Defective logic

Wait, so the NFL is claiming the NFLPA isn’t negotiating in good faith

It was reported on Monday that the NFL has filed a unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board against the NFLPA. The league’s claim is based on the fact that the Players’ Association has gathered all the player votes it needs (unanimous, from all 32 teams) to decertify if necessary. And the value of decertification (as we outlined months ago) is that it alters the professional scope of the group of current players, allowing them to act as a trade organization instead of a union. And under those conditions, the players could bring an antitrust action against the owners, claiming that the projected lockout that could happen on March 4 (the beginning of the new league year) is actually illegal.

But based on recent events, and the ramifications of decertification, the NFL’s claim that the effort to decertify is the reason for the NFLPA’s unwillingness to bargain in good faith is questionable at best and absolutely hilarious at worst. During the first labor discussions in months in Dallas around the time of the Super Bowl, we saw Richardson’s condescension toward the players, and the owners’ walkout after the NFLPA offered a straight 50-50 split of total revenue that allowed the owners to avoid doing the one thing they really don’t want to — open their books and “prove” that their debt structures are reaching nightmare proportions.