The Official Nfl Cba/lockout Thread
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http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/03/printing_mogul_ken_lanci_suing.html
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Businessman Ken Lanci sued the NFL, the Cleveland Browns and the league's 31 other teams on Thursday, aiming to save the upcoming football season.
Lanci says in the suit that the lockout violates his private seat license contract with the Browns and jeopardizes his right to watch a full season of home games.
He filed the suit in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, asking the court to prohibit the lockout that threatens to cancel the 2011-12 NFL season ( lancisuit.pdf ).
The 60-year-old Gates Mills resident said he is hoping to make a difference with this suit.
"What tipped the scale for me is the labor issue between millionaires and billionaires and the fact they can't settle it when the country is in a recession," he said. "Worse yet, they have to rub this in our faces."
Lanci, a self-made millionaire, ran as an independent for Cuyahoga County executive last year in a mostly self-financed campaigned. He lost. But he became known, partly for his thick white hair that contrasted with the orange glow he gained from his personal tanning bed.
Lanci owns PSLs for 10 seats in Club Section C3, which he bought in October 1997. People pay an upfront fee for a PSL that gives them the right to purchase a season ticket for a specific seat in a stadium.
He is in effect saying the lockout robs him of his right to watch games this season because his PSL contract gives him "exclusive use and possession" of 10 specified seats in Cleveland Browns Stadium.
On March 10, the NFL Players Association decertified itself as the union for NFL players to avoid a strike, but a day later team owners nonetheless announced the lockout.
"The owners and players can't decide what to do with an extra billion dollars between them," Lanci said. "I have the perfect solution. That one billion should go to all cities that gave them money to build football stadiums they couldn't afford to build. This would give these cities badly needed tax relief."
The lawsuit caught the Browns by surprise, said Neal Gulkis, a team spokesman. He said he could not comment until the organization could study the suit.
Greg Aiello, a spokesman for the NFL, said the league would look into the matter further before commenting.
Lanci, who owns Graphic Arts Centre and is chairman and chief executive officer of Consolidated Graphics Group Inc. in Cleveland, is hoping to be a voice for the average Browns fan.
"The players union says NFL owners are offering what will be the worst deal ever," Lanci said. "Really? How about being unemployed? Right now they get 59 percent of the take, and that's beyond comprehension.
"These players should get on their knees and be grateful they can play a game for that kind of money when so many others in this city and country are hurting financially."
When NFL players went on strike in 1982, reducing the season from 16 to nine games, no teams had PSLs.
Today, 20 of the 32 teams -- mostly those with newer stadiums -- offer 'them. The Carolina Panthers were the first team to offer them in 1993, and the Browns followed upon their return to the NFL in 1999 after a three-year absence.
Lanci does not consider his lawsuit frivolous. He is seeking at least $75,000 in damages.
But does he really expect to win the suit?
"At the end of the day, [Cuyahoga County Common Pleas] Judge John P. O'Donnell has to judge if this suit has merit or not," he said, "but I'm sure the court of public opinion will certainly weigh in on this."
I love it! I am actually proud of the fact that this came from one of our own and not a fan from another team. It was bound to happen at some time. Now the owners need to watch their backs because how many other fans will follow suit with this guy and file lawsuits as well?
I love it! I am actually proud of the fact that this came from one of our own and not a fan from another team. It was bound to happen at some time. Now the owners need to watch their backs because how many other fans will follow suit with this guy and file lawsuits as well?
good point. that could turn the heat up on the nfl if more fans followed suit.
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http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2011/03/with_break_in_labor_talks_line.html
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Browns linebacker Scott Fujita, an extremely active member of the NFL Players Association before and during the current labor impasse, has a message for fans of the team.
"I really want to be good this year," Fujita said in a phone interview from his home in Southern California.
Fujita is decompressing from months of labor talks. Aside from being a leader in the players' effort to reach a bargaining agreement through litigation, Fujita is a leader in the Browns' locker room.
He is looking forward to the extensive changes the Browns are planning.
"I think they made some good hires, for sure," he said. "[Coach] Pat Shurmur, I've spoken to him on the phone a number of times. I haven't met him in person, but I'm very impressed so far.
"[Defensive coordinator] Dick Jauron's a guy I've respected forever. I have a lot of friends who played for him as head coach and coordinator. They all love him. I hear he's just a good, good man. He and I have visited a few times. Billy Davis, the linebackers coach, same thing with him -- great guy, good reputation. Ray Rhodes, another guy, having him in the building will be huge for our players.
"So all those moves I like a lot. At some point, though, I'd love to sit down and start talking X's and O's and find out a little bit more about their philosophies and which way we're headed."
