NFL labor talks resume
Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS
Roger Goodell and DeMaurice Smith took their new buddy act on the road Wednesday, creating a buzz among rookies in Florida then returning to Minnesota for talks to try and end pro football’s labor impasse.
The NFL commissioner and the players’ boss took questions from rookies at an orientation symposium in Sarasota, Fla., where recent draft picks were glad — and relieved — to see their two surprise guests.
“Guys are hurting for money right now,” said quarterback Christian Ponder, a first-round pick by the Minnesota Vikings. “It’s a crazy time, especially with the uncertainty of when we’re going to start and get some money in our pocket.
“It’s big for them to come together. I thought that was pretty cool,” he said. “It looks like they have a pretty good relationship.”
Smith and Goodell certainly seem closer than when the lockout began in March. Whether that will translate into a new collective bargaining agreement is the big question. Training camps are scheduled to open in just over three weeks.
The latest round of negotiations between the two sides — the fifth since they began hopping from city to city for clandestine meetings — kicked off Tuesday in Minneapolis with Goodell, Smith, their attorneys and staffs in the room but no owners or players. People familiar with the situation said owners and players planned to join the talks today.
Smith invited Goodell to the orientation session for rookies — put on by the players’ association after the NFL canceled the event — and the pair flew down to Florida on Tuesday night. After a joint breakfast Wednesday, they talked for an hour with 155 rookies.
“We felt it was important to be down here with the players,” Goodell said. “This is an important few days. We’re going to get back to work.”
Owners and players are seeking a deal that would divide revenues for the $9 billion business — the biggest hurdle to clear — and guide league activities for years to come.
Goodell and Smith didn’t have a direct answer when asked by the rookies when the impasse will end so they can meet their coaches and start their careers. Still, their joint appearance was seen as a positive sign.
“That’s really the significance of this,” NFL Players Association spokesman George Atallah said. “There’s a lockout happening now, but we’ve got to look forward and consider the necessity to have a positive working relationship with the league.”
Ponder said Goodell urged the rookies to be ready, whenever the lockout is lifted.
“The biggest thing he hammered home is we really have no idea when this thing is going to end,” Ponder said. “But us rookies have to prepare for it.”