Draftsharks opinion on the NFL Lockout

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Draftsharks opinion on the NFL Lockout

Posted On : Mar-21-2011 | seen (561) times | Article Word Count : 1823 |

I’ve had several fantasy football players ask me about the “increased” chances that the NFL won’t have a 2011 NFL season due to a lockout or union decertification. I’m still very much optimistic that there will be a full season this year. The latest insistence by the NFLPA to see an audited version of the teams’ individual books is likely just leverage to get the owners to move on the $750 million difference that still exists.

Locked (out) and Loaded LAP Dance
Leonard A. Pappano
March 14, 2011

Grow Some Balls, by George

The first guy in my cross-hairs is federal mediator George Cohen. Like a referee who loses control of a game, Cohen lost control of the negotiations the instant he tolerated NFL and NFLPA officials going public with their grievances. Cohen had insisted on a strict code of silence by both parties. They abided by that for the first week-and-a-half of negotiations.

By this past Thursday night, the silence had long been broken, and had degenerated into a public shit-flinging contest by lawyers on both sides. Before it had come to that point, Cohen should have gathered all the principals in one room on Wednesday morning – busted through the doors for dramatic effect – and pronounced to one and all: "You all have disrespected me, this office, the process, and the people whom you represent. Pack up your things and get the hell out of my building. Once you have publicly apologized in front the throng of microphones and TV crews, you may come back inside, and we can get to work. If not, have fun settling your differences." And without waiting for anyone to even clear his throat, briskly leave the room.

But, of course, I can't imagine anything remotely close to that happened. Too bad, because it would have broken the egos of overpaid lawyers and re-focused the efforts on getting a deal done.

Not to be too hard on Mr. Cohen. He inherited a circus of idiots. It just would have been nice if he had backhanded a couple of them.

The Owners' Boner? Roger That

Here is what we posted on the Draftsharks.com Facebook page Thursday evening:

"[Decertification] could happen, but we doubt it. Sides are making progress. And, of course, posturing. They're $600 million apart. Extension is most likely. But we wouldn't be shocked if both sides wake up tomorrow and agree to split the difference on the 600 million and move on."

In hindsight, it seems the two sides had actually whittled down their difference to $650 million. We were intuitive with our prediction that there would be a proposal to simply split the difference. However, we never anticipated that the NFLPA would actually balk at the idea, and instead throw the issue into court.

But back to the league's proposal. Commissioner Goodell claims that the players left a good deal on the table. They did. The question for the Commissioner is – why did the owners wait till Friday at noon to make the proposal? Last Monday morning, when the two sides were coming off the momentum of the second extension, there was an $800 million gap. Why didn't the league simply propose splitting the difference at that point – and spend the rest of the week ironing out the other details of the CBA? The union still might have balked at the idea... or maybe not. My strong hunch is that had the proposal come early in the week, the two sides would still be negotiating and closing in on a new CBA. As it played out, once the negotiations stalled and NFLPA got on the mantra of "show-us-all-your-books," there was too much emotion injected into the talks. The owners probably didn't offer too little. But they did offer too late.

In light of the mistrust created by the owners due to their $4 billion TV contract lockout insurance, it was incumbent upon the Commissioner to show the league's hand earlier – rather than (literally) at the last hour. Offering a compromise to split the difference on Monday would have deflated a good amount of animosity between the sides. In a nutshell, the owners screwed up. And Goodell was on watch when it happened. He now isn't even worth the $1 annual salary he's getting since the lockout began Saturday morning.

DeMaurice: De-certifiably Insane

I still haven't settled on what to think of De Smith. He could be a conniving douche bag who emotionally manipulated the players. Or he really could be as stupid as some of his statements. (I leaned a bit toward the former when I heard him refer to the "American people" last week in one of his statements. Anyone with a law degree who works inside the Beltway and uses the term "American people" is, de facto, a douche bag.)

But for a while last week, I thought the guy was as dumb as a fox. Washington power lawyer. Smart suit. Pimp hat. Backing the owners into a corner with his "show-us-all-the-books." De Smith had it all going on. The NFLPA head executive turned the reasonable request of wanting full financial disclosure from the teams into a rhetorical hammer. And he used the anvil of a deadline to extract an even split on the remaining $650 million difference. Well played. By Friday when the owners were offering their concessions, I actually thought Smith was brilliant.

But then a funny thing happened. He tripped at the goal line over his own success. He couldn't stop asking to see the books. And then he blew up the union and told his boys to lawyer up.

