Sources: Rookie wage scale agreed to
NEW YORK -- NFL players and owners have agreed in principle to a new rookie wage scale, sources on both sides told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.
There remains a handful of other issues that need to be worked out and talks are continuing, but the sources told Schefter that the rookie wage scale is no longer considered an impediment to a new collective bargaining agreement.
Details for the scale are uncertain but multiple sources told ESPN.com senior NFL writer John Clayton earlier Wednesday that owners were willing to move toward the players' position regarding the fifth-year option in contracts of players selected top 10 overall, the sources said. The owners, sources said, offered to pay those players the top 10 salaries at their positions in their fifth year.
Players, however, rejected the owners' proposal to have the remaining first-round picks make 150 percent of what starters make at their positions with a possible salary floor of $4 million and a salary ceiling of $12 million, sources said.
High-level sources told Clayton all first rounders would get four-year deals, plus the option year, under current proposals. That option could be executed by the team after the third or fourth year of the contract.
Owners had been seeking a fixed amount for the fifth-year option, roughly $4 million. Players wanted a top 10 salary at the position for the top 16 picks and proposed a top 15 salary for picks 17 through 32.
During a lunch break Thursday, sources told Paolantonio the lawyers were working on some of the language and other details of a potential agreement.
It is not known what proposals brought each sides closer together on Thursday, but sides stretched into the evening for the second straight night.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and eight of the 10 members of the owners' labor committee were present at Thursday's session, including Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys and John Mara of the New York Giants. Two new participants Thursday were Green Bay Packers CEO Mark Murphy and San Diego Chargers owner Dean Spanos.
NFL Players Association chief DeMaurice Smith and a half-dozen current or former players also were there, including Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday, Baltimore Ravens defensive back Domonique Foxworth and Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora. Umenyiora is one of 10 player plaintiffs in a federal antitrust lawsuit against the league.
Sources told ESPN NFL analyst Chris Mortensen that Atlanta Falcons offensive lineman Tyson Clabo, a pending free agent, also is in attendance.
After Wednesday's lengthy session, a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations told Paolantonio a lot of "hard work" remains before a new collective bargaining agreement can be struck. The source also wouldn't characterize a deal as being "close."
Asked whether he thought the owners would be presented with an agreement during the July 21 league meetings in Atlanta, the source hedged, saying, "I just don't know."
With deadlines coming up next week to get training camps and the preseason started, one owner told Paolantonio the owners are trying to figure out how to get the league operational in time "so that we don't lose a week of preseason and we don't lose $200 million."
The Hall of Fame game that opens the exhibition season is scheduled for Aug. 7 between the St. Louis Rams and Chicago Bears, who hope to be able to start training camp at the end of next week. Yet camps will not open without a new CBA in place.
Talks gained steam in May, overseen by a court-appointed mediator, U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan, who is on vacation this week. Boylan ordered both sides to meet with him in Minneapolis next week, and the owners have a special meeting set for July 21, where they potentially could ratify a new deal -- if one is reached by then.
Even once an agreement in principle on the core economic issues is drawn up, there will be more work to be done. That's because there are certain issues that won't be addressed in full until after the NFLPA re-establishes itself as a union -- a process that might take a couple of days -- and can then serve once again as a collective bargaining unit for the players.
Items that could fall under that umbrella include the league's drug-testing program, health insurance, retired players' pensions and other benefits, none of which is likely to be resolved completely while the union is still dissolved.
There's also a chance the players could pursue a lockout injunction for rookies and free agents after an appeals court ruled last week that the work stoppage could continue.
Disruptions to the planned preseason schedule would decrease the overall revenue pie. While the parameters for how to divide the more than $9 billion in annual league revenues have been sketched out, there are other sticking points still under discussion, including a rookie salary system and free agency guidelines.
The owners want longer rookie contracts and have been seeking more right-of-first-refusal tags for unrestricted free agents. The players want to get back to free agency rules similar to 2009, when a four-year veteran whose contract expired was unrestricted. That minimum shifted to six years in 2010, when there was no salary cap because owners already had declared they were opting out of the old CBA.
Information from ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen, ESPN national correspondent Sal Paolantonio, ESPN.com senior NFL writer John Clayton, ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter and The Associated Press was used in this report.
http://espn.go.com/n...ale-sources-say
1
Sources: NFL Players have agreed to rookie pay scale.
