NFL players raising hell about Pay Cut
http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2...ut/?ref=sports
Quote:
In the waning hours of the N.F.L. salary cap Thursday, the players’ union released a letter sent by Pete Kendall, the union’s permanent player representative at labor negotiations, to all players that said the owners’ latest proposal is “a dramatic reduction in player compensation, which is not justified given the NFL’s unprecedented growth and their failure to provide meaningful financial data relating to their expenses.”
No new negotiating sessions were scheduled and the N.F.L. heads into an uncapped season Friday – and toward a lockout next March – with little common ground found in early talks. That is not unusual early in any labor fight. But for the last several weeks, the source of contention has been the impact in real dollars of the league’s proposal to give an additional 18 percent in revenue to owners in the form of credits off the top of the revenue pool.
That, they say, would account for soaring stadium costs and to spur continued investment in things like the NFL Network that, owners contend, ultimately generate more revenue. The union said the players would have to take an 18 percent pay cut. The league said the reduction from the percentage of revenue players currently receive to what they would receive under the proposal would be closer to 9 percent and that, with a rookie wage scale redistributing money to veterans and the expected continued rise in revenue generated, no player would lose money.
In his letter, Kendall, a former Jets offensive lineman who recently retired, provided specifics of management’s most recent proposal. The proposal calls for an additional 18 percent in credits for management off the NFL’s total revenue (owners already receive $1 billion off the top of the revenue pool), to account for expenses like stadium construction. The proposal would allow players to continue to receive nearly 60 percent of remaining revenue, as the previous collective bargaining agreement provided.
Players contend, though, that because the revenue pool would be diminished by the credits given to owners, there would be a 10.44 percent reduction in the salary cap, according to Kendall’s letter. As an example, Kendall writes that a cap of $116 million per club as calculated under the existing deal, would be reduced to $95.12 million under the league’s proposal.
“If the impact of the proposal were to be spread evenly over all player salaries and benefits across the league, each player would have to take a cut of 18 percent in salary and benefits,” Kendall wrote.
Without providing specifics, Kendall’s letter said the union’s current proposal would allow teams to have increased deductions for costs incurred to generate new revenue and that the union has proposed additional credits for stadium construction and revenue.
“But we should not and will not agree to pay for items such as expenses to operate practice facilities or for travel costs as the owners have included in this 18% proposal,” Kendall wrote.
The N.F.L. responded several hours later with a statement saying owners were looking for a system that allows for continued investment to grow revenues.
“NFL player compensation has almost doubled in the last decade because of investments made by the clubs,” the statement said. “If we continue to invest and grow, current players will have higher compensation, former players will have higher benefits, and fans will enjoy a better game. Expenses for NFL franchises have risen faster than revenue in the current agreement and the economics must be adjusted. But, as we have repeatedly emphasized, constructive and creative negotiations can lead to a balanced agreement that will not reduce current player salaries.”
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What do you guys think about this? I think NFL players should stop their bitching.
You show me one NFL player who can't support his family because he isn't paid enough. One. A single player.
These guys make insane amounts of money for playing a game... and on top of that, they choose to do it. They choose this Career path just like anyone else chooses theirs.... because they are good at it and have an interest in playing the game. Judging from the increase in Salary Cap (from when it was first implemented in 1994 till 2009) the players salary has tripled the rate of inflation... These guys have nothing to complain about.
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