NFLPA Sends Letters To Gov. Nixon, Mayor Funkhouser Regarding NFL Lockout
by Joel Thorman on Nov 23, 2010 3:51 PM CST
in 2010 Kansas City Chiefs Season
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PrintNFL Player's Association president Kevin Mawae sent a pair of letters on Monday to Missouri Governor Jay Nixon and Kansas City mayor Mark Funkhouser urging them to communicate with NFL owners -- particularly to the Kansas City Chiefs' Clark Hunt and St. Louis Rams' Stan Kroenke -- the "importance of developing a meaningful dialogue" with the NFLPA as it pertains to negotiations for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The current CBA expires in 100 days (from Nov. 22), the letters state, and NFL owners including Hunt and Kroenke have "chosen to prepare for and threaten to lock out players and fans in the 2011-2012 season." NFLLockout.com, the NFLPA's version of NFLLabor.com, has a posting titled, "NFL's Lockout Checklist" detailing all the reasons the union believes the league is preparing to lock the Players out.
The letter points out the NFL's various TV deals that will pay them -- money that must later be repaid -- whether there's football in 2011 or not. "Owners will continue to thrive financially at the expense of serious job losses among your constituents and major lost tax revenue," the letter states.
Per the letters, a lockout would cost every NFL city in America $160 million in lost jobs and revenue.
The crux of the NFLPA's message is that they want the league to negotiate in good faith and that things on their version of the "NFL's Lockout Checklist" are preventing that from happening. The letters point out that the folks that the lockout will hurt are the same ones that helped the team benefit via state and local funds.
The NFL's response comes via NFLLabor.com and states there's no need to get political leaders involved.
"The union’s request for state and local political leaders to intercede in the negotiations ignores and denigrates the serious and far more substantial problems that those leaders," the league's statement says, "and that state and local workers across the country face. We can resolve our own issues as we have done many times in the past but the NFLPA has to want to participate in resolving them."
And more:
"Nobody—least of all NFL owners – wants to shut down our business. The best way to ensure uninterrupted NFL football in 2011 is for the union to stop asking everyone else to solve its problems and to sit down and engage in serious, constructive bargaining. If the union does so, we can and will reach an agreement."
I'm not so much worried about the details as I am the result -- football in 2011 or not? If getting Gov. Nixon and Mayor Funkhouser involved helps get a deal done, then I'm all for it. If locking the two sides into the same room for 24 hours at a time gets a deal done, then I'm for that, too. Like most fans, I don't want my summer (or any other season) dominated by the threat of no football.
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The TV deal is what scares me
I have heard before that the TV money will still come in – thats bad for the players – while there would still be substantial loss to the teams it gives the owners a crutch to fall back on.
Owners get there without paying out a cent.
This is going to get ugly, because what do the owners have to lose? Once again they get theirs.
You had it right the first time.
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by Scaryclouds on Nov 23, 2010 4:38 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
I would loose my damn mind if there isn’t football next year.
Ever seen the movie Green Street Hooligans? That's how I feel about my Chiefs.
Dunno if I could handle no 2011 season
9 months of baseball is enough to make anyone want to puke, I live for August, with only college football to go on and nothing on Sunday…that’d be tougher than watching Lord of the Dance.
" That was a cajun run! Flew Bayou!" - Dexter McCluster
Good luck with that, NFLPA
Don’t blame you for trying, but Funkytown is NOT getting Clark to change his negotiating strategy.
Ditto every other mayor/governor.
What is funkhowser gonna do
the guy is an idiot.
by thewhitebuffalo on Nov 23, 2010 4:07 PM CST reply actions
Greed, pure and simple
The players act as if they are the ones getting the shaft,please. They are as bad as the owners. If anything comes of this i hope its a rookie cap. They are the ones that shouldn`tbe getting the big bucks till they prove something.(yea, you Jackson)
At least the players
are putting their bodies on the line. And it’s not all champagne and limos. Most guys are in the league for a year or two, struggling to make a roster spot.
I didn't actually read this.
But I wish my last name was Funkhouser.
