When the NFL's 32 team owners elected to opt out of the league's collective bargaining agreement earlier this week, which could cause a work stoppage in 2011, the move didn't come as a surprise. The owners, who nearly unanimously approved the present labor deal in March 2006, have become increasingly upset with the amount of revenue (60 percent) their foremost employees, the players, are currently raking in.
"We were fully prepared for this," players association head Gene Upshaw said. "We expected this; we started talking to the players last fall. All this means is that we will have football from now until 2010 not until 2012."
Though opting out was an expected move by the owners, one has to rewind to when the CBA was agreed on.
Back then, the Buffalo Bills' Ralph Wilson was one of two owners who vetoed the plan (joining the Cincinnati Bengals' Mike Brown), which proved to be a disastrous public relations decision at the time by the 89-year-old. With that said, it was also a prudent one. And Wilson, who's been rightly criticized for more than a few poor football-related decisions during his nearly 50-year tenure as the Bills' owner, deserves both praise and apologies for realizing that the CBA was not going to work.
Like I said last week, there are many people in the media that should publically apoligize to Ralph, starting with Clayton and Mort.
"We were fully prepared for this," players association head Gene Upshaw said. "We expected this; we started talking to the players last fall. All this means is that we will have football from now until 2010 not until 2012."
Though opting out was an expected move by the owners, one has to rewind to when the CBA was agreed on.
Back then, the Buffalo Bills' Ralph Wilson was one of two owners who vetoed the plan (joining the Cincinnati Bengals' Mike Brown), which proved to be a disastrous public relations decision at the time by the 89-year-old. With that said, it was also a prudent one. And Wilson, who's been rightly criticized for more than a few poor football-related decisions during his nearly 50-year tenure as the Bills' owner, deserves both praise and apologies for realizing that the CBA was not going to work.
Like I said last week, there are many people in the media that should publically apoligize to Ralph, starting with Clayton and Mort.
Comment