OT following the NFL/NFLPA work stoppage; UPD agreement reached

[Pepper]

According to SBJ, NFLPA has officially decertified.


Edit: Mod Note:

I've moved the last few posts from the "potential" thread into a dedicated actual work stoppage thread for NFL.

Click to read more...

 

[Timmy]

According to SBJ, NFLPA has officially decertified.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/12/sports/football/12nfl.html

 

[LadyStanley]

SBJLizMullen 4:40pm via Web Breaking--NFLPA lawsuit:Union seeking a declaration that NFL salary cap, franchise tag, other restrictions violate the Sherman Antitrust Act
NFL Players lawsuit seeks to enjoin the NFL "from agreeing to deprive the players of the ability to work as professional football players"
NFL Players Lawsuit seeks declaration NFL teams obligated to pay all contractually-owed amounts to players regardless if lockout continues

 

[danishh]

wow, they're going pretty big on this.

obviously just to pressure the NFL, but man, could you imagine what would happen if they won even a single one of those lawsuits?

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

What exactly does decertify mean?

On ESPN, they were saying that they were giving up their collective bargaining power in exchange for the inability of the owners to lock them out, but that made no sense at all.

 

[kdb209]

What exactly does decertify mean?

On ESPN, they were saying that they were giving up their collective bargaining power in exchange for the inability of the owners to lock them out, but that made no sense at all.

It means that the NHLPA would cease to exist as a labor union and the terms of the expired CBA would cease to be in force. Individual players would be free to negotiate with individual teams and the league and any teams could not act collectively to restrict the employment of players without risking anti trust suits.

All the restrictions which might be illegal restraints of trade if they were not negotiated in a CBA (draft rights, restricted free agency, etc) could now be challenged on anti-trust grounds. They would no longer be exempt from anti trust challenge (as products of collective bargaining). This is not to say that any or all of those restrictions would be on their face illegal - "reasonable" restraints are permitted - but that would have to be determined by a jury.

The first issue that Judge Doty will have to rule on is whether the NFL can suspend operations and lock out the players after a decertification.

 

[Dado]

Since existing contracts were negotiated under a CBA, does that mean all current contracts are null and void? Everybody a free agent from Ground Zero?

 

[kdb209]

Since existing contracts were negotiated under a CBA, does that mean all current contracts are null and void? Everybody a free agent from Ground Zero?

No.

The NFLPA decertified in 1989 and the NFL played without a CBA for 4 years. Existing contracts remained in force.

 

[LadyStanley]

SBJLizMullen 9:03pm via ÃœberSocial The official name of players lawsuit to block NFL lockout is Tom Brady v. NFL.

 

[Rink Rage]

The lockout has begun

 

[Crazy_Ike]

The two sides are surprisingly close in dollar amounts. I honestly don't think this gets to a lockout at the actual start of the season six months from now unless one side wants more to prove something in court than to get on with the season.

 

[Reality Check]

The lockout has begun

Yawn.

Call me if the NFL isn't in business by week four

Either way, College Sports will be filling the gap

 

[OthmarAmmann]

Either way, College Sports will be filling the gap

I agree with this 100%. It's possible that the NHL could even lose 'shelf space' is all the news coverage of a lockout crowds them out.

 

[81ragnaH]

since i've ordered stuff from the NFL before i'm on their email list and yesterday i got an email 'from Roger Goodell'. most of it was how it was the NFLPA that "walked away from mediation" even though the NFL offered a deal where "everyone would prosper." aside from all the fluff making the PA look like the bad guys, here is the only substance from the email:

Dear NFL Fan,


The proposal we made included an offer to narrow the player compensation gap that existed in the negotiations by splitting the difference; guarantee a reallocation of savings from first-round rookies to veterans and retirees without negatively affecting compensation for rounds 2-7; no compensation reduction for veterans; implement new year-round health and safety rules; retain the current 16-4 season format for at least two years with any subsequent changes subject to the approval of the league and union; and establish a new legacy fund for retired players ($82 million contributed by the owners over the next two years).


Yours,
Roger Goodell

 

[LadyStanley]

SBJLizMullen 11:21am via ÃœberSocial Go to www.nfllockout.com to see the letter NFL sent to NFLPA informing the players of the lockout.

 

[bleuet]

It means that the NHLPA would cease to exist as a labor union and the terms of the expired CBA would cease to be in force. Individual players would be free to negotiate with individual teams and the league and any teams could not act collectively to restrict the employment of players without risking anti trust suits.

