New CBA approved

[Lionized]

What are your thoughts. What significant changes do you think this will bring. How will the record books be changed. New salary cap for the 2020 season is 198.2m
 

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2877363-nfl-players-vote-to-approve-new-cba-with-17-game-schedule-expanded-playoffs

Edited March 15, 2020 by Lionized

[TL-TwoWinsAway]

Good. (Pretty much my thoughts.)

[Sllim Pickens]

This whole thing has seemed shady.  Sounds like Russell Okung has filed lawsuits since it shouldnt have been sent for vote given the required percentage of team reps did not approve of it.  And then it skates by on the backs of fringe players who will likely not be in the league that long. 

I am not a fan of going to 17 games.  I dont like the extended playoffs.  I dont get how you can say you care about player safety and then put them out there more to injure them selves.  

[Karnage84]

42 minutes ago, Sllim Pickens said:

This whole thing has seemed shady.  Sounds like Russell Okung has filed lawsuits since it shouldnt have been sent for vote given the required percentage of team reps did not approve of it.  And then it skates by on the backs of fringe players who will likely not be in the league that long. 

I am not a fan of going to 17 games.  I dont like the extended playoffs.  I dont get how you can say you care about player safety and then put them out there more to injure them selves.  

Alternatively, you have guys that have a short timeframe to make some money after playing in college forever and need to make that $1M, which can be taken away from them in an instant, last for the next 50 years. Whereas some of the more vocal guys have made their money. This also doesn't address the guys who are long retired and never got the big payouts like they do today. It puts more money into their pockets too. They're all equal parts of the NFLPA and anyone that has a vote should be able to exercise that in their own best interest. 

What they should be doing is increasing the roster sizes and then creating a minor league contract with the XFL. Give guys opportunity to make money, while they learn and develop. Maybe load management wouldn't be such a big deal if the bottom half of the roster was better developed while you give your stars some plays off in non-essential drives. The XFL's kickoff model was really smart in terms of player safety as is the sky judge component. 

[TL-TwoWinsAway]

I love the XFL suggestion. Having a minor league for the NFL would be great.

I'm not a fan of the 17th game, but I like the increase in playoff teams. I've always hated how the occasional 10-6 team misses the playoffs.

[Sllim Pickens]

1 minute ago, Karnage84 said:

Alternatively, you have guys that have a short timeframe to make some money after playing in college forever and need to make that $1M, which can be taken away from them in an instant, last for the next 50 years. Whereas some of the more vocal guys have made their money. This also doesn't address the guys who are long retired and never got the big payouts like they do today. It puts more money into their pockets too. They're all equal parts of the NFLPA and anyone that has a vote should be able to exercise that in their own best interest. 

What they should be doing is increasing the roster sizes and then creating a minor league contract with the XFL. Give guys opportunity to make money, while they learn and develop. Maybe load management wouldn't be such a big deal if the bottom half of the roster was better developed while you give your stars some plays off in non-essential drives. The XFL's kickoff model was really smart in terms of player safety as is the sky judge component. 

I'd be fine if they do all of that, but as of now it just feels like a money grab and they give no cares about player safety. 

And I do agree that everyone should have the right to vote in their own best interest, but they have rules set up for voting and they didnt meet those requirements.  When it goes to the whole league the requirement goes to 50% plus 1 vote so they need those things in place to protect the league, given the stars are what makes the league.  They could have kept in a lot of the perks for the fringe guys and got better outcomes on other things.  Which is why it feels shady and rushed through.  That to me means that Smith has other motives that may not be in the best interest of the NFLPA.  

[Karnage84]

24 minutes ago, Sllim Pickens said:

I'd be fine if they do all of that, but as of now it just feels like a money grab and they give no cares about player safety. 

And I do agree that everyone should have the right to vote in their own best interest, but they have rules set up for voting and they didnt meet those requirements.  When it goes to the whole league the requirement goes to 50% plus 1 vote so they need those things in place to protect the league, given the stars are what makes the league.  They could have kept in a lot of the perks for the fringe guys and got better outcomes on other things.  Which is why it feels shady and rushed through.  That to me means that Smith has other motives that may not be in the best interest of the NFLPA.  

Smith is supposed to be the union boss, right? He's put in place by the players. Going against the players and their interest doesn't seem like the best way to keep your job.

You could be entirely right and maybe it has been rushed through. I just don't see how the players could get a better deal and the optics of not accepting the deal at this time is not going to go over well. We have had a teachers strike here and they've been pretty firm in not moving off of their position. With COVID-19, at least one of the unions accepted a deal and others are sure to follow. You don't want to leave a really bad taste in peoples mouths during a difficult time like this. 

