Another letter from Goodell to us fans

[Miller]

Received this letter in my email this evening:

Dear NFL Fan,

When I wrote to you last on behalf of the NFL, we promised you that we would work tirelessly to find a collectively bargained solution to our differences with the players' union. Subsequent to that letter to you, we agreed that the fastest way to a fair agreement was for everyone to work together through a mediation process. For the last three weeks I have personally attended every session of mediation, which is a process our clubs sincerely believe in.

Unfortunately, I have to tell you that earlier today the players' union walked away from mediation and collective bargaining and has initiated litigation against the clubs. In an effort to get a fair agreement now, our clubs offered a deal today that was, among other things, designed to have no adverse financial impact on veteran players in the early years, and would have met the players’ financial demands in the latter years of the agreement.

The proposal we made included an offer to narrow the player compensation gap that existed in the negotiations by splitting the difference; guarantee a reallocation of savings from first-round rookies to veterans and retirees without negatively affecting compensation for rounds 2-7; no compensation reduction for veterans; implement new year-round health and safety rules; retain the current 16-4 season format for at least two years with any subsequent changes subject to the approval of the league and union; and establish a new legacy fund for retired players ($82 million contributed by the owners over the next two years).

It was a deal that offered compromise, and would have ensured the well-being of our players and guaranteed the long-term future for the fans of the great game we all love so much. It was a deal where everyone would prosper.

We remain committed to collective bargaining and the federal mediation process until an agreement is reached, and call on the union to return to negotiations immediately. NFL players, clubs, and fans want an agreement. The only place it can be reached is at the bargaining table.

While we are disappointed with the union's actions, we remain steadfastly committed to reaching an agreement that serves the best interest of NFL players, clubs and fans, and thank you for your continued support of our League. First and foremost it is your passion for the game that drives us all, and we will not lose sight of this as we continue to work for a deal that works for everyone.



Yours,
Roger Goodell

Now I am not a huge Goodell fan, but IMO, he is light years ahead of D Smith in this process so far. Sounds to me that they really tried to make this work and that the player's union had their mind made up as to their action already.

Unfortunately I do not see an end to this until late summer at the earliest.

 

[Runnik's Hambones]

Grrr....

 

[mudloggerone]

From what I've read Brady, Manning, and Brees are all going to court soon. I wonder if these three understand how many fans they are about to lose over this work stoppage and apparent greed.

 

[Remote Controller]

You are all very lucky. I was fixin' to open a can on all of you. You might have bought a month or two of grace!

 

[Coachnorm]

Found it in my inbox as well.

 

[MongerKhan]

Ahh horseshiz

 

[derringer007]

I thought for sure the CBA would have been resolved during the extension, the fact its going to a very possible lockout sorta pisses me off

:explode:

 

[RZR]

What am I missing here? What do the Mo-Town-Three want from the NFL that they're not getting? The last offer from the club seemed reasonable. What are they still fighting over?

 

[Arctic Dawgs]

No Mail :sob:

Guess I'm not impotent enough

dunno:

 

[mudloggerone]

I'm not so sure that being impotent at all is a thing to strive for Dawg.

 

[Arctic Dawgs]

Players responce. This I tend to believe more than Goodells version

The mediation was the end of a two-year process started on May 18, 2009, when our Executive Director sent you a letter requesting audited financial statements to justify your opting out of the CBA (letter attached).
The NFLPA did all it could to reach a fair collective bargaining agreement and made numerous proposals to address the concerns raised by the owners. In response, the owners never justified their demands for a massive give-back which would have resulted in the worst economic deal for players in major league pro sports.
That is why we were very troubled to see your letter, and repeated press reports by yourself, Jeff Pash, and the owners, which claim that the owners met the players halfway in the negotiations, and that the owners offered a fair deal to the players.
Your statements are false.
We will let the facts speak for themselves.

 

[DearbornDolfan]

Even if the Union version is right (and given the 50/50 lie, I sorta doubt it), I STILL support the NFL and ownership. The CBA deals of the last twenty years have prevented teams from building stadiums out of their own revenue and they are forced to go hat in hand to the taxpayers (who are partially responsible for it anyway considering they want state-of-the-art stadiums everywhere they go and don't want to pay the ticket prices for that) and that has to stop.

