[HenriRow]

The initial thought was not to say anything.....dont jinx anything potentially. But than I realized.....grown men are fighting over such obscene amounts of money.....like I could have any kind of effect.

Anyone else feel like this might finally be getting some traction? More meetings again this week....lawyers being included now (perhaps a sign some things are being hammered out....at least considered?)..... finer details coming out about revenue distribution.

I had not reached the point where I thought any of this season was in jeopardy. But, lets face it.....the only time anyone seemed to be doing anything was when the court dates came up. Felt fruitless and....sad.

Now....well, I could be setting myself up for a gut punch but I think we could be talking a small free agency, camp/pre season and a start on time.

[OvDojQXN]

Im just wondering how long its gonna take Directv to charge everyone in advance for the NFL Sunday Ticket once the deals hammered out.

[wiweimeli]

NFL source: Labor negotiations 80-85 percent complete


By Mike Freeman
CBSSports.com National Columnist
June 14, 2011Tell Mike your opinion!
Inside the super duper not-so-secret meetings, jokes are exchanged, when threats were before. Handshakes are commonplace. So are smiles and chit chat: How's the wife? How's the kids? Good to hear. Tell them I said, Hi.

These are the new owners and player meetings that are now apparently moving at faster than light speed with a great sense of politeness towards a collective bargaining agreement. The usual cautious caveats apply but it's crystal clear now: the bullet train is headed towards a deal and the only thing that can stop it is last-minute, rampant stupidity. That likely won't happen.


One source with intimate knowledge of the discussions tells me negotiations are 80-85 percent complete. They've made such fast progress, I'm told, it's catching many of the principals by surprise. Some are now canceling vacations, believing an agreement will be reached within a matter of days.

Basically, it seems, we continue to move solidly into that threshold of a season will be played, not if one will be played. Again, barring the knucklehead factor.

"It's going to be very difficult for this to get screwed up," the source said.

That doesn't mean the negotiations can't revert back to the primordial days of disgust and hatred, or that the talks can't implode. It does mean, however, that the discussions are in such a good place it would be difficult for even the most selfish, destructive personality to affect them.

No one will go into specifics about what concessions are being made. What is being said is that both owners and players are making major ones and that has greased the CBA skids.

"I think all the players want to do is get back on the field," Minnesota Vikings tight end Visanthe Shiancoe told me. "I think owners have a vested interest in getting this done as well."

The tone of the meetings has taken such a dramatic turn it has indeed been like a different set of gatherings. The players, I'm told, had no trust in anything ownership said during the initial mediation sessions but that has completely changed. Different proposals are exchanged almost daily. The two sides are, well, finally and heartily negotiating.

In addition to the previously reported dinner involving trade association head DeMaurice Smith and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, several owners and players have had private lunches together. These smaller, informal meetings also have helped.

I've confirmed that lawyers for both sides have returned to the negotiating table after being kicked out of the room for weeks. Their return is another sign of good news since the talks are now getting more specific. Hopefully, the lawyers won't torpedo progress.

One person tells the story of how he saw more smiles in one recent negotiation than he had in almost all of the mediation sessions in Washington combined.

If a deal is soon struck, more smiles will follow.

[DoctorQuquriramba]

This needs to be settled by the time I get to Sconny. I want to go to minicamp

[seodiary]

Source: CBA framework may be ready by weekend

By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports
1 hour, 39 minutes ago
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Roger Goodell (far left) and NFL owners are scheduled to meet in Chicago next week.
(AP Photo)
NFL “secret” labor negotiations this week are expected to continue to make such progress that at least one source familiar with the situation says the framework of a new collective bargaining agreement could be in place by the weekend.

If so, the two negotiating groups representing the owners and the NFL trade association, meeting in the Baltimore area, Yahoo! Sports has learned, would return to their full parties to present what could be the deal that would end the three-month lockout before nearly anything football related is even lost.

“A June 30 or July 4 announcement is a reasonable expectation,” the source said. “My sense is that by week’s end they are likely to have some substantial framework if not a complete plan to go back and present to the owners and the players.”

More From Dan Wetzel
Will a team take a flyer on risky Burress? Jun 6, 2011
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NFL owners are already set to meet next Tuesday in Chicago. The league sent a memo to owners Monday suggesting they pack for an overnight stay, according to ESPN and the NFL Network. That led to speculation that the league believes it will have something formative to discuss.

The two sides could then return to the bargaining table to hash out any final differences by month’s end. Or at least that’s the hope.

