be made only by agreement and that the 2011 and 2012 seasons will be played under the current 16-game format.

6. Owner funding of $82 million in 2011-12 to support additional benefits to former players, which would increase retirement benefits for more than 2000 former players by nearly 60 percent.

7. Offer current players the opportunity to remain in the player medical plan for life.

8. Third party arbitration for appeals in the drug and steroid programs.

9. Improvements in the Mackey plan, disability plan, and degree completion bonus program.

10. A per-club cash minimum spend of 90 percent of the salary cap over three seasons.

 

[arglebargle]

Some of those agreements were already negotiated out. Too bad they waited to the last day to make the full offer. It doesn't look too bad to me. But, as always with legal contracts, the devil's in the details.

If I was doing it for the player's side I would have extended the negotiations for the weekend and given it a fine tooth comb inspection.

 

[AdamJT13]

The NFLPA planned to decertify all along unless they got everything they wanted. They weren't negotiating, they were just seeing if the owners would give in.

Smith's whole speech about the union's greatest concern being football was nothing but a sham. It's all about money -- on both sides.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Of course the plan was to decertify if certain conditions were not met.

The owners will not open their books. its that simple.

And he is a former litigator for the attorney general's office. Of course he is going to like his chances of litigating in federal court.

He seems like a sophist so of course he is going to do whatever it takes to win.

Strategically it makes sense to exploit your advantage.

 

[te0002]

Litigation was Smith's preference from the beginning, but after Doty's $400M ruling, the issue was settled in Smith's mind.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

The NFLPA planned to decertify all along unless they got everything they wanted. They weren't negotiating, they were just seeing if the owners would give in.

I guess so. Mike Vrabel was on 103.3 just about an hour ago, and he kept repeating that you can't do a deal in pieces, it's everything or nothing. That didn't make sense to me, because that should be how compromises are reached. But if this was the plan all along, it does make sense.

 

[urface59]

The players need to tell Smith and his ego to get the F away from their sport. Fire the fool