Fujita said he expects to play strongside linebacker in the Browns' new 4-3 alignment and believes Jauron's system "will be a lot simpler than our defense was last year. Way fewer checks and things like that throughout the course of the game."
The next date on Fujita's labor docket is April 6. That's when he will join NFLPA leaders and fellow players in a Minneapolis federal courtroom, where Judge Susan Nelson will hear the players' motion for an injunction to lift the owners' lockout. Her ruling is expected to take a week.
If the players win that round, the NFL will appeal, and it could be another few weeks before the league resumes with temporary rules.
Then there's the NFL complaint before the National Labor Relations Board that the NFLPA's decertification was "a sham." The NFL contends that ruling should come before Judge Nelson's review. There's also a huge day sometime in May when Judge David Doty -- the NFL's terminal nemesis -- will award damages to the players as a result of his finding that the NFL violated the collective bargaining agreement by essentially securing over $400 million in lockout insurance from its TV partners.
"I'd like to think we can get [players] back in the building and working in time for the season," Fujita said. "That's our top priority. But it is going to come down to who's losing [the most] money."
Fujita does not know when things will begin to resemble normalcy.
"It could be the next week [after the April 6 hearing]. It could be five months from now. It could be a year from now. We really don't know," he said. "So we've got to be cognizant of that and stay ready when we are called back to work."
At some point, Fujita expects his teammates to hold organized workouts on their own.
"We just have to be mindful that we have to be careful," Fujita said. "There's so many issues with workman's compensation and everything else.
"I know some guys by position group have already been meeting up a bit, having some workouts and stuff. Again, once we have a clear picture of what's ahead, I would expect guys do start getting together. Whether that happens before April 6 or not, I don't know. But I would expect something to get done because guys do want to get together. It's not like we have any material to install or work on."
At least the quarterbacks can throw to receivers and running backs. There's not a lot the defensive guys can do together.
"All I know about our defense is it's going to be a 4-3 and probably some variation of the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles defenses," Fujita said. "Luckily, I know the systems very well. Maybe you can go out and run around a little bit and work on some of your drops. But terminology and all that stuff, that's going to take some time to get everybody on the same page.
"If guys are available and they want to do it, by all means let's do it. I'm not going to be the one guy to say we're not going to meet at all. I want to be good this year."
He has faith through his experience in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina that all the pieces of the Browns' new puzzle can be put together in time for a successful season.
But Fujita adds, "These are strange times we're in."
Brownie points: At NFL meetings last week, Shurmur said he was interviewed by Eric Mangini to be New York Jets offensive coordinator in 2006, but lost out to Brian Schottenheimer. Shurmur said he has a lot of respect for Mangini, his predecessor as Browns coach, and hopes to reach out to him some day. ... Receiver Carlton Mitchell, a sixth-round draft choice in 2010, was hardly used as a rookie, but appears to be an early beneficiary of the change in coaches and offenses. GM Tom Heckert previously expressed his faith in Mitchell developing as a contributing player. Shurmur evaluated Mitchell for the Rams last year as offensive coordinator. "There's some things about him I really like. He's big and he can really run. He was a guy we thought had a chance to be a good receiver," Shurmur said. ... Shurmur doesn't come across as a fan of the WildDawg formation, but he views Josh Cribbs as a receiver in his quick-pass offense. ... Eagles coach Andy Reid on Colt McCoy's development in the West Coast offense: "McCoy will be very good at this. He's smart, has timing, anticipation ... he'll be very good."
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not sure if this should go into the pinned topic, but i thought it was enough of a breakthrough to post seperately.
per ESPN:
Judge Susan Richard Nelson told the NFL and NFL players that she will impose forced mediation on them early this week, sources familiar with the situation told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.
The league had wanted more mediation in Washington, while federal mediator George Cohen and the NFL Players' Association wanted mediation in Minnesota.
Judge Nelson will decide what she feels is best and announce her decision early this week.
Judge Nelson had a one-hour conference call Friday with both sides and said she would use the weekend to figure out a solution, a source told ESPN's John Clayton.
One of the keys to any type of mediation is whether NFL owners are willing to not use a meeting with members of the NFL Players executive committee or members of the decertified NFLPA against the plaintiffs in the Tom Brady lawsuit filed in Nelson's federal court in St. Paul, Minn. Lawyers for the NFL offered such protection Friday in a letter to Judge Nelson and also indicated any mediation session would include owners with decision-making ability.
After the Friday conference call, Judge Nelson told both sides to be quiet about the conversations.
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Ya I saw this last night and it's the best thing to happen. If it didn't the best case serious would be football in mid June. now we have a chance to get things going a few weeks after the draft.