"Show-us-all-the-books" should have been used as leverage. It should have been a means to an ends. Instead, it simply became the ends. When the league made the proposal, De Smith could have said, "Give us another $100 million and you've got a deal." And a deal probably would have been had. Instead he kept regurgitating the "show-us-all-the-books" mantra – and pushing the players into litigation.

Putting all emotion aside – the NFLPA rejected a fair offer. I'm not suggesting the union should have simply jumped at it. But Smith could have politely thanked the owners, then asked for a 72-hour extension to digest the offer – and then come back Monday morning asking for a few more concessions.

That's what a smart, level-headed attorney would have done for his clients.

Whatever. When Will This Get Resolved?

The conventional wisdom goes something like this: If the players can get an injunction stopping the current lockout, the 2011 season will be saved by court order. But if the courts rule in favor of the owners and their right to lock out the players, this thing could drag out till summer – or beyond. Therefore, all fans should be rooting for the players to win an injunction.

A couple thoughts. Yeah, I will be rooting for an injunction – even though on the merits of the case, I think the players are wrong. But, hey, I'm strongly sympathetic to the players' issues, and I want to watch football this fall.

On the other hand, a win for the owners on the lockout issue will push the players toward a settlement. The real question is when. Despite the players' insistence to the contrary, I don't think the owners ever wanted a lockout. Sure – they wanted the leverage of being able to force a lockout. They dealt with the players in bad faith when the owners negotiated $4 billion worth of "lockout insurance" with the TV networks. But it was more a ploy to leverage better terms. It wasn't personal, it was business. The players didn't see it that way.

In the immediate aftermath of the NFLPA's decertification, the NFL made public its final offer to the union. The reason for disclosing the information was in part to garner public support. But it was probably also intended for the players. The league wants each player to know what their union rejected.

While lawyers and the media stir up the animosity between the two sides, everyone is taking their eye off the ball. And the ball is this: At worst, the two sides are now $325 million dollars apart on a $9 billion pie – with the league ready to make concessions on the players' other concerns. What we don't know is how the owners will respond if the players start losing some key rulings in their lawsuit. Will the league use that as leverage and start to un-sweeten the latest offer? I can understand the temptation to do so. But the league should be working toward conciliation – even if it has a reluctant partner at this point.

I have no clue what's going on behind the scenes in Commissioner Goodell's office this week. I do know that it's time for Goodell to step up and earn his $1 annual salary in the coming weeks.

My free advice? The Commissioner should issue a public statement this week saying the NFL's last offer to the players will remain on the table – with a concession. Instead of splitting the difference on the final $650 million at $325 million per side, the league will offer an additional $100 million in health benefits to retired players. And the league should make clear that this offer stands unconditionally for the next 30 days. That ensures that even if the players lose their injunction plea, the league will not try to leverage that loss to the owners advantage. In essence, the league would be offering a make-up call on its $4 billion lockout insurance ploy. And it would be trying to openly woo the players back into a relationship based on respect.

If that would happen, this deal could still get done in two weeks. Since the Commissioner never returns my phone calls and emails, I'm not waiting on the owners to do the right thing. So as soon as someone gets some real leverage from the courts, they will start talking settlement. I wouldn't be surprised if the judge who is finally assigned the anti-trust case calls the attorneys in short order and pushes them back to the negotiating table.

So when does this get settled? Somewhere between the NFL Draft and July 1 is still my guess.

In the meantime, we have had people contact us to do fantasy college football, fantasy baseball, fantasy whatever. Draft Sharks is sticking to its offseason regimen. We will cover the NFL Draft (which is not impacted by the lockout), free agency (when it starts), and we will post our player profiles and rankings in late June. We'll have a full slate of articles, and hold drafts. Nothing changes for us. And it shouldn't change for you. Yeah, we know folks are pissed. But it is what it is. The NFL isn't going belly-up. It's a labor dispute, and these things always get resolved.

The two sides are really not that far apart on the numbers. When they cool off a bit, or when one side gets leverage over the other – there will be a settlement, a new CBA and an NFL season.

Lenny Pappano
DraftSharks.com

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<h1>Draftsharks opinion on the NFL Lockout</h1> Author: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/profile_Lenny Pappano.aspx'>Lenny Pappano</a>

Locked (out) and Loaded LAP Dance
Leonard A. Pappano
March 14, 2011

Grow Some Balls, by George

The first guy in my cross-hairs is federal mediator George Cohen. Like a referee who loses control of a game, Cohen lost control of the negotiations the instant he tolerated NFL and NFLPA officials going public with their grievances. Cohen had insisted on a strict code of silence by both parties. They abided by that for the first week-and-a-half of negotiations.

