NFL owners and players met Tuesday in Washington for three hours for their second round of collective bargaining negotiations. Nothing was accomplished (the union was upset, actually, that commissioner Roger Goodell was not in attendance), and no date is set for the next round of negotiations. But just as he did the day after the first negotiating session, union chief DeMaurice Smith is heading Wednesday to Capitol Hill.Smith will bring 17 active players from 15 different NFL teams, including Kansas City's Mike Vrabel, Tennessee's Kevin Mawae and Baltimore's Domonique Foxworth, plus three retired players with him for meetings with congressional leaders. The point of the meetings is to stay on the attack. As he first told FanHouse last month, Smith believes the owners are planning to lock out the players in 2011, and both sides are working against a March deadline after which the 2010 season would be played without a salary cap and a 2011 lockout would be more difficult to prevent. So Smith is remaining in contact with Congress because it can help him with two specific threats against the league.
The NFL operates under federal antitrust protection, which allows it to, among other things, negotiate broadcast deals on behalf of all 32 teams. It also has, since 1942, enjoyed federally protected tax-exempt status as a non-profit trade association (though the league contends that's merely a technicality because all of its revenue goes to the individual teams, which do pay taxes).
Involving the actual players in negotiations (and in the P.R. portion of his fight) is an important aspect of the whole thing for Smith. He said back in April that it was important to him that players be at the negotiating table, and they have. And there's no doubt that bringing NFL stars to his meetings on the Hill will help Smith capture the attention of the politicians with whom he's meeting.
The sides have agreed not to comment publicly on the CBA negotiations themselves, but the union believes its side is much more interested in moving things along quickly than is the league (pointing to Goodell's absence Tuesday as proof).
It's the league and the owners who opted out of the current CBA, citing financial hardships and a system that currently awards nearly 60 percent of league revenue to the players. The union believes the owners would make money in a 2011 lockout, since its TV contracts would pay off even if no games were played and the teams would save on the overhead costs that result from having to open their stadiums and pay the players' salaries. And since the union has publicly said it will not strike and wants to avoid the lockout, it's part of Smith's strategy to do whatever he can to move toward a conclusion more swiftly that he believes the league and the owners might like.
The complete list of players who will accompany Smith to his meetings on the Hill on Wednesday is as follows:
Ben Hartsock, Falcons
Domonique Foxworth, Ravens
George Wilson, Bills
Hunter Hillenmeyer, Bears
Joe Thomas, Browns
Kris Brown, Texans
Mark Bruener, Texans
Mike Vrabel, Chiefs
Adalius Thomas, Patriots
Brandon Moore, Jets
Damien Woody, Jets
Quintin Mikell, Eagles
Charlie Batch, Steelers
Takeo Spikes, 49ers
Chris Draft, Rams
Kevin Mawae, Titans
James Thrash, Redskins
Nolan Harrison, retired
Mike McBath, retired
Scott Turner, retired