The source said that negotiations this month have been marked by both comity and urgency. This came after both sides heeded the advice of Kermit Bye, the presiding judge of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals who strongly encouraged the two sides on June 3 to reach an agreement outside of the court system, where the battle had mostly been waged since the lockout began March 12.

“That’s when the sides got real with each other,” the source said. “When the deadline loomed large they started to work on the real issues.”

There are numerous issues that remain, including a final division of the money, agreements on future television contracts (considering the rapid rise in live sports programming fees, the 2014 deals should produce unprecedented sums) and issues with benefits for retired players, who in the legal circuit are a third, independent party.

This is by no means done. However, a CBSSports.com report Tuesday that the deal was “80-85 percent done” was met with agreement by our source. “I think that’s accurate,” he said.

The positivity is as welcome as it is unexpected. The two sides seemed hopelessly dug in for the long haul as recently as the start of this month, waiting for legal maneuvering to dictate negotiating strength.

Now if you’re a football fan who cares little about who “wins” this labor battle, there is significant hope that you won’t miss a single significant part of the season.

NFL teams generally start training camp in late July (with the two teams participating in the Hall of Fame Game beginning a week earlier). General managers have said they need free agency to begin no later than July 15, allowing at least 10 days for a flurry of signings. Anything before would be welcome, allowing two or three weeks of free agency.

The preseason schedule, which is set to kick off Aug. 7 with the Hall of Fame Game, would be unaffected. So too, obviously, would be the start of the regular season on Sept. 8, when the New Orleans Saints are scheduled to visit the Green Bay Packers.

If a deal is done over the next couple weeks, essentially, the lockout could be one forgotten blip to history, no casualties except for meaningless minicamps and organized team activities.

If nothing else, after months of bad news, here’s at least some positive talk.

[johnsonjunior]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6663832

At a time when many are waiting for and anticipating a new deal between owners and the NFL Players Association, there was a point Tuesday when talks clearly regressed.

One person close to the talks even went so far as to say, "This almost blew up yesterday."

How close it got to that point is a matter of opinion. The moment may have come shortly after lawyers from both sides were brought back into the process at an undisclosed location in the Washington, D.C., area.

As tensions rose and anger grew, two sources said NFLPA leader DeMaurice Smith instructed his lawyers to "stand down."

With the lawyers removed from the direct negotiations, the process was said to get back on track and to a good spot. The scenario is an example of just how tenuous these talks can be and how quickly they can be derailed.

But it also is the ultimate proof that Smith and his players, and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and the owners, have taken the process out of the hands of the attorneys and demanded that they control it as the two sides try to hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement.

Mike and Mike in the Morning

During negotiations in the winter, many around the league worried that the lawyers were controlling the process. But Tuesday's events are the strongest evidence to date that they are not.

Lawyers still will have to be involved in the final resolution, drawing up any agreement and signing off on what each side can and can't do. Any agreement would have to be presented to the judge in the case to be ratified.

Multiple sources familiar with the talks said progress is being made, but they cautioned that there's "a lot of drama and a lot of room for mistakes left."

To say this is going to be done in two weeks, one source said, "is borderline insane."

The sides are meeting again Wednesday in Maryland, in larger groups, and more meetings are expected next week.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees told The Associated Press on Wednesday that there is a "sense of urgency with the season just around the corner."

"The general understanding from everybody is that if we don't have something done by July it would be hard to start on time," he said. Shit...did I almost jinx it with this thread yesterday?

Friggin lawyers man!

[ssiikmuz]

Shit...did I almost jinx it with this thread yesterday?

Friggin lawyers man!

I see where everybody's villian D. Smith, cooled the lawyers dwon

[kaysions]

I see where everybody's villian D. Smith, cooled the lawyers dwon

Fucking lawyers.

As conspiratorial nutty as it sounds...it is peculiar the same lawyers brought in on both sides have other work and interests with MLB,NBA,NHL....etc.

They really just need to hammer this thing out and than direct the damn lawyers to just write it all up.

[secondmortgages]

This will be easier to clear up between the owners and players than it will between the owners themselves. Remember, the owners decided to blow up the CBA because they couldn't agree among themselves how to share the money, not because they had such a bad deal with the players.

The small market owners are going to make it hard to get this done on short notice. The owners meeting next Tuesday is something to keep an eye on.

[vicgirl]

This will be easier to clear up between the owners and players than it will between the owners themselves. Remember, the owners decided to blow up the CBA because they couldn't agree among themselves how to share the money, not because they had such a bad deal with the players.

The small market owners are going to make it hard to get this done on short notice. The owners meeting next Tuesday is something to keep an eye on.

Good points!