Check #32 off the bucket list: My First Chiefs Game
Next up, #33: Shear a sheep.
by craig in calgary on Nov 23, 2010 4:46 PM CST reply actions
Lt Gov has to be Bootsy Collins.
It’s only right.
Chiefs - back in the playoffs in 2011.
by TRSChief on Nov 23, 2010 5:14 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
This is my nightmare
No football in 2011, only baseball. God help us all.
One of the founding members of The Super Duper Matt Cassel Fanclub.
We all have the right to our own opinions, its just that mine are right.
My quest for soberiety is an ongoing struggle.
There'll be basketball, hockey, and NASCAR.
Oh, wait, you’re only counting sports that don’t suck. I getcha.
Well played.
One of the founding members of The Super Duper Matt Cassel Fanclub.
We all have the right to our own opinions, its just that mine are right.
My quest for soberiety is an ongoing struggle.
by nateforchiefs on Nov 24, 2010 5:47 PM CST up reply actions
Wait...when is KC getting back a professional Basebal team??
Oh you must be talking bout the T bones….
I have a feeling that 2010 will be a defining year for the Kansas City Chiefs. Do we become the 2001 Patriots or footballs version of the royals??
by Cowboynchrist on Nov 23, 2010 10:36 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
Cutting through the spin and bullshit
who is actually not willing to deal? Owners or players? Or are both sides being the proverbial immovable object and unstoppable force?
College football it is then.
Blame my wife!
Waiting until August 2011
Both sides are willing to deal.
However, the owners are looking for a hell of a lot more, while the players are just trying to hold on to as much of what they already have as possible. So it depends on what starting point you want to go by.
I have an inferiority complex, but it's not a very good one.
You could say that about every strike/lockout in history.
I have an inferiority complex, but it's not a very good one.
Those aren't in these times though
The most recent 1(NHL) is still trying to recover from what they did. No positive comes out of this from either side, they know that. They especially don’t want lost jobs on their hands, given the rest of the employment situation in the country. They’re just poker-facing it up till the very end.
Good tactic short-term for the NFLPA, but not smart long-term.
There’s plenty to go around. Man up, both sides. Take care of your older brothers, players. Marquee players ought to give something back. 1st-round rookies ought to give something back. Owners ought to make sure that guys who get hurt are taken care of in style. Players could all set themselves up for life, with some very common sense measures.
Something I’d like to see negotiated that the players maybe don’t is more of a year-long commitment. Sure, plenty of vacation, but for the financial and physical health of all, a pretty rigorous workout and diet regimen in the off months for all players ought to be pretty standard stuff, as long as they’re under contract, and, frankly, all wannabe’s ought to be frequenting the same gyms in the offseason.
This isn’t so much about who gets how much of the pie, but a pie that’s bigger for everybody, because everybody’s healthier, and the league isn’t paying out big bucks 10 years down the road to as many guys, because more of ‘em are healthy. I’m kind of a fence-sitter when it comes to too many game-rule changes, if they dilute the game. That’s part of the cost of doing business. The game is no longer the game, if the QB starts wearin’ a skirt and waving pom-poms.
The league needs to do something for guys like James Harrison. Maybe don’t fine a guy, but make him more responsible to pay his opponent’s hospital bill. Don’t leave it up to a league official. Leave it up to the primary care physician. Let Harrison control HIMself, based on the insurance premiums he has to pay!
Too bad Bush isnt around
We could have them locked in Gitmo for National Security reasons until they figure it out
Open up the books
Until the owners open up their books and show that the economics are bad, why should the players believe that they need to take a 20% paycut in one of, if not the, most popular sports leagues in the world. The NFL issues press releases saying television ratings have never been higher and the game is more popular than ever, but turns around and says the long-term economics are bad without a player paycut.
Open up the books and prove it.
I agree with your statement and direction.
I think the problem is that player salaries were growing faster than the NFL economy can handle. Some of those things can be corrected by instituting a rookie salary cap among other things. They are talking about expanding to the 18 game season, but want the players to take a 20% pay cut. That math doesn’t seem fair to me without seeing the actual numbers. Then the players ask for something ridiculous like more practices without pads. What’s the point? Why don’t we just change the name and call it the NFFL. Get rid of the pads all together. I remember being told, you practice like you play. If you don’t practice with the pads, how are you gonna be prepared for a real game?