[Sllim Pickens]

25 minutes ago, Karnage84 said:

Smith is supposed to be the union boss, right? He's put in place by the players. Going against the players and their interest doesn't seem like the best way to keep your job.

You could be entirely right and maybe it has been rushed through. I just don't see how the players could get a better deal and the optics of not accepting the deal at this time is not going to go over well. We have had a teachers strike here and they've been pretty firm in not moving off of their position. With COVID-19, at least one of the unions accepted a deal and others are sure to follow. You don't want to leave a really bad taste in peoples mouths during a difficult time like this. 

I dont think it puts a bad taste in anyone's mouth unless it starts canceling games.  The fact they broke protocol should be alarming.  Thats not a precedent they should be setting for other unions.  There are reasons to strike, and it seems like they could have gotten a better deal without having to strike.  I also dont think not having the league year start right on time is fine for public perception because they have an excuse to delay it with the COVID-19.  

[Karnage84]

2 minutes ago, Sllim Pickens said:

I dont think it puts a bad taste in anyone's mouth unless it starts canceling games.  The fact they broke protocol should be alarming.  Thats not a precedent they should be setting for other unions.  There are reasons to strike, and it seems like they could have gotten a better deal without having to strike.  I also dont think not having the league year start right on time is fine for public perception because they have an excuse to delay it with the COVID-19.  

What I'm saying is: COVID-19 is devastating the markets. Schools are closed, borders are tightening, etc. There will be less tolerance among fans regarding these types of labour issues for people being paid millions of dollars when they're concerned about finding food and hoping they'll be able to recover their losses in the market for their retirement funds. If they aren't sensitive to that and extend the labour issues, it is possible that a portion of the fanbase will turn against the players. It's not even a matter of them striking, I'm just using this as a reference of a real life example that is happening real time with this pandemic. It's not a labour issue that popped up during SARS or h1n1. It's happening while we're dealing with the coronavirus... they're making those decisions with the optics of the current situation in mind. 

[Sllim Pickens]

2 minutes ago, Karnage84 said:

What I'm saying is: COVID-19 is devastating the markets. Schools are closed, borders are tightening, etc. There will be less tolerance among fans regarding these types of labour issues for people being paid millions of dollars when they're concerned about finding food and hoping they'll be able to recover their losses in the market for their retirement funds. If they aren't sensitive to that and extend the labour issues, it is possible that a portion of the fanbase will turn against the players. It's not even a matter of them striking, I'm just using this as a reference of a real life example that is happening real time with this pandemic. It's not a labour issue that popped up during SARS or h1n1. It's happening while we're dealing with the coronavirus... they're making those decisions with the optics of the current situation in mind. 

I'm saying with the everything being shut down right now, people wont really care if they delayed the offseason due to the labor dispute.  People will still be fans as by the time camps roll around this hopefully will not be an issue.  It will be forgotten and nobody would care strongly one way or another.  Plus the players would simply say they are concerned for their long term health and thats what they are fighting for and people would be more receptive.  I really dont think that would be at all an issue, especially with all of the charity and support being provided by the players at the moment. 

[TL-TwoWinsAway]

This probably doesn't sound reasonable, and I know I'm not in their shoes, but I don't have sympathy for athletes in these situations. They're getting paid millions - willingly - to play a sport. Hard work? Absolutely. Are they talented? Unquestionably so. Do they deserve their contracts? Of course... they deserve whatever they're able to negotiate for. But the majority of players passed this thing. If you don't like it, you're free to step down and earn a living elsewhere.

I also think it's telling that this even passed: slightly more income, a higher pay floor and relaxed marijuana standards was enough to get the job done? Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

Considering that there are first responders, teachers and active duty military members that often struggle to pay bills or put food on the table, hearing millionaire athletes complain about these things doesn't concern me. More than half voted in favor so go out and play football.

[LionArkie]

I'm only going to speak for myself on this, and not project to what others are thinking, well that's not true, but anyways...
During this time, I'm dealing with a sick mom who I have to care for during this virus.  deal with my kids and what to do with them while they have been excused from school for the next two weeks and what to do with them afterwards.  At my job, make decisions on who gets to work from home and who doesn't and the fallout that occurs from that.  Finding toilet paper...anywhere.  So with all this right now, when I get 6 seconds to myself I read little blurbs on this forum of what is going on with the Lions.  I don't have time to look into the players contract, nor do I care. I also don't have time to read about their complaints. After all, they are not supplying me toilet paper. I think there are a lot of others out there like me. Maybe I'm wrong.  But I agree with Sllim.  When all this is done, as long as the Lions address the DL and we can watch some football in fall, it doesn't matter to me as I don't have time to read about how nfl player feel about their pay. So, with that being said, I now have to find some toilet paper.

