Pro football fans and NFL enthusiasts tonight have been holding their collective breaths over the state of the league labor condition. A 'worst case scenario' is a probable lockout that could delay or cancel the 2011 NFL season. The collective bargaining agreement was scheduled to expire on Thursday but the NFL and the Player's Association agreed to a 24 hour extension as negotiations continued. Now there's powerful suggestion that a longer extension could be possible which would allow negotiations to continue between players and owners.
Despite reports that another extension was likely, NFL Players Association President DeMaurice Smith was vague about the option saying just:
"We desire to continue to thank our fans for still being patient as we work through this."
NFL lead representative Jeff Pash was a little more forthcoming:
"If we can make the kind of progress that you needed to make to have a further extension, that's where we'd be looking. Optimistically, we can make some progress and keep this thing going. That's surely in everybody's interest. It's been our goal all along and we're going to just keep at it."
Pash suggested that progress was being made, though it was difficult to quantify in exact terms:
"You can't measure it like that. ... It's not like a stock that you could chart on an hour-by-hour basis. There are a lot of issues, it's complex. People are working with much effort, and I think we're just going to have to keep at it."
League commissioner Roger Goodell was tight lipped about what could be expected:
"We're going back to work hard again."
Even US President Barack Obama was asked about a possible role in the negotiations, though for once he opted to stay on the sidelines and let the labor/management marketplace work out their issues on their own:
"I'm a big football fan but I also think that for an industry that's making $9 billion a year in revenue, they can figure out how to divide it up in a sensible way and be true to their fans, who are the ones who obviously allow for all the money that they're making. So my expectation and hope is that they will resolve it without me intervening, because it turns out I've got a lot of other stuff to do."
The latest report suggests that the NFLPA has agreed to a 7 to 10 day extension to negotiations (and the current CBA) and is awaiting a response from NFL owners.
Despite reports that another extension was likely, NFL Players Association President DeMaurice Smith was vague about the option saying just:
"We desire to continue to thank our fans for still being patient as we work through this."
NFL lead representative Jeff Pash was a little more forthcoming:
"If we can make the kind of progress that you needed to make to have a further extension, that's where we'd be looking. Optimistically, we can make some progress and keep this thing going. That's surely in everybody's interest. It's been our goal all along and we're going to just keep at it."
Pash suggested that progress was being made, though it was difficult to quantify in exact terms:
"You can't measure it like that. ... It's not like a stock that you could chart on an hour-by-hour basis. There are a lot of issues, it's complex. People are working with much effort, and I think we're just going to have to keep at it."
League commissioner Roger Goodell was tight lipped about what could be expected:
"We're going back to work hard again."
Even US President Barack Obama was asked about a possible role in the negotiations, though for once he opted to stay on the sidelines and let the labor/management marketplace work out their issues on their own:
"I'm a big football fan but I also think that for an industry that's making $9 billion a year in revenue, they can figure out how to divide it up in a sensible way and be true to their fans, who are the ones who obviously allow for all the money that they're making. So my expectation and hope is that they will resolve it without me intervening, because it turns out I've got a lot of other stuff to do."
The latest report suggests that the NFLPA has agreed to a 7 to 10 day extension to negotiations (and the current CBA) and is awaiting a response from NFL owners.
About the Author:
Daniel Scott is a freelance sports writer and noted authority on price per head. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and racebook software sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.
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