Posted Tue May 20th by Monty
NFL owners have agreed unanimously to opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement. 2008 and 2009 should go off without a hitch, but 2010 will present the first uncapped year in the NFL in over a decade. The owners insist that, worst case scenario, 2011 would be the first year of labor stoppage.
In a statement released to the media and Player’s Union, the owners also made it clear they have no plans to let that happen. They will continue to negotiate between the players to find a balance that is more suited to their needs.
The players also have something at stake here – 2010 may seem to bring a pot of gold in the form of an uncapped year, but that’s only at face value. Dig deeper and you’ll see that the players have plenty to fear if that happens as well, including a 50% longer period before they can become a free agent, and less teams able to dip into the free agent pool. More on the subject via the terrific April Peter King article here.
No one likes to hear about labor disputes – it seems like only yesterday when Union Head Gene Upshaw was leaving some official-looking building declaring that the talks are off and we’re heading for an uncapped year – but expect this to take hold of the sports headlines for the next few years.
Published on 05/20/2008 at Tue May 20 11:33.
Tagged: Collective Bargaining Agreement,Pat Bowlen.