Today the owners approved the new CBA 31-0. The Raiders abstained. But according to Heath Evans of the Saints, there is enough language in the new CBA that is not what the players agreed to. He says that as a result, the CBA will not be approved by the players.
The problem is that there are two or three issues (workman’s compensation, supplemental revenue sharing..) that are in the version of the owners that the players say they never discussed, says John Clayton.
We have not been taking sides here on this blog, but I will tell you, having negotiated more than a few contracts in my business life, I have been in the shoes of the players and it s**ks. You bust your a** on the major stuff, you finally agree, then you get handed something to sign that has stuff in it that was never discussed or agreed to in the version you are “expected” to sign. It is disingenuous. “Media mind games,” says Pittsburgh Steeler Safety Ryan Clark.
Chris Mortensen of ESPN says that players are calling it “the owners’ agreement.” He adds that Kevin Mawae forecast this, that July 21 would not be the end for the players deciding. The players/union are reviewing the document
Has the trust that was built over the last number of weeks been sabotaged by the owners? We think so. Why? Because this is a common tactic used in negotiating. How many of you have had to do that back and forth to buy a car?! The car dealer agrees with you on a price and then he puts a contract in front of you that has another clause that effectively pushes up the net price. No, NFL owners are not the slime of car dealers. But if you speak to players at this moment, they will tell you the owners are not much better.
Will these few remaining items blow up the deal? Will these two parties be able to patch up the minor differences and get it finished? Hopefully it is the latter. They have come too far not to let some minor items break up a deal. Fix it. Finish it.
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