 

[mudloggerone]

I'm siding with ownership as well DD.

 

[Sgt John]

I dont buy the crap Goodell is shoveling. The players arent asking for anything unusual. No one made Jerry Jones go out and blow $700 million of his own money building his new stadium, and I dont think guys that will be crippled in their 50s should have to pay for it.

 

[Cerberus]

I payed attention to all this at first and try to keep an eye on it, but have found myself caring less and less about the nfl as of late. Starting to get into this fk them attitude, and thinking on jumping on the band wagon of striking against them if they do have a season next year. Few more of these Arena games and it'll be , nfl who?

 

[mudloggerone]

The players arent asking for anything unusual.

I know very few employees that have access to the owners books. Even fewer that get a set percentage of the income. Nothing unusual Sarge? That's not true at all.

 

[efactor]

The players want to see TEN years of financial records. The owners have offered five, which I think is a great compromise. Negotiation is about compromise. I know this is just one issue, but to me, it shows the attitude of the NFLPA. We won't compromise.

Screw the players if they are stupid enough to follow the lead of DeMaurice Smith. Get back to the table and work this thing out. There is plenty for everyone, but like any business, the employees will never get an equal share..............

 

[Sgt John]

I know very few employees that have access to the owners books. Even fewer that get a set percentage of the income. Nothing unusual Sarge? That's not true at all.

How many industries are like the NFL?? This is the largest football organization in the world, and it is certainly different than regular industry.

How many times has your employer built a new drilling rig and then asked YOU to take a salary/benifits cut to pay for it Mud?

 

[efactor]

and I dont think guys that will be crippled in their 50s should have to pay for it.

Pro football players have choices:

1) Pick another profession. They have access to a free college education. Use it and take another direction. Most players aren't crippled coming out of college, so ignore the big money of pro football and think long term if you don't want the risk/reward of the NFL.

2) Spend and invest your money wisely and play 5-6 years in the NFL and retire happy and healthy (well healthier than playing 10 years). Most players who are good enough to play 5-6 years will pull down an average of 2 million during that period. After taxes, that's 5-6 million net income. Not bad for someone who's 26 and should have a college education. John Frank was a TE for the Niners in the late 80's. He walked away from a nice contract extension and retired to become a doctor. If you don't want to increase your risk of long term injury, shorten your career. Of course, when a player walks away from a great career like Barry Sanders, happy and healthy, he's called a quitter by many.

There was an article in the local paper the other day about Danny Bunz, who used to play LB for the Niners. He was talking about how he is concerned because his short term memory is bad and getting worse. He wanted to play a couple more years, but his wife essentially made him retire because she didn't want him to get screwed up any worse. She's a dentist and he is now a teacher. Great story. It was aimed at how Bunz supported the NFLPA and felt the players needed a bigger chunk of the pie, but to me, it told a different story of planning ahead and not thinking that your 10 year career in the NFL will be the only career you have. Maybe if more players thought ahead and made good choices, they could live as normal members of society after their careers like Bunz is doing.

Anyway, I digress. Nobody is forced to play in the NFL. Players play because they love the game and the money is great compared to a majority of those in the working world. The risk is obvious. The NFL IMO is doing a lot to make the game safer, such as restricting hits on defenseless players etc. But you still have players like James Harrison who bitch every time he is fined for a cheap shot, yet express concern about player safety. Amazing group of guys........

 

[efactor]

How many industries are like the NFL?? This is the largest football organization in the world, and it is certainly different than regular industry.

How many times has your employer built a new drilling rig and then asked YOU to take a salary/benifits cut to pay for it Mud?

Happens all the time. I work for a big bank that is cleaning up right now and we just had a "pay plan adjustment". Plan plan changes are seldom for the best, but you roll with it, look at the areas you can make more money in to compensate for the areas you make less in. If you don't like it, you go work somewhere else if you are in demand.

However, unlike most of us in the working world, the players have the ability to negotiate for better terms rather than just accepting what the corporation rolls out. Get your asses back to the negotiation table and hammer this out and stop trying to make the public feel sorry for you as you pretend to actually care about the fans that pay your salaries..............