Goodell to players' union: Get serious
DALLAS - With the specter of a labor showdown looming next month, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell implored officials from the players' union to get serious about negotiations. And he means now.
"We need intensive, round-the-clock negotiations to address the issues and find solutions," Goodell said Friday in his annual state-of-the-NFL address preceding the Super Bowl. "I can tell you the commitment is there to get an agreement. That's only going to happen when there are intensive negotiations. The urgency is out there. March 4 is a very critical date, because a lot of different strategies will take place if ."
Goodell is set to join other top NFL negotiators Saturday to have face-to-face talks with NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith and his top aides. It will be the first formal negotiating session since late November, and two additional meetings are scheduled for next week.
If a new deal is not reached by March 3, owners are expected to institute a lockout. The union has threatened to decertify around that time, which could further complicate matters. A decertification would mean owners couldn't have any formal bargaining sessions because the union essentially would be temporarily shut down.
"I think both sides are going to be prepared for every outcome," Goodell said. "If we're committed to [negotiating], I think we'll be successful."
If not?
"It will be bad for the players, it will be bad for the clubs," Goodell said. "The uncertainty will lead to a reduction, potentially, in revenue, and when that revenue decreases, there will be less for us to share. That will just make it harder to get an agreement."
Among the other subjects Goodell addressed:
An 18-game regular season: "The fans have clearly stated that they don't like the quality of our preseason. That is the basis that we started to look at the 18 [regular-season games] and two [preseason games] concept . . . The question is how do we make the preseason as effective as possible and the regular season as effective as possible? And I believe we're on the right track to get that done."
On whether teams such as the Chiefs and Jets, both of whom have laid off some employees, are using the threat of a lockout to reduce their work staffs: "There are difficult challenges out there. All of our clubs, and the league, and every other business have to make tough decisions in this kind of environment. We want to make sure that we're making smart decisions. No one likes to see our employees let go. It's a very, very difficult thing."
Bringing football back to Los Angeles, which has been without a team since 1995: "Even with the positive development [of stadium naming rights for a new venue], the financing of the stadium in Los Angeles is still a very difficult proposition . . . I think this is a positive thing for the league, the players, the game and, most importantly, our fans in Southern California.''
On the suggestion that the Steelers want to see Goodell award the MVP trophy to either Ben Roethlisberger or James Harrison, both of whom have been disciplined by Goodell: "I would be more than happy to hand the MVP trophy off to Ben Roethlisberger or James Harrison. They've had extraordinary years, and I think it's great for the game of football."
On addressing the "Rooney Rule" to avoid "sham" interviews for African-American coaching candidates: "Anything can be improved, but I think the Rooney Rule has been extraordinarily successful. It has made the NFL better. We have had better people that have been given an opportunity and succeeded in the game of football because [teams] have considered a diverse slate of candidates."
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