The Start Of Free Agency To Be Delayed? (CBA Extension Talk)

[PhillyPhreak54]

Negatory.

His bonus dates are still applicable.

So he'll have to be cut by March 8th still.

[Rome]

Liar.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Next season's salary cap likely will be about $108 million per team if the owners and the players' union can agree to an extension of their collective bargaining agreement. It probably will be set at $95 million to $96 million per club if there's no labor extension. Last season's salary cap was $85.5 million per team. . . .

From the Washington Times Mark Maske, who is a pretty good writer.

[ice grillin you]

ewwww washington times....someone as good as maske would never write for that nazi right wing rag of a paper...maske writes for the post and yes he is one of if not the best nfl beat writer...the following article was in todays post co written with leonard shapiro who is one of the great all around sportswriters in the country

Labor Negotiations to Resume Today
League, Union Hope for Progress by Tomorrow Afternoon

By Mark Maske and Leonard Shapiro
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, February 28, 2006; E03



NFL Players Association chief Gene Upshaw traveled to New York yesterday to resume labor negotiations today with Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and other league officials, hoping to reach a last-minute settlement on an extension of the collective bargaining agreement that would keep the salary cap system in place beyond next season.

Upshaw and Tagliabue plan to resume deliberations after a one-day break. The sides met Sunday, and front-office executives from NFL teams and agents were anticipating yesterday that a settlement was imminent or already tentatively in place. But Upshaw said by telephone while en route to New York yesterday that there had been no agreement and he and Tagliabue still were working to try to settle the central economic issue of the dispute by negotiating what percentage of an expanded revenue pool players would receive as compensation.

Tagliabue sent a memo to all 32 teams, notifying them that they will be informed by 4 p.m. tomorrow whether there will be a labor extension and told then what next season's salary cap figure will be. The team owners are scheduled to talk via conference call today, and the league's free agent market is slated to open Friday.


"We don't have a deal," Upshaw said. "It's hard to say if we'll get there by Wednesday or not. We're not there yet, but you keep trying until the time runs out. That's why we're still meeting."

A league official said there was no agreement between Tagliabue and Upshaw, but the commissioner was readying for a final negotiating push. The owner of one team, speaking on the condition of anonymity because talks were at such a sensitive stage, said he had been told that negotiations had resulted in "some progress but no agreement."

Upshaw said that no other issues would serve as deal-breakers if he and Tagliabue can agree to what percentage of an expanded revenue pool players would receive. They currently receive about 65 percent of a revenue pool known as defined gross revenues. With league revenues burgeoning, Upshaw is seeking to have players paid from a greatly expanded revenue pool known as total football revenues, and wants the players to receive at least 60 percent of those revenues. The league has not been willing to offer that much.

"We don't have any agreement on that," Upshaw said. "If anyone says that we do, it's just not right. They're still in the same place with their proposal, and it's not enough. . . . If we can get an agreement on the percentage, it would be pretty easy to fill everything else in. We've been talking about the other stuff."

Owners are scheduled to meet Monday and Tuesday in Dallas. Upshaw said that if he and Tagliabue are going to strike a deal, it will have to include a provision for increasing the degree to which the teams share their locally generated revenues, and then Tagliabue would have to get the owners to approve the labor and revenue-sharing deals in Dallas. Some owners have said they think a labor agreement could come without a revenue-sharing deal, but Upshaw continues to maintain the two would have to come simultaneously.

"It's still tied to our proposal," Upshaw said. "You can't have one without the other. If we can reach an agreement, he's going to have to go to the owners and say, 'Here's the deal. If you want a deal, you have to vote for this.' That's his job, not mine. I don't have to deal with that, thank goodness."

[General_Failure]

someone as good as maske would never right for that nazi rgith wing rap of a paper

Writing real words is hard.

[ice grillin you]

werd

[PhillyPhreak54]

NFL COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT
LEAGUE, PLAYERS CLOSE TO EXTENDING CBA to 2013

The NFL and the union likely will extend their collective bargaining agreement soon, avoiding a possible salary cap mess.

