Rhetoric ramps up in NFL labor dispute

With the NFL’s biggest game of the year just around the corner, both sides of the ongoing labor dispute have been making major PR efforts to persuade fans to their particular side.

Jets Cornerback Antonio Cromartie recently dressed down NFL and the Players’ Association leaders in a not-so-thinly veiled attack on union head DeMaurice Smith. Cromartie, who is not necessarily known for his eloquence (or even the ability to remember all his children’s names said this: “You got our head union rep acting like an (expletive)… They got their guys acting like (expletives). So they just need to get their (expletive) together and just get it done.”

NFLPA Assistant Director George Attalah was quick to jump to Smith’s defense, and pointed to well-known veterans like Ray Lewis and Darnell Dockett as a sign of player unity in the ongoing dispute.

“They know they’re behind; they know what they’re up against,” Atallah said of the players. “But strength doesn’t come from speaking out strongly. [Strength comes from a quiet resolve to prepare themselves and to negotiate as hard as possible and I think they’ve done that.”

Well-respected known sportswriters like Jason Whitlock have stated that [the chinks in the NFLPA’s armor are increasingly visible, and that players are likely to turn on union officials if the sense of urgency (or complete lack thereof) to get a deal done doesn’t increase substantially in the coming weeks.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL general counsel Jeff Pash both recently remarked that if a deal is not done before the March 3 deadline, they would reduce their salaries to $1 until the lockout had ended. This prompted Smith to reply, via twitter, that if a deal could be forged before the Super Bowl, he would be willing to cut his salary to 68 cents.

The NFL is bringing in more money than any sport in the history of mankind. ESPN will be paying $2 billion annually for the rights to broadcast Monday Night Football, which averages out to over $110 million per game. In a recent Harris Poll, professional football ranked No. 1 among sports fans, with 31 percent saying that it was their favorite sport. The next closest was baseball, with a paltry 17 percent of the vote.

Owners are looking to negotiate a decrease in the amount of revenue they share with players, increasing the regular season to 18 games, and a rookie wage scale. The NFLPA seems to be willing to make at least a few concessions, but want increased health coverage, an independent appeals process for drug testing, and an increase of funding to retired players.

If NFL and NFLPA leaders can’t come together, they may not only do a disservice to themselves, but also to the people who truly built the game up from its infancy — the people willing to shell our $300 in a recession for a premium satellite package, and spend $70 to sit in the nosebleed section on a blistering December day — the fans. Maybe now we can understand why having the fans’ support means so much to each side.

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