Started by warthog, Jul 14 2011 05:14 PM
1 reply to this topic
#1
-
- Members
-
- 9,584 posts
the warthog
- Gender:Male
- Location:Lafayette County
- Interests:Family, sports, music (classic rock, grunge rock, alternative rock), outdoor activities, history (books, war movies), and Iditirod racing
Posted 14 July 2011 - 05:14 PM
My name is Maximus Decimus Warthog, member of HomeoftheChiefs.com, former season ticket holder of the lower level , loyal servant to the true coach, Martimus Schottenheimer. Father to disenfranchised sons, husband to a non football fanatic wife, and I will see my Chiefs in a Super Bowl, in this life or the next.
#2
-
- Members
-
- 2,127 posts
2legit2quit
- Gender:Male
- Location:Chicago
- Interests:Theatre, Steak, and videogames
Posted 19 July 2011 - 03:37 PM
And perhaps the most annoying part of finishing this deal. The league has to bend over backwards to please 10 players.....
http://espn.go.com/n...tiffs-seal-deal
http://espn.go.com/n...tiffs-seal-deal
Quote
The NFL will have to satisfy the 10 named plaintiffs in Brady vs. NFL antitrust case in order to complete the deal for its new collective bargaining agreement with the NFL Players Association.
As named plaintiffs, players including Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Logan Mankins and Vincent Jackson would be entitled to compensation as part of any settlement.
Mike and Mike in the Morning
ESPN NFL Insider John Clayton says that all of the action in the NFL labor negotiations is in New York because of the Brady lawsuit. The timeline is still in place for an agreement on Thursday.
More Podcasts »
None, though, were expected to derail any possible deal with their demands.
One high-ranking NFLPA executive told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen: "Any media reports of a last-minute power play by players are misleading and erroneous. There are unresolved issues and we remain focused on resolving them."
Yahoo! Sports has reported that Jackson's agents have requested that the wide receiver become an unrestricted free agent when the lockout was over or receive $10 million. The Boston Globe said that both Manning and Brees were seeking to avoid the use of a franchise tag, which would make Manning an unrestricted free agent, and give Brees the same status after the 2011 season.
Manning, Jackson and Mankins all received franchise tags before the NFL locked out its players in March.
A league source confirmed to ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter the demands made by Jackson's agents, but Mankins and his agent, Frank Bauer, have not given their damages or repayment number to the NFL Players Association or its attorneys yet, according to the source.
One league source told Schefter that he doubted Jackson, in particular, would hold up a settlement, however.
"Is Vincent Jackson going to hold up the NFL season for 1,900 players, the clubs and the fans? Too smart a guy for that," the source told Schefter.
Sources told ESPN.com's John Clayton that neither Jackson nor Mankins have been contacted recently about a settlement to the Brady lawsuit. However, the NFLPA is drawing up a draft of the settlement to review Tuesday, a player source told Schefter.
Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe, apparently reacting to reports that some of the plaintiffs in the Brady lawsuit were stalling negotiations with their demands, voiced his displeasure Tuesday afternoon on Twitter.
"Sigh, and once again greed is the operative byword. 'Congrats Brees, Manning, Mankins, and Jackson for being 'that guy'. #d-----bags," he wrote.
If any of the plaintiffs were unhappy with settlement terms, they could object and opt out of the class action. That would not derail a settlement and would not, in itself, stop a new collective bargaining agreement.
But both the NFL owners and players have been working on a "global solution" that would include settling all legal issues surrounding their labor battle. And if the antitrust case is not settled, that could be a deal-breaker.
According to ESPN legal analyst Roger Cossack, if any of the named plaintiffs opt out, the antitrust suit would remain alive in federal court.
"The question then would be who would finance the suit?" Cossack said. "Who would pay the legal fees for Mankins and Jackson? Unless you're Bill Gates, you don't want to get into an antitrust case with the NFL.
There is precedent for plaintiffs in the Brady lawsuit to demand free agency. As part of the Reggie White antitrust lawsuit vs. the NFL in 1993 that instituted free agency, the plaintiffs were granted a lifetime exemption from the franchise tag.
