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Owners OK NFL pact, but players don’t vote
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo
Cleveland Browns linebacker Scott Fujita leaves the NFL Players Association, Wednesday, July 20, 2011, in Washington, as talks to end the NFL lockout continued. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Associated Press
COLLEGE PARK, Ga.
A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press that players didn’t vote Thursday on a tentative agreement to end the NFL lockout because they had not seen the full proposal approved by owners.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the process is supposed to be secret.
Owners overwhelmingly voted for a tentative agreement earlier Thursday, pending an OK from the players, who later held a conference call to discuss the proposal. That call ended without a vote.
Before the call began, NFL Players Association head DeMaurice Smith wrote in an email to the 32 team representatives: “There is no agreement between the NFL and the players at this time.”
The lockout forced the NFL to cancele its Hall of Fame game between St. Louis and Chicago, scheduled for Aug. 7.
The Rams and Bears originally were scheduled to open their training camps this weekend and play in the game to open the preseason schedule in Canton. But NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the game had to be dropped because the teams wouldn’t have ample time to prepare.
“The time is just too short,” he said. Goodell added that the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies will go on as planned on Aug. 6. This year’s class of inductees includes Deion Sanders, Marshall Faulk, Shannon Sharpe and Richard Dent.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame said in a statement Thursday night that it was “disappointed” by the decision, which will have “a significant adverse economic impact” on both the hall and city of Canton.
Earlier Thursday night, NFL owners voted overwhelmingly in favor of a tentative 10-year agreement to end the lockout.
Thursday’s vote was 31-0, with the Oakland Raiders abstaining from the ratification, which came after a full day of meetings at an Atlanta-area hotel. While owners pored over the terms, Goodell spoke on the phone several times with Smith, including filling him in on the results of the vote before it was announced.
“Hopefully, we can all work quickly, expeditiously, to get this agreement done,” Goodell said. “It is time to get back to football. That’s what everybody here wants to do.”
However, Smith wrote in an email to the 32 player representatives shortly after the owners’ decision: “Issues that need to be collectively bargained remain open; other issues, such as workers’ compensation, economic issues and end of deal terms, remain unresolved. There is no agreement between the NFL and the players at this time. I look forward to our call tonight.”
Several players took to Twitter, expressing opposition to the proposal passed by the owners. Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark wrote: “The owners want u to believe that they have been extremely fair everywhere and this is their ‘olive branch’ to finalize it.”
Owners exercised an opt-out clause in the old collective bargaining agreement in 2008, setting the stage for the recent labor impasse. The new deal does not contain an opt-out clause.
“I can’t say we got everything we wanted to get in the deal,” New York Giants owner John Mara said. “I’m sure [players] would say the same thing. ... The best thing about it is our fans don’t have to hear about labor-management relations for another 10 years.”
The basic framework for the league’s new economic model — including how to split more than $9 billion in annual revenues — was set up during negotiations last week.
“These things, by their very nature, aren’t supposed to make you necessarily happy when you walk out the door. It was a negotiation,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. “I don’t mean to sound negative, but it isn’t exactly like Christmas has come along here.”
Final issues involved how to set aside three pending court cases, including the antitrust lawsuit filed against the NFL in federal court in Minnesota by Tom Brady and nine other players. NFL general counsel Jeff Pash said the owners’ understanding is that case will be dismissed.