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NFL's Labor Agreement Sacked By Distressed Owners

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By IRA KAUFMAN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 21, 2008

Updated: 05/21/2008 01:11 am

TAMPA - An $8 billion sports empire struck back decisively Tuesday when NFL owners voted unanimously to sack a labor agreement they overwhelmingly approved in 2006.

Hours before awarding the 2012 Super Bowl to the new stadium in Indianapolis, owners utilized their prerogative to opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement after the 2010 season, two years earlier than scheduled.

"We've had two years now of operating under the new deal," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said. "Clearly, the economics are not working for the owners. What we are looking for is a fair deal for both sides."

In March 2006, owners voted 30-2, with Cincinnati and Buffalo casting the only dissenting ballots, to ratify a new labor pact strongly endorsed by Goodell's predecessor, Paul Tagliabue.

In the past year, several owners have publicly expressed their frustration with the CBA, which gives players 59 percent of the league's annual defined gross revenues.

Tuesday's vote at the league meetings in Atlanta opens the possibility of an uncapped season in 2010 and a major change regarding free agency - with potential free agents requiring six seasons in the NFL rather than the current four years of experience.

Players Association executive director Gene Upshaw said Tuesday's decision was predictable, given management's recent saber-rattling regarding the inequities of the CBA .

"This just starts the clock ticking," Upshaw said. "If we can't reach an agreement by 2010, then we go to no-man's land, which is 2011. March of 2010 ... that's what we see as the realistic deadline."

While no one, including Goodell, suggests the league isn't profitable, NFL owners said they are increasingly distressed by mounting labor costs, including the expense of new stadiums.

General Manager Bruce Allen, representing the Bucs in Atlanta, declined comment on Tuesday's developments.

America's most popular sports league has enjoyed uninterrupted labor peace since 1987 - when former Bucs owner Hugh Culverhouse helped spearhead a strategy to employ replacement players while the NFLPA went on strike.

By voting to end the labor agreement prematurely, owners have opened up the possibility of a work stoppage in 2011.

"We don't need further time to analyze whether this is working or not working," Goodell said. "It's not working. We have guaranteed three more years of NFL football. It is our responsibility to work out these matters. We've had labor peace for several years and we hope to continue that."

Both sides had until Nov. 8, 2008, to negate the current CBA, and Goodell said Tuesday's decision affords management and union officials more time to formulate a new agreement.

Owners said they are dissatisfied with a pact that annually distributes $4.5 billion to players while overall expenses continue to climb in a struggling national economy.

Goodell has also indicated the proportion of salaries paid to rookies does not work as a viable business model.

Amid all the gloom and uncertainty, the league is now considering adding a 17th game to the regular-season schedule and reducing the preseason to three games.

"We are not satisfied with the quality of the preseason right now," Goodell said, alluding to the scant playing time given to starters during exhibition games. "We'd like to improve on that."

The potential for an uncapped year in 2010 figures to generate a sense of urgency.

The salary cap system, which places a ceiling on spending, has been a prime contributor to the parity which has helped grow the game in the past 15 years.

"I'm not going to sell the players on a cap again," Upshaw said. "Once we go through the cap, why should we agree to it again?"

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