BY JASON COLE jcole@MiamiHerald.com
February 28, 2006

INDIANAPOLIS - The Dolphins and other NFL teams felt relief after Monday's news of progress in the negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones indicated that an extension of the current collective bargaining agreement likely is only days away, avoiding what could have been a complicated situation with the NFL salary cap.

When asked whether there had been progress in the past few days, Jones replied: ``Yes. I feel we'll likely have a deal within . . . we've got a pretty tight time frame here with the [league] year [starting Friday]. It will be firmed into a situation that will reasonably address the beginning of the league year.''

Jones, who is considered a leader of the high-revenue teams, has been among the key figures in the talks.

NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue and NFL Players Association executive director Gene Upshaw met Monday in Washington to hold further talks and are expected to meet today in New York.

On Wednesday and Thursday, the executive committee of the NFL Management Council, which includes eight owners, will meet in New York.

If an agreement is completed, the current cap rules would stay in place and would be extended through the 2013 season.

That would greatly benefit the Dolphins. Like many teams, the Dolphins were expected to have problems getting under the projected salary cap of between $92 million and $95 million. The rules that would have taken effect without an extension would make restructuring contracts difficult.

An extension of the agreement would ease that. For example, the Dolphins could create approximately $6 million in cap space by guaranteeing and extending the contract of Pro Bowl defensive end Jason Taylor, whose salary is scheduled to count for $11 million against the cap in 2006.

The cap for all teams also is expected to be much higher. Last week, Upshaw said the cap could be as high as $104 million with the extension.

That means the Dolphins can retain more veteran players, at least temporarily. For example: Without a CBA extension, left tackle Damion McIntosh and quarterback Gus Frerotte might have been released for salary cap reasons. But now they can remain on the roster, at least until the team gets other players to supplant them or reworks their contracts.
Although the Dolphins have not confirmed how far under the cap they will be, it's apparent that an extension would put them in position to do some significant free agent shopping. That could include making offers for players such as Saints center LeCharles Bentley, former Jets cornerback Ty Law or Chargers quarterback Drew Brees.

Upshaw said last week that he wouldn't agree to extend the deadline for a new CBA, but others in the NFLPA have indicated that Upshaw was posturing. Jones said something must be at least in writing by Thursday to get an extension of the deadline.

The negative fallout from the extension: The start of the league year, which also is the beginning of the free agency period, likely will be delayed. Free agency is expected to begin March 3 but could be delayed by a week or two.
Houston general manager Charley Casserly said an extension likely would have to delay the start of the league year to read through the cap and examine any changes in the rules.

Also, several other executives with the league and the NFLPA have said it will take time for teams to restructure contracts for players

[Wingspan]

anyone hear they're close to a new CBA?

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

You would think a delay of the start of the league year WOULD, in fact, push back the dates roster bonuses are due.  There could be some significant outcry from many teams, including the Eagles, considering that dates were set based on a  schedule for the league year.  For instance, the Eagles could have played cat and mouse with T.O. for a few days and seen if someone pulled the trigger on a trade.  Otherwise, they (and everyone else in a similar situation) will have to just cut.  Doesn't make any sense whatsoever, and I can't imagine the owners would agree to it.

[PhillyPhreak54]

And then the NFLPA lawyers would get in a hissy fit about a date being a date. And I agree with them on that. The only reason I do is because it is set 5 days after the FA period was set to open.

If it was closer to the date, like March 2d or 3rd then I would agree with you. Then it would be tied more directly to that start of FA. But 5 days later isn't a real strong argument, IMO.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

They're all gay.

[Wingspan]

i would think they would instantly move those contract dates as many days back as they would for the start of free agency.

but i doubt they will. as the dates for the franchise/transition tags didnt change.

it's not the nfl's problem that some teams put these dates into the contracts with the players.

[The BIGSTUD]

Breaking news from ESPNews:

Mortenson reports talks have broken down and Upshaw said a deal will not get done and he's leaving Washington.

Mort will be on in a sec, I'm going to watch.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

BWAHAHA.... Here come the cuts!

[SunMo]

i'll be honest, i'm extemely curious to see all the players that would have to be cut due to the CBA not being extended.

that and i'm so damn impatient to get free agency started.