Reports today are that the owners are the ones making a fuss. By all accounts expectation with some in the media was that the players would make the stink over the direction they are going (giving up less of the pie....at least initially). But, the players seem pretty motivated to get something done and get moving.

This report leads exactly to what you say.....the problems are with and amongst the owners.

Hopefully good news comes out of Tuesday.

[Babposa]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6671873

An internal battle is percolating at some of the highest NFL circles in which some owners are resisting the labor deal they've been trying to negotiate with the players, according to multiple sources.

A handful of NFL owners -- at least two of whom are from AFC teams -- believes the parameters of the deal being discussed don't adequately address the original issues the league wanted corrected from the 2006 collective bargaining agreement, according to sources.

It is one of the primary reasons team officials are being prepped to stay an extra night in Chicago at Tuesday's owners' meetings. It's not to potentially vote on a new collective bargaining agreement, as many suspected; it actually is to try to fend off some of the resistance that is mounting, according to sources.

Some of this resistance has caused the NFL to adjust its schedule next week, moving up the time of Tuesday's meeting, with the possibility of staying until Wednesday. The league is bracing for internal negotiations and lobbying that will impact how soon football could return.

The surprise is that many thought this kind of pushback to a deal would occur within the players' ranks, not among NFL owners.

In reality, the resistance has been there since March, when commissioner Roger Goodell was authorized in a vote of the owners to offer and negotiate whatever he thought was best for the league.

After the players decertified, owners were briefed on Goodell's offer, and some believed it was too one-sided in favor of the players and not strong enough for the teams. Those teams never changed their feelings, and recently they have made this known directly to Goodell, according to a source.

Now that the two sides have begun to make some significant strides within the past week, some owners are pushing back against the deal again, according to sources.

This subplot comes at a time when the NFL and NFLPA have made considerable progress, much of it on broad-picture items. The two sides, according to a source, have agreed to an unofficial timeline as to how events such as training camp and free agency would play out if there is an agreement on the more significant elements of the deal.

A pushback from the owners' side has been apparent since March, when commissioner Roger Goodell was authorized in a vote to offer and negotiate whatever he thought was best for the league.
One NFL executive has been urging the league for weeks that, in order for the full preseason schedule to be played, an agreement between the NFL and NFLPA would have to occur no later than July 14.

This would give the courts time to approve the agreement; the NFLPA time to recertify; 32 teams and approximately 2,000 agents the time they would need to be debriefed on the new NFL rules; and players the time they need to get into camp and get in shape for the preseason.

None of it can happen without an agreement, and there is still a gap on the most significant points -- division of revenues and jurisdiction over the next collective bargaining agreement.

Some owners clearly want football and are willing to meet the players' price. But others -- remembering 2006, when a CBA that seemingly favored the players was thought to have been rushed through -- want to make sure they don't make the same mistake. Hmmmmmm.....Buffalo and Jacksonville?

[jeaccatty]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6671873



Hmmmmmm.....Buffalo and Jacksonville?

Buffalo and Cincinatti.

[Wsjltrhe]

Buffalo and Cincinatti.

Indeed.....well put!

Hopefully the whole progress will not be stunted by a few small market owners. Tuesday will be telling.

[BoboStin]

Owners should have had their shit together before now. The negotiators for the owners should have known what is acceptable for all the owners, and what is not. This is just poor planning, and will probably be the cause of why these negotiations fall apart.

[Bromymbollile]

Owners should have had their shit together before now. The negotiators for the owners should have known what is acceptable for all the owners, and what is not. This is just poor planning, and will probably be the cause of why these negotiations fall apart.

2 things...

1. There will never likely be a time when ALL the owners agree. Too vast a difference in philosophies and styles.

2. Wilson and Brown can bitch all they want, but unless they can get 7 other owners to go along with them, it doesn't mean shit.

[QXCharles]

2 things...

1. There will never likely be a time when ALL the owners agree. Too vast a difference in philosophies and styles.

2. Wilson and Brown can bitch all they want, but unless they can get 7 other owners to go along with them, it doesn't mean shit.

The second point is key Tuesday. I am doubtful the rift runs that deep with the owners (in which case why the fuck is this whole thing being stalled by a few) but we will see Tuesday if enough owners agree.

[Mynameishappy]

The second point is key Tuesday. I am doubtful the rift runs that deep with the owners (in which case why the fuck is this whole thing being stalled by a few) but we will see Tuesday if enough owners agree.

Hopefully there is not enough owners to stall this. I have a feeling if it is stalled by some owners, it is back to square one in negotiations with the players.

