http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AoTRPy3zrTGwNc8qI.n0KF45nYcB?slug=ap-nflpa-lockoutprep FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP)—The NFL players’ union has advised its members to prepare for a lockout it expects to come in March, telling players to save their last three game checks this year in case there is no season in 2011. In a letter to the players that was seen by The Associated Press, NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said the union had an “internal deadline” for agreeing to a new collective bargaining agreement. “That deadline has now passed,” he wrote. “It is important that you protect yourself and your family.” The letter was dated Wednesday, and copies were strewn across a table in the New England Patriots locker room during the media availability on Saturday. After a reporter asked players about the letter, a Patriots spokesman flipped the copies face-down. FILE - This Oct. 19, 2010, fil… AP - Dec 4, 12:51 pm EST NFL Gallery NFL spokesman Greg Aiello called the union’s stance “disappointing and inexplicable, especially for fans.” “We hope this does not mean the union has abandoned negotiating in favor of decertifying and litigating,” he said. “We are ready to meet and negotiate anytime and anywhere. But it takes sustained effort and shared commitment to reach an agreement. One side can’t do it alone.” NFLPA spokesman George Atallah did not immediately return a call seeking comment. The NFL has not missed games due to labor strife since 1987, when owners responded to a player strike by continuing the season with replacement players. But the prospect of a lost season in 2011 intensified when owners opted out of the collective bargaining agreement in 2008. Smith has said that he believes the owners opted out with the goal of locking the players out. The NFLPA’s home page features a “Lockout Watch” that counts down the days, hours, minutes and seconds until the CBA expires on March 3. The one-page letter on NFLPA stationery said the union expects the lockout to come on March 4, and that players should work with their advisers to prepare for an impending lack of income. It also said the league is planning to cancel the players’ health insurance. The union said it is filing a grievance to contest a cancellation of health insurance, citing a section of the collective bargaining agreement that states: “Players will continue to receive the benefits provided in this article through the end of the Plan Year in which they are released or otherwise sever employment.” Patriots offensive lineman Matt Light(notes), one of the team’s player representatives, said players understand the nature of the business but the threat to cancel health insurance is different. “You’re going to cancel somebody’s health insurance and maybe they’ve got a baby that’s due in the offseason?” he said. “Yeah, it gets personal.” Light said he is doing his best to educate his teammates on how to prepare. “They’ve got to look at it like they’re going into a period in which they are going to change their financial situation,” he said. “Nobody knows what’s going to happen. But if you’re going to go a year without getting paid, you need to prepare accordingly.” Under the deal agreed to in 2006, the players get 59.6 percent of designated NFL revenues. The owners opted out of that deal beginning next year, arguing they have huge debts from building stadiums and starting up the NFL Network that make it impossible to be profitable. The two sides met last month and said they made “some progress” on proposals involving an 18-game regular season and limiting offseason workouts. New England linebacker Tully Banta-Cain(notes) said he was already squirreling away his savings in case of a lockout. Banta-Cain said he was also working on his outside businesses, which include a clothing line and a music label. “I’m trying to prepare,” he said. “And I’m trying to establish my off-the-field businesses and make sure I can make money in the offseason.” discuss...
I heard a player on the dan patric show on thursday talking about how he was not goin to buy a new car becuase of lock out.This guy makes so many money. How can he not buy new car.
I suspect there's a degree of posturing going on here, there was a story a couple of days ago from the owners about refund policies and I presume this is a response. They're both trying to tell the other how much more prepared to lockout they are than the other side, but the truth is it's in no-one's interest. The owners can't afford a year of no revenues and the players can't afford to miss a year of what is already a very short career; I'll be amazed if we aren't getting very close to a deal and this is some last minute posturing.
I agree. All signs were pointing to this thing being resolved only last week. Unions always assume a lockout before new contracts are signed. They do it all the time here in New York, and I don't see the NFLPA being any different than the AFL-CIO, SEIU, etc.
I think both sides need to be very very careful about how they position themselves in the PR game for this very reason. Greg Aiello saying that one side can't do it alone does not fool anyone. At the same time, players talking about not buying a car is pretty ridiculous as well. The way I see it, no matter what either side says, it's just going to piss the everyday man off even more. I know it upsets me.
Has there seriously been doubt that there will be a lockout? What really matters is if they can get it settled between march and june.
That's what I always think when I hear anything about this. Just like the Revis contract talks...I knew it'd somehow get done before the season. For both sides in both situations it has to get done, it will.
This. The NFL is a gold mine...for everyone involved (owners, players, media). It would take a supreme fucktard to screw with that.
everyone will have to get hobbies? another step in the goodell process of ruining the nfl. at this point i dont even care... let it blow up and lets start over. hopefully without games on pay tv, without 500 dollar tickets, without pre pay parking, without 400 commercials a game. without espn, without roger goodell, etc... lets go ufl, they are gonna make a shit ton of money next year. how do i invest
There's always too much money to lose. And yet it happens in every sport. Get ready to really love college ball.
did the guy really say that the insurance they provide was the same as cobra? or did he just imply that? i also love the fact that the nfl is saying that the same information they use to bullshit communities into paying huge sums for their stadiums is fairy tales. thats good stuff right there. shouldnt the union have been telling these guys to bank away their money from when they enter the nfl? reminding them that an average nfl player lasts what...3 years? and that anything can happen because their crappy union didnt get them guaranteed contracts?
These deals happen with 4 hours left on the clock anyway. They'll steal the thunder of March Madness for the entire month. The NFL knows what its doing.