To an extent, the owner’s probably do need to keep more of the revenue to be able to finance renovations and expansions without expecting the taxpayers to foot the bill every time. The Hunt’s did an admirable job of footing most of the cost for the Arrowhead facelift. Not every franchise would do that. But K.C. also knows that a renovated stadium means the Chiefs are here for the foreseeable future.
The previous CBA had a pretty significant jump each year for the salary cap, which I’m sure needs to be addressed as well. I think the owners are trying to balance their budgets better and keep from having to rape the fans at the ticket window. I can’t see paying much more than I have been the last few years for tickets. I love my team, but I can see the game just as good on my HD TV. But again, they need to open the books and show us the projections they are running. That way the NFLPA can’t come back and use the “It’s the most popular sport in America” defense without some proof.
Dear Haters, F@&Y% U!!! Love always, THE CHIEFS!
Actually, the taxpayers paid for most of the renovations
Not to knock the Hunts, but they put up $125 million for the renovations while the taxpayers put up $250 million if I am correct. And they are able to make money off their luxury suites while the taxpayers are just paying to keep the Chiefs in town.
And that is the political game
The Rams and Chiefs play in taxpayer funded stadiums (STL to lure the Rams to town and KC luring and keeping them in town) and that being the case, they should be playing football
by bonesjackson on Nov 23, 2010 9:43 PM CST up reply actions
If you look at the Packers books
you will see that revenue is not an issue. The owners want to cry about debt service but if that is the case, dont borrow money to buy a team, or a billion plus dollar stadium
by bonesjackson on Nov 23, 2010 9:41 PM CST up reply actions
get everyone together........
wat needs to happen is every owner, every tv presedent, and every union labor president get involved and for once please set in a room together and put your heads together, give this, take that, do what we need to do to make everyone happy.. its just pathetic that these people will not put their brains to work and figure a way through this…your going to kill this beloved game that everyone cares so much about.. football runs blood thick in americas land and if we do not come up with an agreement we are going to kill are sport that makes so many people smile and cheer, baseball was destryed after the strick and we can not let these thick skulled people not get together aand compromise, everything is possible to agree upon it jus has to be fair to each side.. please for me and every other great football fan out there that watches this game every sunday to make or break our day dont let there be a lockout..
You may be the one where that's true
But people say that every time this happens and they almost always come back.
Every once in awhile you’ll come across someone that claims they went away after the last strike and never came back, like a Royals fan…then you realize after you talk to them for 5 minutes that if the Royals ever won, they’d be right back out there.
Not saying that’s you…but if there is a strike/lockout for half the year, and when they come back, the Chiefs are in the mix for the Super Bowl…I’m guessing most here that say they are done will be watching.
If there's one thing worse than the owners and players screwing up the game with this episode
it’s get the government involved. Owners and players can do a lot of damage, but only the government can bring the nuclear option. My opinion of the NFLPA just plummeted from reading this story. And that wasn’t an easy thing to do in my case, either.
The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you've got it made. ~ Groucho Marx
FunkyTown going to save the NFL?
Good luck with that… he ran a city into the ground. I really can’t see the Hunt family respecting his request.
D Bowe is The Show!
To be fair...
I don’t know if I’d say M-Funk ran the city into the ground, only b/c it was there to begin with.
But I agree with your point, as it’s pretty much exactly what I said above.
as a broncos fan
the lockout wouild be good for me because 1 THERE HAS TO BE A CAP and manning brady rivers getting older 2 with denver season so far we need the break lol
okay i have cerebral palsy arthris and chronic fatigue as well i have a great life and loveing folks some days are better than other days i got a make-a-wish in 2001 and saw my favorite team the broncos it was the trip of a lifetime i wish everyone couild have gotten to enjoy that with me i know some of u hate the broncos and that okay but i bleed organ and bule for my mnr fans but i bleed orange and blue denver will rise again resident broncos fan for every blog resident broncos for stampede bule thanks shvd98z24 real name jeremy woodard nettleton high class of 02 yes i am a raider
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