Sides Split On Rookie Wage Scale Issue ?

The parties broached the rookie pay system Thursday for the first time during these clandestine sessions, and it proved to be a difficult area to navigate. Last year's No. 1 overall draft pick, Rams quarterback Sam Bradford, received about $50 million guaranteed in his rookie deal, and the owners have long looked to drastically mark down those type of price tags.

But the numbers aren't the only issues. Among the players' concerns are finding a way to replace the effect such contracts have on the veteran market, and also get those high picks to free agency quicker (as it stands, six-year contracts are allowable for the high first-round picks making big money).

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Will Shockey Improve The Carolina Offense?

Jeremy Shockey joining the Carolina Panthers seemed like a terrible idea at first glance. As a Carolina Panthers fan since the beginning of the franchise, I know that we have put a high premium on good character guys after learning some early lessons. Then as I looked at the career of Jeremy Shockey(notes), he seemed to kind of mirror that same pattern. He started off brash, mouthy and arrogant in the beginning of his career. As his career has progressed, he has become more of a competitor than a loudmouth. Injuries and a declining skill set will do that to a player.

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Specter / Congress Should Intervene To End NFL Lockout

Arlen Specter knows how to make news.

In an op-ed to the New York Times this weekend, the long-serving U.S. Senator urged Congressional action to solve the seemingly intractable National Football League players’ strike and owners’ lockout.
Citing the $5 billion economic impact that the 2011 season is projected to have (not including ticket sales and TV revenue), Specter argued that the antitrust exemptions granted the NFL by Congress gives the government leverage in the situation.

“With this much at stake, the country should not sit back and wait for the players and owners to reach an agreement on their own. Congress can — and should — intervene to force a resolution of the dispute.”

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Deal Or No Deal ? Resistance For Owners Mounts

An internal battle is percolating at some of the highest NFL circles in which some owners are resisting the labor deal they've been trying to negotiate with the players, according to multiple sources. A handful of NFL owners -- at least two of whom are from AFC teams -- believes the parameters of the deal being discussed don't adequately address the original issues the league wanted corrected from the 2006 collective bargaining agreement, according to sources.

It is one of the primary reasons team officials are being prepped to stay an extra night in Chicago at Tuesday's owners' meetings. It's not to potentially vote on a new collective bargaining agreement, as many suspected; it actually is to try to fend off some of the resistance that is mounting, according to sources.

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Otah's Recovery, Return a Top Need For Panthers

While first overall pick Cam Newton will be in the spotlight and attract a great deal of attention in Carolina when football does resume, the return of ORT Jeff Otah is a significant issue facing the Panthers and it could fly under the radar.

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Sides Closer Than Ever, NFL Lockout To End In Late June?

"After lengthy discussions with both sources, they both conveyed to me a great deal of hope that a deal would be done by July and possibly as early as late June," wrote Zierlein. "Why the sudden optimism? According to one of the sources, 'both sides are focusing on the percentage of total revenue coming in, would include the first $1 billion the owners are currently taking off the top, and if that deal gets done, the other issues will probably fall into place fairly quickly according to what I'm hearing."

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When The Lockout Ends, You Will Forget It Happened

''Baseball came roaring back, aided by steroids, after the 1994 strike. The NHL lost an entire season but the Stanley Cup playoffs are currently in Boston, where I now live, and the entire region has the hockey fever. That’s just how you will be for your favorite NFL team as soon as the NFL lockout ends. You can take that to the bank. After all, the owners and players will be doing just that.''

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Newton Impressing Teammates

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Cam Newton sweated through a workout with his new Carolina teammates Wednesday morning, hopped a flight to Washington to meet the president in the afternoon, then quickly returned to make sure he attended the final player-organized workout Thursday. As the Heisman Trophy winner prepares for the scrutiny of being the NFL's No. 1 overall pick, his work ethic, fitness and willingness to fit in are impressing his veteran teammates.

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Welcome To The Real World, NFL

The labor impasse between the National Football League and its locked-out players continues.
Imagine how much quicker things might be resolved if these people were subjected to the same financial stresses as the rest of us.

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The NFL Owners Are a Lock In This Standoff

As the NFL lockout approaches the 100-day mark — it looks like a sporting Armageddon is just around the corner! — here’s your court-ordered update on the management-labor dispute:

The owners may trail on the scoreboard and lose in the courts, but at the close of any business day, they’ll somehow end up ahead. Which brings us to Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post, one of my favorite sports columnists. She’s so smart, when I disagree with her, I usually figure I’ve got to be wrong. But Jenkins has been writing about how the NFL finally has gotten its comeuppance in this labor squabble:

“The owners don’t get it, and haven’t from the beginning. . . . While they were calculating revenue, studying profit-loss statements and betting on how many unplayed games it would take the players to fold, they should have taken a crucial fact into account: They are in the legal wrong.” Sally, Sally, Sally — it doesn’t matter if they’re in the legal wrong, the NFL never loses in the long run.

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Peter King Says Deal Coming Soon

Mike Freeman of CBS is tweeting a deal could be struck between owners and players before the 8th circut rules in 10 days. Owners are giving in on money & players are said to be giving in a lot on rookie cap versus vet minimum and there is also a very strong chance restricted free agents all stay the way they are tagged this year, but no more RFA in the future...only franchise tags, one per team.

More Details ASAP

NFL, Players Wrap Up Court Date; Ruling To Come In 'Due Course'

The NFL and its players went back to court Friday for a pivotal hearing before a federal appeals court on the legality of the lockout, now nearly three months old with no sign of a new collective bargaining agreement that would save the 2011 season. NFL Network's Albert Breer reported that at the conclusion of Friday's session, Judge Kermit Bye told both sides that a ruling would come in "due course," adding that the decision will be one "that neither side will like." With that in mind, Bye encouraged both sides to work it out on their own.

The two sides each got 30 minutes before a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis. The NFL contends the lockout imposed by owners after labor talks fell apart on March 11 is legal, while the players do not, and the arguments at times were dense. The panel has twice decided to keep the lockout in place pending the full appeal. It did not issue an immediate decision and Bye smiled as he told the attorneys before they left the courtroom: "We wouldn't be all that hurt if you go out and settle that case."

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Is Friday The Beginning, Or Beginning Of The End?

As you know, Friday is June 3rd. If you are a died-in-the-wool football fan like we who read AP even during the off season, then you already know what happens Friday. If you are a casual football fan, who loves to root for a team but really doesn't follow the league's machinations during the part of the season where games are not played, then you may not be aware of what is going to happen on Friday and what effect it could have on NFL football.

On Friday, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals is going to begin hearing arguments on whether or not the lockout is legal, and whether or not the Norris-Laguardia Act applies to management lockouts as well as employee strikes. The Act denies district courts the ability to become involved in disputes that arise from labor negotiations, just like the current dispute between the NFL players and owners did back in March.

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