NFL: Proposal by NFL; union move explained
Here is what the NFL released as a summary of its labor proposal to the players union: 1. We more than split the economic difference between us, increasing our proposed cap for 2011 significantly and accepting the union's proposed cap number for 2014 ($161 million per club).
Here is what the NFL released as a summary of its labor proposal to the players union:
1. We more than split the economic difference between us, increasing our proposed cap for 2011 significantly and accepting the union's proposed cap number for 2014 ($161 million per club).
2. An entry-level compensation system based on the union's "rookie cap" proposal rather than the wage scale proposed by the clubs. Under the NFL proposal, players drafted in rounds 2-7 would be paid the same or more than they are paid today. Savings from the first round would be reallocated to veteran players and benefits.
3. A guarantee of up to $1 million of a player's salary for the contract year after his injury, the first time that the clubs have offered a standard multiyear injury guarantee.
4. Immediate implementation of changes to promote player health and safety by: reducing the offseason program by five weeks, reducing OTAs (organized team activities) from 14 to 10 and limiting on-field practice time and contact; limiting full-contact practices in the preseason and regular season; and increasing number of days off for players.
5. Commit that any change to an 18-game season will be made only by agreement and that the 2011 and 2012 seasons will be played under the current 16-game format.
6. Owner funding of $82 million in 2011-12 to support additional benefits to former players, which would increase retirement benefits for more than 2,000 former players by nearly 60 percent.
7. Offer current players the opportunity to remain in the player medical plan for life.
8. Third-party arbitration for appeals in the drug and steroid programs.
9. Improvements in the Mackey plan (designed for players suffering from dementia and other brain-related problems), disability plan and degree-completion bonus program.
10. A per-club cash minimum spend of 90 percent of the salary cap over three seasons.
Here is what the union's decertification means in question and answer form:
Question: Can the NFLPA collectively bargain on behalf of the players?
Answer: No. No longer a union, it now becomes a trade association. It can't fight fines or suspensions or file grievances for players, either.
Q: So, how does decertifying help the players?
A: All through negotiations, union leaders said they expected the NFL owners to lock out the players if the collective bargaining agreement between the sides expired. By decertifying, players can - and did on Friday - file an antitrust suit and request an injunction that would force the league to continue operating fully. In simplest terms, by decertifying, players hope to keep professional football in business under terms they like.
Q: Can the NFLPA do anything now in the labor dispute?
A: It can make its attorneys available to help the players filing the antitrust lawsuits.
Q: Has the NFLPA decertified before?
A: Yes, in 1989. It formed again in 1993 after antitrust suits by the players led to a new collective bargaining agreement.
Q: Why decertify now?
A: Two reasons. First, the CBA barred the players from filing antitrust lawsuits against the league for six months after the deal expired. Second, in order to keep legal proceedings under the jurisdiction of U.S. District Court Judge David Doty in Minneapolis, the union needed to decertify before the current CBA expired.
