NFL owners opt to end labor deal with players early
CHICAGO: National Football League team owners voted unanimously on Tuesday to terminate their labor contract with the players union early in a move to cut salary costs.
The head of the players union said his members would not take less money than they get now and warned that the NFL's move could lead to a possible lockout by the owners in 2011.
But the NFL said that despite its decision, football games would be played without the threat of interruption for at least the next three seasons, and it would continue to negotiate a new agreement to cover subsequent seasons.
The 32 teams voted at a meeting in Atlanta to end the current deal, which had been scheduled to run through the 2012 season, the NFL said. Both the owners and players had the option to re-open the contract, which was extended in 2006, and shorten it by one or two years.
The owners made it clear they wanted to cut their outlay on player salaries.
"It's a very clear signal that the ownership does not believe that this deal is working," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said at a news conference, according to a transcript provided by the league. "It's no secret what we're going through from an economic standpoint that creates more risk in the marketplace."
Annual league revenue totals more than $7 billion, but the NFL said in a statement the bargaining agreement called for teams to spend almost $4.5 billion this year on "player costs", as well as ever-increasing amounts on stadium construction, operations and improvements.
"The current labor agreement does not adequately recognize the costs of generating the revenues ... nor does the agreement recognize that those costs have increased substantially - and at an ever increasing rate - in recent years during a difficult economic climate in our country," the NFL said. "As a result, under the terms of the current agreement, the clubs' incentive to invest in the game is threatened."
The NFL also said it wanted to address recouping bonuses from players who violate their contracts, as well as establishing a tighter salary scale for rookies who currently secure multimillion-dollar contracts.
NFL Players Association Executive Director Gene Upshaw said that he had expected the owners to end the deal early. He warned that players would not agree to cut their compensation from the current level of about 60 percent of revenue.
"Why should we take less (money), when they're making more?" Upshaw told reporters on a conference call after the NFL's announcement.
Agencies
(China Daily 05/22/2008 page23)