By this past Thursday night, the silence had long been broken, and had degenerated into a public shit-flinging contest by lawyers on both sides. Before it had come to that point, Cohen should have gathered all the principals in one room on Wednesday morning – busted through the doors for dramatic effect – and pronounced to one and all: "You all have disrespected me, this office, the process, and the people whom you represent. Pack up your things and get the hell out of my building. Once you have publicly apologized in front the throng of microphones and TV crews, you may come back inside, and we can get to work. If not, have fun settling your differences." And without waiting for anyone to even clear his throat, briskly leave the room.

But, of course, I can't imagine anything remotely close to that happened. Too bad, because it would have broken the egos of overpaid lawyers and re-focused the efforts on getting a deal done.

Not to be too hard on Mr. Cohen. He inherited a circus of idiots. It just would have been nice if he had backhanded a couple of them.

The Owners' Boner? Roger That

Here is what we posted on the Draftsharks.com Facebook page Thursday evening:

"[Decertification] could happen, but we doubt it. Sides are making progress. And, of course, posturing. They're $600 million apart. Extension is most likely. But we wouldn't be shocked if both sides wake up tomorrow and agree to split the difference on the 600 million and move on."

In hindsight, it seems the two sides had actually whittled down their difference to $650 million. We were intuitive with our prediction that there would be a proposal to simply split the difference. However, we never anticipated that the NFLPA would actually balk at the idea, and instead throw the issue into court.

But back to the league's proposal. Commissioner Goodell claims that the players left a good deal on the table. They did. The question for the Commissioner is – why did the owners wait till Friday at noon to make the proposal? Last Monday morning, when the two sides were coming off the momentum of the second extension, there was an $800 million gap. Why didn't the league simply propose splitting the difference at that point – and spend the rest of the week ironing out the other details of the CBA? The union still might have balked at the idea... or maybe not. My strong hunch is that had the proposal come early in the week, the two sides would still be negotiating and closing in on a new CBA. As it played out, once the negotiations stalled and NFLPA got on the mantra of "show-us-all-your-books," there was too much emotion injected into the talks. The owners probably didn't offer too little. But they did offer too late.

In light of the mistrust created by the owners due to their $4 billion TV contract lockout insurance, it was incumbent upon the Commissioner to show the league's hand earlier – rather than (literally) at the last hour. Offering a compromise to split the difference on Monday would have deflated a good amount of animosity between the sides. In a nutshell, the owners screwed up. And Goodell was on watch when it happened. He now isn't even worth the $1 annual salary he's getting since the lockout began Saturday morning.

DeMaurice: De-certifiably Insane

I still haven't settled on what to think of De Smith. He could be a conniving douche bag who emotionally manipulated the players. Or he really could be as stupid as some of his statements. (I leaned a bit toward the former when I heard him refer to the "American people" last week in one of his statements. Anyone with a law degree who works inside the Beltway and uses the term "American people" is, de facto, a douche bag.)

But for a while last week, I thought the guy was as dumb as a fox. Washington power lawyer. Smart suit. Pimp hat. Backing the owners into a corner with his "show-us-all-the-books." De Smith had it all going on. The NFLPA head executive turned the reasonable request of wanting full financial disclosure from the teams into a rhetorical hammer. And he used the anvil of a deadline to extract an even split on the remaining $650 million difference. Well played. By Friday when the owners were offering their concessions, I actually thought Smith was brilliant.

But then a funny thing happened. He tripped at the goal line over his own success. He couldn't stop asking to see the books. And then he blew up the union and told his boys to lawyer up.

"Show-us-all-the-books" should have been used as leverage. It should have been a means to an ends. Instead, it simply became the ends. When the league made the proposal, De Smith could have said, "Give us another $100 million and you've got a deal." And a deal probably would have been had. Instead he kept regurgitating the "show-us-all-the-books" mantra – and pushing the players into litigation.

Putting all emotion aside – the NFLPA rejected a fair offer. I'm not suggesting the union should have simply jumped at it. But Smith could have politely thanked the owners, then asked for a 72-hour extension to digest the offer – and then come back Monday morning asking for a few more concessions.

That's what a smart, level-headed attorney would have done for his clients.

Whatever. When Will This Get Resolved?