[Sllim Pickens]

6 minutes ago, TL-TwoWinsAway said:

This probably doesn't sound reasonable, and I know I'm not in their shoes, but I don't have sympathy for athletes in these situations. They're getting paid millions - willingly - to play a sport. Hard work? Absolutely. Are they talented? Unquestionably so. Do they deserve their contracts? Of course... they deserve whatever they're able to negotiate for. But the majority of players passed this thing. If you don't like it, you're free to step down and earn a living elsewhere.

I also think it's telling that this even passed: slightly more income, a higher pay floor and relaxed marijuana standards was enough to get the job done? Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

Considering that there are first responders, teachers and active duty military members that often struggle to pay bills or put food on the table, hearing millionaire athletes complain about these things doesn't concern me. More than half voted in favor so go out and play football.

I get that, and sure there are other professions that should be paid more.  Thats a completely different argument.  These are individuals that are in the top .00001% of all living humans in what they do at the level they do it.  Thats why people pay money to watch them and thats why they have a union to help them negotiate as a whole.  That union has protocols to follow, based on how they are set up.  If that is bypassed, thats an issue IMO, which it was here.  Sure just over half of the players voted for it but the teams have reps for a reason and that vote was ignored.  Your argument is saying the players, who risk their lives should be happy with whatever they get, meanwhile the beneficiaries are the 32 owners, who just make money of of these guys putting themselves at risk each week.  the money is there either way it turns out, its about what piece goes to the players vs the owners.  Its not like the extra money the owners saved is going to go to help vets/military.  So in this situation, a business situation, I think it was a shady deal.  Yes they got perks but they were going to get those anyways.  Marijuana is legal in half the states so it was bound to happen.  the floor was going to go up because there was more money.  They didn't expand the rosters sufficiently, they didnt create a fall back for fringe players, they didn't get rid of the pre-season, and they did get an extra game added to the schedule without making more money while the owners get an extra week and two more playoff games to bring in TV revenue.  Sounds like a bad deal if you ask me. 

[Karnage84]

1 minute ago, LionArkie said:

I'm only going to speak for myself on this, and not project to what others are thinking, well that's not true, but anyways...
During this time, I'm dealing with a sick mom who I have to care for during this virus.  deal with my kids and what to do with them while they have been excused from school for the next two weeks and what to do with them afterwards.  At my job, make decisions on who gets to work from home and who doesn't and the fallout that occurs from that.  Finding toilet paper...anywhere.  So with all this right now, when I get 6 seconds to myself I read little blurbs on this forum of what is going on with the Lions.  I don't have time to look into the players contract, nor do I care. I also don't have time to read about their complaints. After all, they are not supplying me toilet paper. I think there are a lot of others out there like me. Maybe I'm wrong.  But I agree with Sllim.  When all this is done, as long as the Lions address the DL and we can watch some football in fall, it doesn't matter to me as I don't have time to read about how nfl player feel about their pay. So, with that being said, I now have to find some toilet paper.

I hear ya man. 

I think we're sort of on the same page. Ultimately, TL and I share the same sentiment - they're well paid and we have people (like yourself and a lot of us, including me) that face a lot of the same challenges. I don't have the time or patience to really watch a prolonged labour issue when we're talking about millionaires. After dealing with a challenging time, the last thing I will want to hear about is labour strife, legal challenges, etc. I just want football on and to see if the Lions can finally move the needle in the right direction. 

If the players are insensitive to the current times and there is labour strife, there will be a portion of people that will turn away from the sport as a result of that IMO. It's the same thing that happened with baseball years ago. I don't want to hear about someone complaining they're only getting $1M vs $1.4M when I can't find toilet paper and have to make sure that I don't get exposed to the wrong people otherwise I could expose my son to this virus. 

[Sllim Pickens]

Just now, Karnage84 said:

I hear ya man. 

I think we're sort of on the same page. Ultimately, TL and I share the same sentiment - they're well paid and we have people (like yourself and a lot of us, including me) that face a lot of the same challenges. I don't have the time or patience to really watch a prolonged labour issue when we're talking about millionaires. After dealing with a challenging time, the last thing I will want to hear about is labour strife, legal challenges, etc. I just want football on and to see if the Lions can finally move the needle in the right direction. 

If the players are insensitive to the current times and there is labour strife, there will be a portion of people that will turn away from the sport as a result of that IMO. It's the same thing that happened with baseball years ago. I don't want to hear about someone complaining they're only getting $1M vs $1.4M when I can't find toilet paper and have to make sure that I don't get exposed to the wrong people otherwise I could expose my son to this virus. 

They aren't all millionaires though.  The majority of them are making league minimum.  They all still have to pay their agents, lawyers, etc.  Most dont make $1m in their careers.  especially take home, and then that for many is gone by the time their average 3 year career is done.