The players have legitimate concerns. Owners seek to implement an 18-game season at a time the league has toughened policies on concussions and player safety. Specifics of a rookie salary cap must be ironed out. No team has reported a financial loss yet owners seek to reduce the players' cut 18 percent to cover costs and "grow the pie,'' according to NFL executive president Jeff Pash.
"So that means basically they want me to buy my own breakfast and lunch, pay for airfare to games, the hotel, pay for my shoes. That's about 18 percent. Do you pay for your pad and pens?''
Bears kicker
Robbie Gould, the team's player representative, asked over the phone as he was snowed in in Chicago.
"We're not asking for any more but we're not going to take any less,'' Gould said. "Fans don't want to see millionaires fighting billionaires. We want to play too. But given the circumstances the NFL is completely out of line.''
It's easy to see Gould's point. But it's a hard sell because nobody on either side is getting poor.
Guys making the rounds at Radio Row such as
Tommie Harris and Larry Fitzgerald, et al, are millionaires because of the NFL. Player salaries have doubled in the past decade and the average NFL salary now approaches $2 million.
Does the union really think that saying this is about the fans makes the guy earning $60,000 who can afford one game a year, maybe, feel more empathy for the plight of the NFL player?
As valid as some of the union complaints might be, sorry, the players need the league more than the owners need the players. The first thing to go for many NFL players isn't ability. It's perspective.
The public doesn't want to hear players whine about being treated fairly. Unfair in today's economy is a working family wondering where the grocery or rent money will come from after the job loss of a parent.
If the league continues to grow as much as Smith expects, how much money will players lose in the long run anyway?
Reality hits March 4 when, if a new deal isn't reached, nearly 500 players will miss out on millions of dollars worth of bonuses. They also will lose health-insurance benefits. At that point the Bears offensive line might look like a strong, united front compared to the rank-and-file of the NFLPA.
"We're a family,'' NFLPA player president
Kevin Mawae said.
It could be one headed for
Jerry Springer's show. Of the 1,900 players he represents, Smith lamented several had family members facing terminal illness or organ transplants. He also bemoaned the 200 player families who were expecting babies having to pay for their own care.
Is this their "war'' too?
Their real-life concerns would seem to make Smith sound more motivated to find compromise, not conflict. I didn't hear that. I only heard one thing from Smith that made me nod my head.
"The people who have the most to lose,'' Smith said, "are our fans.''
So don't let them.
