NFL, union to resume labor talks Monday
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service Director George H. Cohen talks with the media in Washington after a round football labor negotiations with the NFL and the NFL players' association in March. Credit: AP
The NFL and NFL Players Association return to the bargaining table Monday in Washington for more negotiations that could lead to a new collective-bargaining agreement by week's end . . . or not.
The sides will meet for a 12th day before federal mediator George H. Cohen in an attempt to create a deal. But if they can't agree on key issues -- including how to share $9 billion in annual revenue -- the union could decertify, followed by an owners' lockout. Then there would be weeks and perhaps months of court battles, with part or all of the 2011 season imperiled.
But at least the sides are talking. "I think it's better than the alternative," said Jeff Pash, the league's chief negotiator. "[Fans] know we're talking, they know we're working hard, and I think that should be a positive."
Pash said the presence of Cohen, who has been assisted by Scot Beckenbaugh, has aided the talks. "What the mediators bring to the process is a structure and a discipline that wasn't always there," Pash said. "They inject a seriousness of purpose to it. They encourage you to keep at it, to think about it, to look at alternatives."
Even so, some differences have proved intractable. The biggest issue is the NFL's demand that an additional $1 billion in annual revenue be excluded from being split with the players. That figure is on top of the $1 billion already earmarked for owners.
People familiar with the discussions say there has been no significant movement on the NFL's demand to keep that extra $1 billion, which is to be used for projects, including stadium construction, that the league believes will help grow the revenue pie and create money the players ultimately will gain.
The union says the money amounts to a significant pay cut while the NFL is enjoying unprecedented popularity. Several games last season set television ratings records, and the Super Bowl was the most watched program in U.S. history.
If an agreement is reached, it likely will include a major reduction in the extra $1 billion the NFL seeks; a wage scale that would eliminate some enormous salaries and bonuses earned by rookies; and an 18-game regular season.
"We are all stewards of our game," NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said. "We all have a fiduciary responsibility to the players who played this game, the players who play this game and the players who will play. And that fiduciary obligation extends to every [fan] who loves to watch our game.
"On behalf of the players of the National Football League, they understand that. They appreciate it and we're never going to squander it."
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