On Tuesday, lawyers for the NFL and for the players suing the league submitted a joint request to the court, asking for an extra week to file written arguments "to allow them to focus on the continuing mediation." Tuesday's filing notes that "the parties have also been meeting regularly since April 11, 2011, in an effort to resolve their disputes."
Hall of Fame defensive end Carl Eller and lawyers for retired NFL players joined labor talks with representatives of owners and current players Tuesday as signs mounted that the league's lockout might almost be over.
As part of the pending deal, the NFL and its players have agreed to increase benefits for retired players by nearly $1 billion over the life of the agreement, according to a source. That includes creating a "legacy fund" that will increase by $620 million over the 10-year span, the source said.
The newly created fund is designed to help retired players deal with the injuries and troubles that come after football and would be financed by siphoning off a chunk of total league revenues.
The court-appointed mediator, U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan, also was at the session Tuesday, his second consecutive day overseeing negotiations at a New York law firm. The sides were trying to close a deal to resolve the NFL's first work stoppage since 1987.
Members of the NFLPA's executive committee and representatives of every team were heading to Washington by Wednesday in preparation for a possible vote.
Players' association spokesman George Atallah said the players would be gathering "with the hope they have something to look at, and with the hope we can move forward on this."
A player representative confirmed that players will vote on the proposed CBA Wednesday, assuming both sides address the unresolved issues beforehand.
The NFL sent a memo to all 32 teams Monday instructing key executives to attend Thursday's owners meeting in Atlanta, sources told ESPN's Schefter. Each team will have two representatives (the owner and one executive) in the room to vote on a CBA, if one is agreed to by players and owners. However, each team also will bring other front-office personnel to learn about the rules of a potential new CBA.
If the owners ratify a new CBA Thursday, players can begin arriving at facilities Friday and team activities can begin as early as Monday.
Jackson and Mankins both sat out several games last season in contract disputes with their teams. Both were restricted free agents -- a result of the NFL's going from a salary-cap system to an uncapped year in 2010.
Jackson's original five-year contract expired after the 2009 season. Unhappy that he didn't get a long-term deal, Jackson refused to sign a $3,268,000, one-year tender in 2010.
He sat out the first seven games, then reported and served a three-game suspension on the roster exempt list. The 6-foot-5 Jackson was on the active roster for the final six games to accrue a season toward unrestricted free agency. But because Jackson hadn't signed the tender by June 15, prior to the 2010 season, the Chargers slashed their offer to 110 percent of his 2009 salary, or $583,000. Due to the games he missed, he made less than $300,000 in 2010.
Mankins and the Patriots were at odds last summer, when the guard said he hoped to be traded because of the slow pace of negotiations on a contract extension.
Mankins refused to sign his $3.26 million tender. That led to an extended standoff, with Mankins not reporting until the eighth game of the season. The Patriots sliced his tender to $1.54 million, which was prorated over the final nine games of the season.
As named plaintiffs, players including Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Logan Mankins and Vincent Jackson would be entitled to compensation as part of any settlement.
Mike and Mike in the Morning
ESPN NFL Insider John Clayton says that all of the action in the NFL labor negotiations is in New York because of the Brady lawsuit. The timeline is still in place for an agreement on Thursday.
More Podcasts »
None, though, were expected to derail any possible deal with their demands.
One high-ranking NFLPA executive told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen: "Any media reports of a last-minute power play by players are misleading and erroneous. There are unresolved issues and we remain focused on resolving them."
Yahoo! Sports has reported that Jackson's agents have requested that the wide receiver become an unrestricted free agent when the lockout was over or receive $10 million. The Boston Globe said that both Manning and Brees were seeking to avoid the use of a franchise tag, which would make Manning an unrestricted free agent, and give Brees the same status after the 2011 season.
Manning, Jackson and Mankins all received franchise tags before the NFL locked out its players in March.
A league source confirmed to ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter the demands made by Jackson's agents, but Mankins and his agent, Frank Bauer, have not given their damages or repayment number to the NFL Players Association or its attorneys yet, according to the source.
One league source told Schefter that he doubted Jackson, in particular, would hold up a settlement, however.
"Is Vincent Jackson going to hold up the NFL season for 1,900 players, the clubs and the fans? Too smart a guy for that," the source told Schefter.
Sources told ESPN.com's John Clayton that neither Jackson nor Mankins have been contacted recently about a settlement to the Brady lawsuit. However, the NFLPA is drawing up a draft of the settlement to review Tuesday, a player source told Schefter.
Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe, apparently reacting to reports that some of the plaintiffs in the Brady lawsuit were stalling negotiations with their demands, voiced his displeasure Tuesday afternoon on Twitter.
"Sigh, and once again greed is the operative byword. 'Congrats Brees, Manning, Mankins, and Jackson for being 'that guy'. #d-----bags," he wrote.
If any of the plaintiffs were unhappy with settlement terms, they could object and opt out of the class action. That would not derail a settlement and would not, in itself, stop a new collective bargaining agreement.
But both the NFL owners and players have been working on a "global solution" that would include settling all legal issues surrounding their labor battle. And if the antitrust case is not settled, that could be a deal-breaker.
According to ESPN legal analyst Roger Cossack, if any of the named plaintiffs opt out, the antitrust suit would remain alive in federal court.
"The question then would be who would finance the suit?" Cossack said. "Who would pay the legal fees for Mankins and Jackson? Unless you're Bill Gates, you don't want to get into an antitrust case with the NFL.
There is precedent for plaintiffs in the Brady lawsuit to demand free agency. As part of the Reggie White antitrust lawsuit vs. the NFL in 1993 that instituted free agency, the plaintiffs were granted a lifetime exemption from the franchise tag.
On Tuesday, lawyers for the NFL and for the players suing the league submitted a joint request to the court, asking for an extra week to file written arguments "to allow them to focus on the continuing mediation." Tuesday's filing notes that "the parties have also been meeting regularly since April 11, 2011, in an effort to resolve their disputes."
Hall of Fame defensive end Carl Eller and lawyers for retired NFL players joined labor talks with representatives of owners and current players Tuesday as signs mounted that the league's lockout might almost be over.
As part of the pending deal, the NFL and its players have agreed to increase benefits for retired players by nearly $1 billion over the life of the agreement, according to a source. That includes creating a "legacy fund" that will increase by $620 million over the 10-year span, the source said.
The newly created fund is designed to help retired players deal with the injuries and troubles that come after football and would be financed by siphoning off a chunk of total league revenues.
The court-appointed mediator, U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan, also was at the session Tuesday, his second consecutive day overseeing negotiations at a New York law firm. The sides were trying to close a deal to resolve the NFL's first work stoppage since 1987.
Members of the NFLPA's executive committee and representatives of every team were heading to Washington by Wednesday in preparation for a possible vote.
Players' association spokesman George Atallah said the players would be gathering "with the hope they have something to look at, and with the hope we can move forward on this."
A player representative confirmed that players will vote on the proposed CBA Wednesday, assuming both sides address the unresolved issues beforehand.
The NFL sent a memo to all 32 teams Monday instructing key executives to attend Thursday's owners meeting in Atlanta, sources told ESPN's Schefter. Each team will have two representatives (the owner and one executive) in the room to vote on a CBA, if one is agreed to by players and owners. However, each team also will bring other front-office personnel to learn about the rules of a potential new CBA.
If the owners ratify a new CBA Thursday, players can begin arriving at facilities Friday and team activities can begin as early as Monday.
Jackson and Mankins both sat out several games last season in contract disputes with their teams. Both were restricted free agents -- a result of the NFL's going from a salary-cap system to an uncapped year in 2010.
Jackson's original five-year contract expired after the 2009 season. Unhappy that he didn't get a long-term deal, Jackson refused to sign a $3,268,000, one-year tender in 2010.
He sat out the first seven games, then reported and served a three-game suspension on the roster exempt list. The 6-foot-5 Jackson was on the active roster for the final six games to accrue a season toward unrestricted free agency. But because Jackson hadn't signed the tender by June 15, prior to the 2010 season, the Chargers slashed their offer to 110 percent of his 2009 salary, or $583,000. Due to the games he missed, he made less than $300,000 in 2010.
Mankins and the Patriots were at odds last summer, when the guard said he hoped to be traded because of the slow pace of negotiations on a contract extension.
Mankins refused to sign his $3.26 million tender. That led to an extended standoff, with Mankins not reporting until the eighth game of the season. The Patriots sliced his tender to $1.54 million, which was prorated over the final nine games of the season.
1 user(s) are reading this topic
0 members, 1 guests, 0 anonymous users
