FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Against the backdrop of Super Bowl XLIV, the war drums that threaten the NFL as we know it — an uncapped year in 2010 and a lockout in 2011 — were beating long and loud yesterday.
The first question at the NFLPA press conference came from a Chad Ochocinco from OCNN, who asked union executive president DeMaurice Smith how serious the impasse is at the moment between the owners and the players.
“On a scale of 1-10,” Smith began, “It’s a 14.”
The union remains aghast that the owners have asked them to accept 41 percent of the pie.
“The process of negotiating a new CBA has been frustrating and moving at a snail’s pace,” union president Kevin Mawae said. “We do not understand and what we cannot give in to, is how a business that makes over $8 billion — an average of $31 million a team — can look at their employees in the face, and say, ‘Take an 18 percent pay cut,’ without any justification for doing so.”
The union sees the NFL’s move to extend its television contracts as lockout insurance.
“When you put in for the first time a guarantee that there will be almost five billion to not play football, what else can you consider it to be?” Smith asked. “How do you justify at the height of this game, a rollback to 41 percent (of revenues), where nobody in this room knows, ‘How much does a team make?’
“The one team that we do have, the Green Bay Packers, we have their audited financial statements, and a couple of facts: one of the smallest markets in America, with no Brett Favre, and with a losing season — their take home profit was 20 million dollars. So we know that small market teams can be profitable,” Smith added. “If there is something to do to change this deal, because teams are not profitable, tell us. Tell Kevin Mawae. If there is something out there that shows that these teams’ profit margins are off by even one percent, tell D. Smith and we’ll tell the players of the National Football League. But I’m still waiting for that answer.”
Peyton Manning, whose Colts meet the Saints Sunday, expressed concern regarding a work stoppage.
“I think as a player, I feel we have a pretty good thing going right now in the NFL,” Manning said. “It would be a shame for something to have to change along those lines. . . . I hope, certainly, there is no stoppage in play. That would be a real shame.”
Colts player union rep Jeff Saturday is tight with Manning.
“He’s always been pro-union,” Saturday said. “He’s never been involved necessarily, but he’s always been pro with us and unified with us.
“Hopefully if lines ever got drawn, I’m pretty confident he’d side with us.”
It is Smith’s contention that “it is virtually impossible” to go back to a salary cap system if 2010 is an uncapped year.
Saturday said he is optimistic that young players will not cave should Armaggedon confront them. The union has been urging players to begin saving 25 percent of their paychecks.
“We’re not striking,” Saturday said. “We’re not the ones pulling ourselves out. This’ll be something that the owners don’t let us play, I think that in itself puts us together, it keeps us unified.
“Because when the guy says you can’t come to work and he won’t pay you, that’ll get everybody together. That’ll get wives involved and everybody.”
The sides are scheduled to meet tomorrow and next week.
“Their position is the players take too much money, so we said, ‘OK, well let’s see the books, see what everybody’s doing, what everybody’s making’ — they say no,” Saturday said. “That sums it all up. We’ve asked to see all that it hasn’t happened yet. Hopefully we can get that. If there really is a struggle, let’s make adjustments. If there’s not, then let’s keep going with what we’re doing.”
The union is asking the owners to contribute two percent to a Legacy Fund to improve the pensions of retired players.
Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti recently said that several teams are bleeding money.
“Why don’t you show us what bleeding means,” Smith said.