Posted Monday, March 28, 2011 09:49 PM
For the one or two of us interested in the minutiae of Labor law, the NFL was sued today by Carl Eller and Priest Holmes, former NFL players. The suit represents players not currently in the league. This includes the picks from this month's upcoming draft. One of the league's major legal arguments against Brady, et al is that players decertified the NFLPA illegally (and, consequently, the matter should be handled by NLRB--NOT in the courts). Since the players in the incoming draft were never represented by the players association, the suit argues that the teams have essentially locked the new players out. This will force, the attorneys hope, the suit into the courts. This could be a huge incentive for the league to try to make a genuine effort to settle the suit. No matter what you made have read on Covers, the League has not made a good faith effort in these negotiations [my opinion]. If the League were to go to court and LOSE, the stakes are enormous. The draft, free agency, salary caps and collective bargaining could disappear and potentially wipe out the very foundations of the teams' business models.
I am not an attorney but have been a Union Rep to labor negotiations in a different industry. All of the above is my take on what happened today. I think it's a potential game changer.
Please post the obvious below. "F.U. NFL Players" "They All Suck." Blah blah blah.