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[SIZE=+1]Union backs off slightly on 60-percent demand of gross revenue[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=-1]06:43 AM CST on Tuesday, March 7, 2006
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[SIZE=-1]By RICK GOSSELIN / Staff Writer[/SIZE]
NFL owners are scheduled to meet today at D/FW Airport to discuss the stalled labor negotiations with the NFL Players Association and also revenue sharing among themselves.
The owners and players have a Wednesday deadline to reach an agreement to extend the collective bargaining agreement, or the salary cap will lock into place at $94.5 million for the 2006 season, and there will be no cap in 2007.
NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue met with NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw on Monday to finalize the term sheet for a union proposal to be presented to the owners Tuesday.
"I know the basics of the proposal," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. "It's not something I'm particularly excited about. But the expectations were I wouldn't be excited about it. I don't know that any of us will be excited about, but can it work? Will it work as a league? We'll see.
"I don't think anybody would've gotten to this point unless you brought a proposal to the table that could work."
The snag in the negotiations has been the division of football revenues. Under the current CBA, the players receive 64.5 percent of the designated gross revenue, which is money generated from the network television contracts and game ticket sales.
But the DGR only accounts for 87 percent of all football revenue. The remaining 13 percent is comprised of local revenue generated by teams from suites, concessions, merchandising, parking, signage and stadium naming-rights fees.
The NFLPA wants all revenue included in any CBA extension. The owners maintain if the size of the pot increases, then the player share of the pot should decrease. So instead of 64 percent of the designated gross, the owners have offered 56.2 percent of all revenue.
Upshaw had been steadfast in demanding at least 60 percent. But a league source said Upshaw has come off that figure and is willing to cut a deal at 59.6 percent.
Nothing is as it appears in this negotiation, however. The original deadline has been pushed back three times since March 3, delaying the start of free agency and also allowing teams more time to negotiate tricky salary cap situations.
Free agency is scheduled to begin at 12:01 a.m. (EST) Thursday – and all teams must be under the cap by then.
If the sides reach an agreement on a CBA, the salary cap probably would increase to about $105 million. As of March 3, some teams were $20 million over the projected $95.4 million cap, and veteran players have been lopped right and left in the last week.
The owners also must discuss how they are going to share their own pot of money. The NFL has had a long-standing agreement to share revenue equally among teams. The big-market franchises want to reduce the amount of shared revenue, while the small-market franchises resist, saying that would affect competitive balance.
Staff Writer Jean-Jacques Taylor contributed to this report.
E-mail rgosselin@***BANNED-URL***
Link
[SIZE=+1]
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]06:43 AM CST on Tuesday, March 7, 2006
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]By RICK GOSSELIN / Staff Writer[/SIZE]
NFL owners are scheduled to meet today at D/FW Airport to discuss the stalled labor negotiations with the NFL Players Association and also revenue sharing among themselves.
The owners and players have a Wednesday deadline to reach an agreement to extend the collective bargaining agreement, or the salary cap will lock into place at $94.5 million for the 2006 season, and there will be no cap in 2007.
NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue met with NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw on Monday to finalize the term sheet for a union proposal to be presented to the owners Tuesday.
"I know the basics of the proposal," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. "It's not something I'm particularly excited about. But the expectations were I wouldn't be excited about it. I don't know that any of us will be excited about, but can it work? Will it work as a league? We'll see.
"I don't think anybody would've gotten to this point unless you brought a proposal to the table that could work."
The snag in the negotiations has been the division of football revenues. Under the current CBA, the players receive 64.5 percent of the designated gross revenue, which is money generated from the network television contracts and game ticket sales.
But the DGR only accounts for 87 percent of all football revenue. The remaining 13 percent is comprised of local revenue generated by teams from suites, concessions, merchandising, parking, signage and stadium naming-rights fees.
The NFLPA wants all revenue included in any CBA extension. The owners maintain if the size of the pot increases, then the player share of the pot should decrease. So instead of 64 percent of the designated gross, the owners have offered 56.2 percent of all revenue.
Upshaw had been steadfast in demanding at least 60 percent. But a league source said Upshaw has come off that figure and is willing to cut a deal at 59.6 percent.
Nothing is as it appears in this negotiation, however. The original deadline has been pushed back three times since March 3, delaying the start of free agency and also allowing teams more time to negotiate tricky salary cap situations.
Free agency is scheduled to begin at 12:01 a.m. (EST) Thursday – and all teams must be under the cap by then.
If the sides reach an agreement on a CBA, the salary cap probably would increase to about $105 million. As of March 3, some teams were $20 million over the projected $95.4 million cap, and veteran players have been lopped right and left in the last week.
The owners also must discuss how they are going to share their own pot of money. The NFL has had a long-standing agreement to share revenue equally among teams. The big-market franchises want to reduce the amount of shared revenue, while the small-market franchises resist, saying that would affect competitive balance.
Staff Writer Jean-Jacques Taylor contributed to this report.
E-mail rgosselin@***BANNED-URL***
Link
That's good thinking.