All the restrictions which might be illegal restraints of trade if they were not negotiated in a CBA (draft rights, restricted free agency, etc) could now be challenged on anti-trust grounds. They would no longer be exempt from anti trust challenge (as products of collective bargaining). This is not to say that any or all of those restrictions would be on their face illegal - "reasonable" restraints are permitted - but that would have to be determined by a jury.

The first issue that Judge Doty will have to rule on is whether the NFL can suspend operations and lock out the players after a decertification.

Thanks for the info. Nothing like a dude making things clear. Pretty interesting to follow.

An attempt to put pressure on the league or we really face one season without NFL?

 

[Dado]

Existing contracts remained in force.

The letter sent out to players by the league/teams says compensation is terminated - in your opinion is that likely to survive a challenge? And if it does, doesn't that imply all players have immediately become free agents?

 

[LadyStanley]

The letter sent out to players by the league/teams says compensation is terminated - in your opinion is that likely to survive a challenge? And if it does, doesn't that imply all players have immediately become free agents?

That's what Tom Brady vs NFL is partially about. We shall see.

 

[kdb209]

The letter sent out to players by the league/teams says compensation is terminated - in your opinion is that likely to survive a challenge? And if it does, doesn't that imply all players have immediately become free agents?

No. The NFL owners are attempting to lock out the players - similar to what the NHL owners did in '04-'05. The League is suspending the players employment - the players will not be able to provide services and will not get paid. Just like the NHL players did not become UFAs - neither will the NFL players - there still exist valid player contracts.

The first big question that will have to be answered by Judge Doty is whether the Lockout is permissible - or is an illegal group boycott on the part of the owners. The NFLPA has already filed for an injunction.

In the NHL case the NHL & NHLPA were still technically engaged in collective bargaining and a strike/lockout were legally permissible actions under labor law.

In the NFL case, that may not be the case after decertification - it will be up to the courts to decide.

 

[kdb209]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/13/sports/football/13judge.html

Judge, Jury, Executioner? Doty Gives N.F.L. the Chills
By RICHARD SANDOMIR
Published: March 12, 2011


For N.F.L. players, federal court in Minneapolis is a legal nirvana.

Judge David S. Doty could again preside over a players lawsuit against the N.F.L. in federal district court in Minneapolis.

Over nearly 40 years, cases filed there by players and their union have found favor in legal rulings by United States district court judges like Earl Larson and, since the late 1980s, David S. Doty. Names like John Mackey, Freeman McNeil, Marvin Powell and Reggie White have been featured plaintiffs.

And on Friday, when the N.F.L. Players Association decertified itself as a union, the Minneapolis court once again became the legal theater for football, this time in a particularly tense impasse. Ten players, including the star quarterbacks Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, filed an antitrust lawsuit against the N.F.L. in the court and asked for an injunction to prevent the league from initiating a lockout, which the N.F.L. said was in effect as of 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

“The N.F.L. has a long history of violating federal antitrust law in an effort to minimize its labor costs,†the players’ lawsuit alleges about a subject that has become as familiar to the South Fourth Street Courthouse in downtown Minneapolis as First Amendment cases are to the Supreme Court in Washington.

The piece goes on to discuss the history behind how that Minneapolis court became the venue for all NFL/NFLPA legal actions going back to Mackey v NFL in the 70s - the first NFL anti trust challenge which threw out the Rozelle Rule.

 

[Duke749]

Yawn.

Call me if the NFL isn't in business by week four

Either way, College Sports will be filling the gap

 

[Kitsune]

so lets say the lockout is illegal .... whats to stop the NFL from disbanding and reforming as the NFA ?

 

[danishh]

the contracts they have in place with players?

 

[MountainHawk]

the contracts they have in place with players?

All non-guaranteed. They could cut all of them right now, pay out any bonuses in the deals, and be done.

 

[kdb209]

so lets say the lockout is illegal .... whats to stop the NFL from disbanding and reforming as the NFA ?

The fact that they would be abrogating about $8B in broadcast deal (plus a huge number of other contracts) and that it would be just as illegal for the NFA teams to act in concert and lock out the players as it would be for the NFL.

Now, hypothetically they could disband and try to reform under a single entity ownership model - but I highly doubt that that would get past the FTC, DoJ, NLRB, and the courts.