No football next year - CBA Deadline has passed, players advised to save paychecks

[The Falcon Jedi]

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The NFL players' union is advising its members to prepare for a lockout that it expects to come in March, telling players to save their last three game checks this year in case there is no 2011 season.

In a letter to the players that was seen by The Associated Press, NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith said the union had an "internal deadline" for agreeing to a new collective bargaining agreement.

"That deadline has now passed," Smith wrote. "It is important that you protect yourself and your family."


The letter was dated Wednesday, and copies were strewn across a table in the New England Patriots' locker room during media availability Saturday. After a reporter asked players about the letter, a Patriots spokesman flipped the copies face-down.

The one-page letter on NFLPA stationery said the union expects the lockout to come March 4 and that players should work with their advisers to prepare for an impending lack of income.

The letter also said the league is planning to cancel the players' health insurance. The union said it is filing a grievance to contest a cancellation of health insurance, citing a section of the collective bargaining agreement that states: "Players will continue to receive the benefits provided in this article through the end of the Plan Year in which they are released or otherwise sever employment."

Patriots offensive lineman Matt Light, one of the team's player representatives, said players understand the nature of the business, but the threat to cancel health insurance is different.

"You're going to cancel somebody's health insurance and maybe they've got a baby that's due in the offseason?" he said. "Yeah, it gets personal."

Light said he is doing his best to educate his teammates on how to prepare.

"They've got to look at it like they're going into a period in which they are going to change their financial situation," he said. "Nobody knows what's going to happen. But if you're going to go a year without getting paid, you need to prepare accordingly."

Patriots linebacker Tully Banta-Cain said he already was squirreling away his savings in case of a lockout. Banta-Cain said he also was working on his outside businesses, which include a clothing line and a music label.

"I'm trying to prepare," he said. "And I'm trying to establish my off-the-field businesses and make sure I can make money in the offseason."

For more labor news, visit http://NFLLabor.com

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

[Greg M]

This is soooooo gonna suck

[The Falcon Jedi]

(12-04-2010 01:51 PM)Greg M Wrote:  This is soooooo gonna suck

Yes it is. We better make the most of this season while we can.

[Gritz]

I wouldn't put much stock in what either side is saying or doing right now.

So much of all of these "negotiations" are just posturing and public relations positioning at this point.

There was never going to be a settlement or agreement while the season was still going on.

They'll get a deal done.....might be last minute, but it'll get done.

[markdzul]

wonder if this has an effect on the way the players perform in general, not just the falcons, all teams players. More motivated, less motivated. Would be interesting to know their mind set. Some knowing this may be their last shot at winning the big one.....

[Greg M]

(12-04-2010 01:54 PM)The Falcon Jedi Wrote:  Yes it is. We better make the most of this season while we can.

Does any body involved in this cluster fuck truly understand the billions of dollars and all the lives this lockout will impact ? FF revenue lost, marketing, TV, print, websites will die, whole species will become extinct, my God the Humanity !

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(12-04-2010 02:03 PM)Gritblitzer Wrote:  I wouldn't put much stock in what either side is saying or doing right now.

So much of all of these "negotiations" are just posturing and public relations positioning at this point.

There was never going to be a settlement or agreement while the season was still going on.

They'll get a deal done.....might be last minute, but it'll get done.

I tentatively agree. there is far too much involved here to just give up and let the lockout happen.

[Anomaly]

Let's just win the Super Bowl this year then if there is a lockout we will just be the Champs for longer.

[The Falcon Jedi]

I really hate Unions. Im sorry but I have never agreed with their existence in business. All they end up doing is hurting the business they are working for.

Most people in this country go to work, do their jobs, and live relatively happily without the need to be in a Union.

[phocis850]

(12-04-2010 02:03 PM)Gritblitzer Wrote:  I wouldn't put much stock in what either side is saying or doing right now.

So much of all of these "negotiations" are just posturing and public relations positioning at this point.

There was never going to be a settlement or agreement while the season was still going on.

They'll get a deal done.....might be last minute, but it'll get done.

This. A lockout will NOT happen. I don't understand why everyone is so worried about it. Right now it's just PR points. Don't put any stock in it. In the end, the NFL wants money and the players want money. It will all be fine.

[Gritz]

(12-04-2010 02:33 PM)The Falcon Jedi Wrote:  I really hate Unions. Im sorry but I have never agreed with their existence in business. All they end up doing is hurting the business they are working for.

Most people in this country go to work, do their jobs, and live relatively happily without the need to be in a Union.

Probably not the best place for a discussion about unions, but I will say this:

The reason(s) for the origin of unions in the United States was very valid and called for. In the later part of the 19th and start of the 20th century workers were horribly abused by the bosses and corporations that they worked for.

It is harder now though to extend that same reasoning towards millionaire athletes and owners.