The conventional wisdom goes something like this: If the players can get an injunction stopping the current lockout, the 2011 season will be saved by court order. But if the courts rule in favor of the owners and their right to lock out the players, this thing could drag out till summer – or beyond. Therefore, all fans should be rooting for the players to win an injunction.

A couple thoughts. Yeah, I will be rooting for an injunction – even though on the merits of the case, I think the players are wrong. But, hey, I'm strongly sympathetic to the players' issues, and I want to watch football this fall.

On the other hand, a win for the owners on the lockout issue will push the players toward a settlement. The real question is when. Despite the players' insistence to the contrary, I don't think the owners ever wanted a lockout. Sure – they wanted the leverage of being able to force a lockout. They dealt with the players in bad faith when the owners negotiated $4 billion worth of "lockout insurance" with the TV networks. But it was more a ploy to leverage better terms. It wasn't personal, it was business. The players didn't see it that way.

In the immediate aftermath of the NFLPA's decertification, the NFL made public its final offer to the union. The reason for disclosing the information was in part to garner public support. But it was probably also intended for the players. The league wants each player to know what their union rejected.

While lawyers and the media stir up the animosity between the two sides, everyone is taking their eye off the ball. And the ball is this: At worst, the two sides are now $325 million dollars apart on a $9 billion pie – with the league ready to make concessions on the players' other concerns. What we don't know is how the owners will respond if the players start losing some key rulings in their lawsuit. Will the league use that as leverage and start to un-sweeten the latest offer? I can understand the temptation to do so. But the league should be working toward conciliation – even if it has a reluctant partner at this point.

I have no clue what's going on behind the scenes in Commissioner Goodell's office this week. I do know that it's time for Goodell to step up and earn his $1 annual salary in the coming weeks.

My free advice? The Commissioner should issue a public statement this week saying the NFL's last offer to the players will remain on the table – with a concession. Instead of splitting the difference on the final $650 million at $325 million per side, the league will offer an additional $100 million in health benefits to retired players. And the league should make clear that this offer stands unconditionally for the next 30 days. That ensures that even if the players lose their injunction plea, the league will not try to leverage that loss to the owners advantage. In essence, the league would be offering a make-up call on its $4 billion lockout insurance ploy. And it would be trying to openly woo the players back into a relationship based on respect.

If that would happen, this deal could still get done in two weeks. Since the Commissioner never returns my phone calls and emails, I'm not waiting on the owners to do the right thing. So as soon as someone gets some real leverage from the courts, they will start talking settlement. I wouldn't be surprised if the judge who is finally assigned the anti-trust case calls the attorneys in short order and pushes them back to the negotiating table.

So when does this get settled? Somewhere between the NFL Draft and July 1 is still my guess.

In the meantime, we have had people contact us to do fantasy college football, fantasy baseball, fantasy whatever. Draft Sharks is sticking to its offseason regimen. We will cover the NFL Draft (which is not impacted by the lockout), free agency (when it starts), and we will post our player profiles and rankings in late June. We'll have a full slate of articles, and hold drafts. Nothing changes for us. And it shouldn't change for you. Yeah, we know folks are pissed. But it is what it is. The NFL isn't going belly-up. It's a labor dispute, and these things always get resolved.

The two sides are really not that far apart on the numbers. When they cool off a bit, or when one side gets leverage over the other – there will be a settlement, a new CBA and an NFL season.

Lenny Pappano
DraftSharks.com

About the Author: Lenny Pappano | Executive Director
Lenny Pappano is co-founder of Draft Sharks, as well as a co-founder of The World Championship of Fantasy Football. In his 10 years of experience in the fantasy football business Pappano has won many awards including several Fantasy Expert leagues and polls since 1999. He also took the FSWA's award for "Best Fantasy Football Article" with his acclaimed piece, "Confessions of a Fantasy Expert." Pappano has written articles for countless FF magazines. Article Source: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Draftsharks-opinion-on-the-NFL-Lockout_56624.aspx'> http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Draftsharks opinion on the NFL Lockout_56624.aspx</a>

Article Source : http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Draftsharks opinion on the NFL Lockout_56624.aspx

Author Resource :
Lenny Pappano | Executive Director
Lenny Pappano is co-founder of Draft Sharks, as well as a co-founder of The World Championship of Fantasy Football. In his 10 years of experience in the fantasy football business Pappano has won many awards including several Fantasy Expert leagues and polls since 1999. He also took the FSWA's award for "Best Fantasy Football Article" with his acclaimed piece, "Confessions of a Fantasy Expert." Pappano has written articles for countless FF magazines.

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