NFL’s 10-year labor deal proving to be a gold mine for all

Kevin Mawae knew there would be skepticism about the NFL’s 10-year labor agreement when details — including a lower salary cap — came to light in the summer of 2011. Actually, skepticism might be putting it kindly. Outright contempt was more like it.

“We knew there would be a lot of pessimism with it,” the former Jets center and one-time NFL Players Association president said. “Everybody looked at the numbers, the writers and the agents, and people said it was a terrible deal.”

But Mawae was confident that the gamble that he and his fellow negotiators placed on the totality of the deal would pay off in the long run. And now, halfway through a deal that was almost universally panned as being nothing short of a spectacular loss by the players, the tide clearly has turned. And so has the perception of how beneficial the collective-bargaining agreement has turned out for the players and the owners.

With the free agency signing period set to begin Wednesday, there is close to a billion dollars — that’s billion with a “B” — in salary-cap space among the league’s 32 teams. That means this latest crop of unrestricted free agents is set to reap the benefits of a financial windfall that Mawae foresaw.

“For us, the players that negotiated the deal, we knew this was going to happen,” said Mawae, who retired in 2009 after a 16-year career with the Seahawks, Jets and Titans. “We felt like if we could get a deal that would be secure, with no lockouts, no strike clauses, we felt like the TV deals that would come along would increase revenues. Which is exactly what happened.”

Mawae revealed that the players employed what he called a “three-bucket” system of dividing revenues — one for television money, another for local revenues and a third for merchandising. But the key was the TV “bucket,” and Mawae contends the players’ ability to get 55 percent of those revenues was the linchpin to why the deal eventually would work. Even if the initial reaction was that the players had lost because the salary cap essentially was flat in the first two years of the CBA.

“Without us as players, there is no game to sell, and there was no way the owners were going to get a new contract with TV,” Mawae said. “That’s why we ended up getting 55 percent of the TV revenue.”

Mawae said it was no coincidence that major television deals were struck within months of the CBA; by December, NBC, CBS, Fox and ESPN had agreed to long-term deals worth nearly a combined $30 billion. While the players initially didn’t see a major increase in salaries because of the flat cap in 2011 and 2012, the payoff has grown exponentially the last two years. The salary cap has gone from $120 million per team in 2011 to $155.3 million this year.

Not only that, but another mechanism of the current CBA requires that teams actually spend a combined 89 percent of the salary cap, a minimum that had not previously been in effect. The net result is that even teams that had traditionally not spent up to the cap, including the Raiders and Bengals, now would be required to pay more in salaries.

“There’s just so much money out there now, it’s become an absolute players’ market,” said agent Jason Rosenhaus, who represents several high-profile NFL players along with his brother Drew. “The players’ leverage has turned 180 degrees. The owners may have thought it was a great deal early on, but it’s the players in years four through 10 who are just going to be absolutely thrilled with this CBA. I think it’s a win-win. It’s obviously a very good deal for the owners, and it’s a very good deal for the players. The owners are secure; the business of being a football player is just ascending.”

Owners privately reveled in the deal in the initial stages, and you won’t find much complaining among the group now, even as salaries have risen dramatically in recent years. After all, the stability of a 10-year labor deal, coupled with the explosion of television money and new stadiums only adding to the revenue pie, gives the owners billions of reasons to feel good about their financial investments.

In fact, one NFL executive said that although players have benefited in salary increases, the deal still is heavily tilted toward the owners. “You think the players are making a lot?” the executive said. “The owners are making a fortune. An absolute fortune.”

Giants president and co-owner John Mara, who participated in every negotiating session leading up to the CBA, said the deal was fair.

“I think it has worked well for both sides,” he said. “It is not perfect, and we certainly didn’t get everything we wanted.”

But Mara also said there are “some issues that need to be cleared up so that we are not constantly battling one another over language and interpretation. I hope that can be addressed in the next negotiation.”

Mara declined to specify which issues are problematic, but there were contentious debates about the implementation of HGH testing that was agreed to in the CBA, and both sides continue to argue about the disciplinary powers accorded NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

Despite the steep increase in player salaries, not everyone is satisfied with the labor agreement.

“The deal is terrible,” said one agent who represents several highly paid NFL players and requested anonymity. “There should have been more money negotiated for. Some markets for certain positions have gone down. Yes, there’s a ton of money, but the owners can manipulate this any way they want.”

Agent Jerome Stanley, who represented former Jets, Bucs and Cowboys receiver Keyshawn Johnson, among others, also said the deal could have been better.

“I don’t like any deals that have a salary cap, because I don’t think we need one,” he said. “These owners are smart enough to find the market for players. The fact that we give away a salary cap is problematic. Players are making good money, but things can always be better.”

Current NFLPA president Eric Winston believes the players got a good deal.

“There’s this sentiment that everybody wants to put this in a win-loss category,” said Winston, 32, a free agent who played with the Bengals the last two seasons. “In these business matters, you’re going to get the things that are important, and I think both sides did that. We knew what kind of revenue-sharing deal we wanted. And we built in a lot more benefits that will help everyone, not just the top-tier [salary] guys.”

All in all, Mawae is satisfied that the long-term future of his constituents appears bright.

“When you hear the NFL tell you that revenues in 2025 will be $27 billion a year, the players’ portion is only going to rise,” he said. “I think it’s a great deal. That, plus the increased benefits we got for current and former players and the reduced hitting in practices — which was a big deal — I think it helps everybody. You can’t satisfy everyone, but I think this deal works.”

By Bob Glauber

Special to NewsdayBobGlauber

Bob Glauber retired in 2022 after covering the NFL for nearly 40 years. He was selected in 2021 for the Bill Nunn Career Achievement Award by the Pro Football Writers of America, and is a three-time winner of the New York State Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. President of the PFWA for the 2018-20 seasons, he is the author of “The Forgotten First” and “Guts and Genius.”