[24MurinivaMak]

Among the details NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is revealing to owners Tuesday at the owners' meeting in Rosemont, Ill., is that in the next proposed agreement players will receive a 48 percent share of "all revenue," without the $1-billion-plus credit off the top that had been a point of contention in earlier negotiations, according to sources familiar with the presentation.

Under the new formula being negotiated, players will receive 48 percent of all revenue and will never dip below a 46.5 percent take of the money, sources said.

Proposed CBA Details
Details of a proposed collective bargaining agreement being pitched to NFL owners Tuesday, according to sources:

• Players get 48 percent of "all revenue," without extra $1-billion-plus off top that previously had been requested by owners.

• Players' share will never dip below 46.5 percent, under new formula being negotiated.

• Teams required to spend minimum 90-93 percent of the salary cap.

• Rookie wage scale part of deal but still being "tweaked."

• Four years needed for unrestricted free-agent status. Certain tags will be retained, but still being discussed.

• 18-game regular season designated only as negotiable item and at no point is mandated in deal.

• New 16-game Thursday night TV package beginning in 2012.

• Owners still will get some expense credits that will allow funding for new stadiums.

• Retirees to benefit from improved health care, pension benefits as revenue projected to double to $18 million by 2016.

-- ESPN's Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter

In the previous collective bargaining agreement, players received approximately 60 percent of "total revenue" but that did not include $1 billion that was designated as an expense credit off the top of the $9 billion revenue model. Owners initially were seeking another $1 billion in credit only to reduce that amount substantially before exercising the lockout on March 13.

Ultimately, the two sides have decided to simplify the formula, which will eliminate some tedious accounting audits of the credit the players have allowed in the previous deal. NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith has stated that players were actually receiving around 53 percent of all revenues instead of the much advertised 60 percent.

Owners still will get some expense credits that will allow funding for new stadium construction, sources said.

A rookie wage scale will be part of the new deal but is still being "tweaked," and the much-discussed 18-game regular season will be designated only as a negotiable item with the players and at no point is mandated in a potential agreement. A new 16-game Thursday night TV package beginning in 2012 will be the source of new revenue.

As revenues are projected to possibly double by 2016 to $18 billion annually, retired players will benefit from improved health and pension funding that is expected to increase significantly.

Players believe they can justify a 48 percent take because of the projected revenue growth, as well as built-in mechanisms that require teams to spend close to 100 percent of the salary cap, a source told ESPN.com's John Clayton. The mandatory minimum spending increase is an element that concerns lower-revenue clubs, sources say.

For example, if the 2011 salary cap were to be at $120 million, a team would have to have a cash payroll of close to $120 million. In the previous collective bargaining agreement, the team payroll floor was less than 90 percent of the salary cap and was only in cap figures, not cash.

The higher floor proposal could cause some problems for the lower revenue teams such as the Cincinnati Bengals and the Buffalo Bills. Along with the salary cap, teams have to pay an average of about $27 million a year in benefits.

A league source told ESPN's Sal Paolantonio that there will not be a vote on a new collective bargaining agreement Tuesday.

"This is strictly informational. There is nothing to vote on," the source told ESPN.

The negotiating teams for the owners and players, led by Goodell and Smith, are expected to return to the table most likely Wednesday and Thursday in Boston, hoping to build off the momentum of three strong weeks of talks under the supervision of a court-appointed mediator, U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan.

Cautious expectations on the two sides reaching an agreement in principle are varied, ranging from one-to-three weeks with the hopes of beginning a new league year (free agency, etc.) by mid-July.

If and when an agreement is reached, all players whose contracts have expired and have four or more years of experience are expected to be unrestricted free agents, sources familiar with the talks told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. Certain tags will be retained but that still is being discussed.

Players are willing to commit to at least a 10-year labor agreement if the sides can agree on the terms, sources told Clayton.

Any breakdown in talks could result in the loss of preseason games and threaten the opening of the regular season. The first preseason game, at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, is scheduled for Aug. 7.

"This is the season to get a deal," Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay said before entering the conference room where representatives from all 32 teams were being updated by Goodell and his negotiating committee. "I think the logic that you're pushing on both sides is saying why get a deal Oct. 1, or whenever, when you could have had July 7, or whatever."

Tuesday marks Day 98 of the lockout, the NFL's first work stoppage since 1987 and the longest in NFL history.

Chris Mortensen is ESPN's senior NFL analyst. Information from ESPN.com senior NFL writer John Clayton, ESPN reporter Sal Paolantonio, ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter and The Associated Press also was used in this report.

[luffyplayaz]

[beethyday]

Interested to see how this floats. All Roger needs is 75% I believe to make it go. Said they would not vote on it today but they are taking concensus.