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Memo to owners and NFLPA: Don't screw this up
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Troy Vincent is one of three candidates to succeed NFLPA Executuve Director Gene Upshaw
It seems like a day doesn't go by without another article or ten about the NFL uncapped year in 2010 and a possible work stoppage in 2011.
The latest nugget of interest was a recent Adam Schefter blog entry that revealed no assistant coaches in the league have a contract past 2010. The underlying theme is that owners won't want to pay coaches if there's no players to coach.
If you haven't been following the fallout from the owners opting out of the current NFL labor agreement, now is probably a good time to start.
Just 'Google News' NFLPA and you'll get dozens of articles like this or this which explain some of the major issues and what we have to look forward to over the next two years.
Patrick Patterson of examiner.com is following the upcoming labor storm closely and writing a series of articles on what fans can expect over the next two years. It's well worth a bookmark.
A recent revelation, at least from my knothole, is that I'm becoming less and less concerned about what an uncapped year will mean to the league, and more and more focused on the real threat to my continued happy fandom, aka the work stoppage.
I realize there's a boatload of posturing currently going on from both sides, but frankly I'm already getting a bit sick of these drumbeats.
Think about how bad it's going to get when negotiations actually begin. Maybe I should pay less attention.
Negotiations can begin after the NFL Players Association elects it's new executive director at the annual NFLPA meeting in Maui on March 13-15.
Yeah, things must really be tough having to fly to Hawaii for a union meeting. I've been on both sides of a collective bargaining agreement during my lifetime and the best venue we could ever land was the company cafeteria.
The three finalists for the position are Troy Vincent and Trace Armstrong who are former players, and DeMaurice Smith, an attorney.
Paula Duffy wrote a good article that provides some background on Vincent and Armstrong who are presumed to be the front runners.
Vincent is surrounded by controversy but appears to be the players favorite. Martin Sumners wrote about it here.
Dave Pear, a voice of retired NFL players, asks some really good questions at the end of this blog entry. Do the players, both active and retired, really know what they're getting with any of these candidates?
Beyond the labor issues, I think I can speak for most fans by saying the last thing we want to see is a work stoppage. It's tough enough having to pay for those season tickets - and the thought of players and management getting all ego'd up against one another, and arguing about how life is so unfair (in meetings held at really nice resorts) just doesn't sit will with us common folk.
I remember both strikes in the 80's and the both made a complete joke out of the season. The '82 season was reduced to nine games and in '87 we were treated to scab games. You can read through that history from the NFLPA perspective here.
I've been going to NFL games since the early 1970's and have attended every home game (except for one that I can remember) in Houston since 1978. I've been a season ticket holder for nearly 30 years and god willin' will be for many more.
The price is high, but I love going to NFL football games (and watching games and immersing myself in everything NFL as I sit here and watch scouting combine coverage). It's in my blood and it's been there since I was very young.
But I also have a limit.
So here's one simple request for the owners and NFLPA. Don't let selfishness and greed screw this thing up for us.
You know ... us...the fans ... the people who buy your product.
You have two years to negotiate a new CBA. Neither side will get everything they want but let's not waste time - get it done.
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