The NFL players are taking a long breath before they sign a 10-year labor deal. Hopefully they don’t choke on it. The two sides again seem on the verge of a final approval. The owners already endorsed their version — but with the grace of a sledgehammer — so the players recoiled.
The players worry something was slipped into the 500-page collective bargaining agreement that was hurriedly pitched to them for final signatures Thursday. Months of bitter negotiations created mistrust, and players are right to take the weekend to digest and discuss it.
Maybe Monday will bring the long-sought labor peace. However, if the deal isn’t ratified in the coming days, the players risk losing the preseason and maybe the regular season. Labor deals are like avalanches; they not only move quickly toward you but also away.
The owners didn’t budge significantly over the weekend. They have reached the take-it-or-leave-it stage. Some minor matters can be addressed later, but the players should realize this is a good deal and sign it soon.
After all, the owners can always rescind the deal if it’s on the table too long. That happens all the time in business.
This isn’t saying the players should be strong-armed into agreeing, but three days is enough time to review. Unless there’s something buried on page 486 that no one’s mentioning, sign the deal and use the lawyers later for further talks. Deals often are amended later.
Few parties are happy with blockbuster deals whether it’s Capitol Hill or FedEx Field. But most importantly, this deal is one both sides can accept and prosper in over the next decade.
The last man on the Washington Redskins roster will earn $375,000 this year and $420,000 by 2014. A 10-year veteran’s minimum salary is $910,000 this season and will grow by $15,000 annually.
The players get better workout conditions. The offseason practices really have been too much. “Voluntary” camps were six weeks and sometimes involved serious banging. Now teams are limited to 10 offseason practices, and the coach would be fined $100,000 for an 11th. Now that protection clause has some teeth because no coach wants to pay that.
Training camps will feature only one practice in pads a day, and that goes down to one a week come the season. There’s even a bye week provision of five days off. Most NFL coaches probably would prefer more workouts.
Rookies will receive less money, but there’s nothing wrong with making them earn their megamillions. (See Russell, JaMarcus and dozens more bonus baby busts.) However, only first-rounders remain bound to five-year deals. The rest earn their freedom a year earlier. Redskins Carlos Rogers and Rocky McIntosh desperately wanted new deals after four seasons but remained under less lucrative conditions. Free agents are more attractive at 26 years old than 27 considering the next deal is often for five seasons. There’s something about turning 30 that scares teams into paying too much during the contract’s later seasons.
Ultimately, everybody’s making money. Health benefits are better, retired players will receive more benefits and current players won’t be beaten up so much in practice. There’s a lot to like in this deal.
It’s time for the NFLPA to move forward.
Examiner columnist Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more on Twitter @Snide_Remarks or email [email protected].
