After meeting for 17 days straight, the NFLPA has decided to De-certify, and will now have to negotiate with the owners through the court system via litigation and/or potential settlement agreements. Essentially this means that there is no bargaining agreement in place, and they cannot negotiate a new agreement at the table anymore. It allows players to file Anti-Trust lawsuits against the NFL - which has already happened - and now the hopes of having a 2011 season will now depend on how long this will remain in the courtrooms.
As for how close the two sides ever got to a deal money wise, I'm not really sure? It depends on who or what you read, but at the end of last Friday the two sides couldn't figure out a way to split up an industry that generates $9.5 billion a year, which is really pathetic in a lot of ways.
Who do I blame? I'm not really sure "blame" is the term I think best fits the events that have happened because I think both sides are acting like complete imbeciles. While generally speaking I tend to favor the players in any of these revenue disputes, particularly when the owners involved try to convince me that people Jerry Jones, Daniel Snyder, Al Davis, Virgina McCaskey, etc. are "victims", or have a gun to their heads financially. With that said though, it's also difficult for me to side with the players when they tell me that they live paycheck to paycheck despite making 8 figures a year.
Don't get me wrong I'm not going to write one of these maudlin "The Fans Are The Biggest Losers" columns, or "How can they act like this when there are teachers in Wisconsin getting dragged out of City Hall?" pieces you've no doubt seen or heard recently. That kind of thinking just isn't productive, and I refuse to take the easy way out by writing something like that.
I'd rather just accept the fact that this is yet another perspective-lacking "Millionaires versus Billionaires" squabble in which both sides will act like they're Nelson Mandela, and instead I'll look for things that I believe will get done. I feel zero sympathy for either side, and I think both sides will ultimately lose if there are any games missed during next season.
My prediction? The players will eventually settle with the owners because the players finances are the weakest between the two. I'll give them a little bit of credit for going for the throat by De-certifying and rolling the dice with Judge David Doty.
I believe it won't be enough to win in the long run. My ultimate hope that comes out of all of this includes:
1. NO on an 18 game schedule
2. A significant Rookie Pay Scale Cap that reduces draft picks compensation, and prevents a third of a teams payroll from going to a player who hasn't played a DOWN in the NFL.
3. Somewhere close to a 50-50 revenue sharing agreement
4. A realistic salary-cap that allows for teams to retain more of their veterans, while still promoting some degree of parity throughout the league.
Will any of that happen? Probably not. Either way, I'll see you in court!
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