These Idiots Are Going To Kill The Golden Goose

[dragon002]

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TALKS BREAK DOWN
Video: Tagliabue Says Situation 'Dire'
Fact Sheet: What Does It Mean?



Will NFL Teams Dump Veterans? Owners Break Off Talks
Players, Owners Can't Agree On Salary Cap

POSTED: 10:44 am EST March 2, 2006
UPDATED: 1:18 pm EST March 2, 2006

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NEW YORK -- NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue said the labor situation for the league right now is "as dire as dire can be."

He made the comment after the owners broke off talks with the union on a new contract.

The NFL owners met for 57 minutes Thursday morning and voted unanimously to break off talks with the players' union on a contract extension and salary cap changes.

The two sides had been talking about increasing the cap by $10 million to $15 million.


The move leaves the current salary cap in place with the start of free agency looming, possibly forcing the mass dumping of veterans.

The end result could be the movement of a lot of players as the teams struggle to remain under the current salary cap of $94.5 million.

Without an agreement, some teams could be forced into wholesale cuts to get beneath the salary cap by midnight Thursday.

Without an agreement, 2006 will be the last year with a salary cap, as 2007 is scheduled to be an uncapped year.

Although the contract does not expire until after the 2007 season, this is a critical period in the negotiations to extend the 12-year-old agreement. Talks have been going on for more than a year.

Teams with lower revenues said that if the contributions to the players' fund are equally apportioned among 32 franchises, they will have to pay a substantially larger proportion of their nontelevision and ticket money.

Owners of high-revenue teams like the Patriots claim spreading the load equally would force some teams to work harder to generate new sources of money.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft said the formula doesn't take stadium debt into account.

The cap's impact is already being felt in some NFL cities, like Denver -- where the Broncos cut some of their high-priced players Wednesday, including defensive end Trevor Pryce, running back Mike Anderson, and tight end Jeb Putzier.

Buffalo, meanwhile, released defensive tackle Sam Adams and Carolina released three veterans: running back Stephen Davis, defensive tackle Brentson Buckner and kicker returner Rod Smart, "He Hate Me" of old XFL days.

Miami cut left tackle Damion McIntosh, saving $3.8 million against the cap, and former Pro Bowl cornerback Sam Madison

Free agency is scheduled to start Friday.

 

[Digital Dude]

Welcome to the NHL, NFL.

 

[Chado]

I think the idiots may turn out to be the owners this time. There are a few owners, and they are the obvious ones, who don't want anything to be done so that there will be no cap in 07 and then they can spend what they want and keep all the revenue it generates. That could really F up the league.

Hopefully, this won't happen and the 3 day extension will be put to good use.

 

[dragon002]

its both sides. at least the owners bargaining committee changes every few years. gene upshaw is like little caesar, dictator for life.

 

[herdfan]

I think the idiots may turn out to be the owners this time.

Maybe, but the players have more to lose than the owners. While a few high spending owners will make a few players happy, many other owner's will close their wallets and I predict the overall salary level will go down or remain the same. The players will lose $320 million right off the top in 2006 if a deal is not done.

The NFL owners have shown in the past they will not be forced into deals by the union (remember the 1987 strike and replacement players.) Unlike the NHL, there are many very good football players sitting at home just waiting for a chance.

 

[Chado]

Maybe, but the players have more to lose than the owners. While a few high spending owners will make a few players happy, many other owner's will close their wallets and I predict the overall salary level will go down or remain the same. The players will lose $320 million right off the top in 2006 if a deal is not done.

The NFL owners have shown in the past they will not be forced into deals by the union (remember the 1987 strike and replacement players.) Unlike the NHL, there are many very good football players sitting at home just waiting for a chance.

All I am saying is that it appears that the Players Union is more united than the Owners at the moment. This is opposite of the NHL issue which is a tough comparison due to all the other issues the NHL had.