Possible breakthrough in talks today !!?

[ddaryl]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/05/16/report-breakthrough-in-talks/related


Sal Paolantonio of ESPN reports, citing Hall of Fame defensive end Carl Eller, that a breakthrough has occurred in the negotiations. Eller, who is one of the named plaintiffs in a lawsuit brought by former players and consolidated with the Tom Brady (http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.aspx?sport=NFL&id=1163) antitrust case, said that U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan asked the owners at the outset of the day to make a new proposal, and the owners have agreed to do so.
Currently, the proposal is being formulated. Per Paolantonio, the players are very encouraged by the developments, and we think they should be. Given that the players never responded to the league’s March 11 offer, the NFL easily could have balked at the request to make a new offer as an invitation to bid against itself. By agreeing to make a new offer, the NFL has shown good faith, which possibly has helped to thaw the relationship between the two sides, at least a little.

[Night Train]

I wish they'd show us fans some " good faith " .

[trapezeus]

seriously...rises in ticket prices and parking better not be the covert settlement while they all write "thank you fans" in the endzones.

thank us by not being douchebags for 4 months.

[ddaryl]

if we don't hear something backing up this positive vibe by the end of today then I would think this is all BS...


My only hope is that both sides now realize they both stand to lose if they don't find a way to meet in the middle...

[trapezeus]

ddaryl, that is super optimistic. i don't think they'll know what they can lose until they lose it. i equate this to a gambler's high when they are on a nice run at blackjack adn then decide to put down a huge bet to see how it all goes. and they lose it all. and that disgusting feeling of being like, "i should have been happy with $x. now i got nothing."

[BertSquirtgum]

i like that analogy

[Ingtar33]

nope. no breakthrough.

both sides will wait till July before going any further.

[Extremebillsfan247]

lol There is no breakthrough. The obvious is saying a lot different than Sal is. The next set of proposed mediation talks are done until after the appeals court date in June. This thing is no closer to being over than it was back in March. Nothing is likely to get done until some games of the regular season start getting threatened to not be played. That is when panic is most likely to set in from both sides to get a deal done. JMO Until then, it's likely to be a lot of gossip and wishful thinking.

[ddaryl]

yep we wait till June 7th now...

It comes down to litigation... and this will change the league forever.