NFL Labor Dispute 101

One more game.

And the Super Bowl may very well be the last NFL football we see in quite some time.

Yeah, that's right, the time is upon us. And we're delving head-on into this topic in here, so if you're sensitive and/or would like to pretend the potential NFL lockout will never happen, then by all means stop reading this and go back into your fantasy candy land immediately. But before you go, please give me a bit of whatever it is that you're smoking over there — thank you!

Anyway, no, we're not talking about the supposed "end of the world" in whenever-it's-supposed-to-be-2012. Although maybe if we still don't have pro football by then, it won't really bother us as much as a global catastrophe normally would.

But forget that — I'm talking about the potential 2011 NFL Lockout and, by direct extension, so are you now. You know what the 2011 NFL lockout and all that the future may hold surrounding it, correct? It's the ongoing negotiations and back-and-forth disputes between the players association and the team owners — anything ringing a bell? No?

Wow, the general public really has subconsciously ignored this whole thing in an effort not to think about it.

Regardless of why you have no idea what's going to be occurring in the NFL labor disputes and everything happening around it, we've got you covered, so don't worry. Let's take a leisurely, melancholic stroll through NFL 2011 labor dispute 101, shall we?

This whole mess started about two years ago when the NFL team owners voted unanimously to opt out of the leagues current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) following this current 2010-11 season. Obviously, the players association did not take the news kindly and the pot has been simmering between the two ever since. It's currently boiling hot and in need of taking off the stove — without a pot holder. As such, no one wants to do it. How's that for a proverbial situation, huh?

In layman's terms, the CBA was an agreement with rules set out between the two parties to govern things like team salary caps, player salaries, and pretty much anything else having to do with the financial side of the game.

Essentially, the entire thing is being pushed from the owner's side of the fence by the so-called entrepreneurial, heavily hands-on owners (see: Robert Kraft, Jerry Jones, etc). These owners feel that they put up and risk much of their own capital for projects like new stadiums and the like, all in the interests of improving the franchise as much as possible. They also feel that the deal agreed to by the owners in 2006 wasn't a good one and that the players currently accrue too large a share in the adjusted gross revenue of the teams. In short, the players are getting too big of a pie and the owners are taking too many financial risks while trying to mix-up and bake said pie.

The players, on the other hand, are wary of what the owners are pushing — namely taking a pay cut in the vein of receiving their current 60% revenue portion, but from a smaller revenue pool. Many players have expressed concern about how the owners keep talking of the risks that they're constantly taking when it's the players on the field who're by all accounts taking the most extreme risks. Indeed, with all of the new information and awareness being spread about the leagues concussion and other medical issues, it certainly lends credence to the player's claims and fears.

Currently at the head of the NFL Players Association is DeMaurice Smith, a fiery, passionate former trial lawyer and litigation partner with precisely zero experience in any realm of professional football. However, he does have a vast amount of knowledge in financial and law topics from his previous experience in the court system. Smith has recently made headlines by proclaiming to 20 or so new player representatives that — go ahead and brace yourself for it — "we're at war!"

Yes, he seriously said that.

While his enthusiasm, I'm sure, is appreciated, the context of these words — especially with United States troops still currently stationed overseas in actual war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan (may God Bless them all) — was severely insensitive and ignorant. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wasted no time in rightly criticizing the statement, reiterating that they're simply in some heated negotiations at the moment and that this is all a business, ultimately (paraphrased, for the record).

It's a shame that Smith had to say such a thing at the time, especially considering what he said directly following it was both sensible and insightful. Per the always wonderful and newly corporatized Pro Football Talk:

"Nobody gets strong without fighting," Smith said. "Nobody stays strong without fighting. Nobody negotiates their way to strength. Nobody talks their way to a good deal. Nobody sits down and just has miraculous things happen."

