NFL union leader paints bleak picture of future

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The question to DeMaurice Smith was simple, coming from Cincinnati receiver Chad Ochocinco, asking how serious he viewed the possibility of football not being played in 2011.

Smith did not hesitate.

“On a scale of 1 to 10,” Smith said Thursday, “it’s a 14.”

With that, the executive director of the NFL Players Association painted perhaps the bleakest picture yet regarding prospects of labor strife in the league, which could be looking at a 2010 season with no salary cap and, if the collective bargaining agreement expires as scheduled in March 2011, a lockout that year.

“I keep coming back to an economic model in America that is unparalleled,” said Smith, who often repeated phrases for emphasis. “And that makes it incredibly difficult to then come to players and say, on average, each of you needs to take a $340,000 pay cut to save the National Football League. Tough sell. Tough sell.”

Smith said the NFL would receive $5 billion from its network television deals even if no games are played in 2011. He regarded that as proof owners are preparing for a lockout.

“Has any one of the prior deals included $5 billion to not play football?” Smith asked, referring to previous contracts that were extended or redone. “The answer’s no.”

Some of Smith’s nearly hour-long question-and-answer session was spent reiterating past claims, such as team values increasing “almost 500 percent” over the last 15 years. There was also a call to have all 32 NFL teams open their books to show who was losing money and how much.

Smith also said he wanted teams to contribute what, ultimately, would be millions into what he called “a legacy fund” that would better support retired players.

Most of his focus, however, was on getting a new CBA.

“I really and truly in my heart believe we’ll get a deal done,” NFLPA president Kevin Mawae said. “But there’s going to have to be some give and some take and not just taking from one side all the way.”

The league’s response, in part, said that teams like the Green Bay Packers — whose audited financial statements are the only ones the union said it has seen — have had a 40 percent decline in profits.

“In most businesses, that would be a serious cause for concern,” said Jeff Pash, the NFL’s executive vice president and chief counsel.