While Smith's comparisons to actual war fighting suggest he has no real ties to the military (in addition to professional football), when you break what he's saying down into its most basic forms, it does all but ring true. It's highly unlikely that some miraculous agreement is going to be made within minutes of the two parties sitting down for serious talks. Indeed it may take 25, 50, even 100 of these sit-downs before any substantial ground is covered. It surely doesn't help that Smith and Goodell's relationship has gotten off on entirely the wrong foot. It will remain to be seen if the following negotiations will dissolve into a massive battle between the two men's egos. Let's hope not.

Such turbulent times only proves to make the recent departure of former NFL Player Association head Gene Upshaw from this world even more tragic (may he rest In peace). It's common knowledge that Mr. Upshaw, having been a legendary Hall of Fame guard for the Oakland Raiders for 14 years (1967-1981), was intimately familiar with the game from the player's perspective. He also always managed a respectful and professional relationship with then-NFL Commish Paul Tagliabue, something that's directly reflective and representative of his unique personality. All of the controversy regarding retired player benefits that came to light near the end of his reign aside, we may find ourselves looking back and realizing that we didn't know what we'd had until it was gone.

This isn't to suggest any lack of confidence in Mr. Smith, but merely an observation of the seemingly contrasting personalities and management styles of the current and previous NFLPA heads.

The current CBA expires this coming March 1st, 2011, with the date anticipated to spark the opening salvos of heated negotiations and labor talks. While all signs are pointing towards it being a long and nasty negotiations battle, there is still hope yet — mainly in the form of good, old-fashioned economics.

Should both sides stand firm and entrenched in their respective positions, it will be the owners who are best equipped and can survive both the easiest and longest. An overnight elimination of their respective teams' player salaries and benefits can cut costs up to 50% overall for them and unlike the players, the owners would continue to receive broadcast revenue — even in the event of a lockout. Sure, they'd have to ultimately pay it all back when games start up again, but that's a pretty sweet deal, is it not? Surely the fact that the owners are the only one's benefiting from such funds will be another hot-button topic during negotiations.

On the good news front — and yes, that still exists even in the wake of such horrible, horrible news — the NFL draft is still scheduled to occur in April of this year. Also, if you have a fantasy football commissioner worth his mettle, your league probably already has plans and measures in place should the NFL not return for 2011. If not, you might want to go look for a new fantasy commissioner. All in all, yes, it's sad to think about for sure, but just think about it all as some extra, extra time to research for your league's 2012 draft. You're always complaining you never have enough time to properly research before your league draft, well, here you go — use your time wisely!

While the 2011 NFL draft is set to occur as planned, if a lockout does occur for the entire (or even just vast majority) of the season, then it will be highly likely the 2011 draft class will be rolled over into the 2012 class instead. While teams will plan, scout, and draft players these coming months just like normal, they won't technically be able to officially sign anyone after March 1 of this year until an agreement on a new CBA or other financial system is finalized and signed off on. Pretty irresponsible that this was allowed to happen like this, no?

Regardless of what happens on either side, though, one good thing is certain to come out of the labor negotiations this coming spring (and probably beyond) and that is the creation of a retired NFL player benefits program of some sort. Retired NFL player benefits have been a heatedly-debated topic all the way back since Gene Upshaw as the NFLPA head and it will be good to finally see the owners and players agree on at least one thing wholeheartedly. Let's cross our fingers, just in case.

It's certainly not going to be fun in any way, shape, or form and I doubt anyone outside of the most absolute money-grubbing of team owners will be interested in anything other than hammering out a solid deal as quickly as possible. Although to be fair, there's a significant amount of money-grubbing owners that will attempt to rub their greed off on everyone else. Hopefully Commissioner Goodell keeps them in check ... let's go ahead and cross our fingers on that one, as well, just in case.

Mr. Goodell? Mr. Smith? It's go time.

Let's have a good, clean negotiation, okay? No low blows or any more references to war fighting, alright? And please do try and answer basic labor dispute questions while on the road, okay? Get it, got it — good!

Enjoy the Super Bowl. And here's to the Steelers losing — go Packers!