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The Owners and Players are meeting in a court ordered mediated negotiations on Thursday April 14th, Hopefully they can get a CBA done so we all can enjoy football again. The owners and players have been acting like two sixth graders in a stare down. Cooler heads need to take place and get this deal done once and for all. Negotiations is just that, you negotiate, either side has to give something to get something.
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The Owners and Players are meeting in a court ordered mediated negotiations on Thursday April 14th, Hopefully they can get a CBA done so we all can enjoy football again. The owners and players have been acting like two sixth graders in a stare down. Cooler heads need to take place and get this deal done once and for all. Negotiations is just that, you negotiate, either side has to give something to get something.
The Owners and Players are meeting in a court ordered mediated negotiations on Thursday April 14th, Hopefully they can get a CBA done so we all can enjoy football again. The owners and players have been acting like two sixth graders in a stare down. Cooler heads need to take place and get this deal done once and for all. Negotiations is just that, you negotiate, either side has to give something to get something.
Are you saying that all these guys are doing is engaging in a pissing match?
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i'll look for a link to this but espn is reporting that the judge has lifted the lockout and the nfl is going to request it stays.
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i'll look for a link to this but espn is reporting that the judge has lifted the lockout and the nfl is going to request it stays.
i'll look for a link to this but espn is reporting that the judge has lifted the lockout and the nfl is going to request it stays.
I think this should be a whole new topic but I'll post it here.
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Does anyone know what this means though. They are saying that the Owners are just going to ask for a "Stay in Ruling?". I have no idea if this means that the end of the lock out is put on hold to rule on this. Also the Owner are having a committee rule on whether the Players Assosiation is still acting as a Union and they said they are looking into it and should have a ruling in 4-6 weeks, which people are saying means that the committee thinks that the NFLPA is actually still operating at as a Union for actually deciding to rule on it in a few weeks.
What I am trying to ask is does all this mean that FA can start right after the draft, or are will still stuck waiting 6 weeks.
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http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/news/story?id=6424084
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A federal judge on Monday ordered an end to the NFL lockout, giving the players an early victory in their fight with the owners over how to divide the $9 billion business.
U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson said she was swayed by the players' argument that that the lockout, now in its second month, was causing irreparable harm to their careers.
The plaintiffs "have made a strong showing that allowing the League to continue their 'lockout' is presently inflicting, and will continue to inflict, irreparable harm upon them, particularly when weighed against the lack of any real injury that would be imposed on the NFL by issuing the preliminary injunction," Nelson wrote.
The NFL promised an immediate appeal.
"We will promptly seek a stay from Judge Nelson pending an expedited appeal to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals," the league said. "We believe that federal law bars injunctions in labor disputes. We are confident that the Eighth Circuit will agree. But we also believe that this dispute will inevitably end with a collective bargaining agreement, which would be in the best interests of players, clubs and fans. We can reach a fair agreement only if we continue negotiations toward that goal."
Owners imposed the lockout after talks broke down March 11 and the players disbanded their union. A group of players filed the injunction request along with a class-action antitrust lawsuit against the league.
The owners argued it was their right to institute the lockout and suggested Nelson didn't have jurisdiction while the National Labor Relations Board considers an unfair labor charge filed by the league that players didn't negotiate in good faith.
Nelson disagreed, and said the NLRB proceeding shouldn't be used to affect the court case here.
Nelson heard arguments on the injunction at a hearing on April 6 and ordered the two sides to resume mediation while she was considering her decision. The owners and players, who failed to reach consensus after 16 days of mediated talks earlier this year, met over four days with a federal magistrate but did not announce any progress on solving the NFL's first work stoppage since 1987.
They are not scheduled to meet again until May 16, four days after another judge holds a hearing on whether players should get damages in their related fight with owners over some $4 billion in broadcast revenue.
And now comes Nelson's decision to lift the injunction.
"(T)he public ramifications of this dispute exceed the abstract principles of the antitrust laws, as professional football involves many layers of tangible economic impact, ranging from broadcast revenues down to concessions sales," she wrote. "And, of course, the public interest represented by the fans of professional football -- who have a strong investment in the 2011 season -- is an intangible interest that weighs against the lockout. In short, this particular employment dispute is far from a purely private argument over compensation."
If her ruling stands, it is still unclear exactly what happens next. The collective bargaining agreement has expired, so how the league would handle free agency, trades and offseason workouts at team headquarters, all of which were banned under the lockout, remains to be seen.
The NFL even argued to Nelson that stopping the lockout would open all 32 teams up to additional antitrust claims simply for working together to solve the labor dispute. Antitrust claims carry triple damages for any harm proven, meaning hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake.
But with appeals expected, the fight seems likely to drag on through the spring and, possibly, into the summer. The closer it gets to August, when training camps and the preseason get into full swing, the more likely it becomes that regular season games will be lost.
"Tomorrow is going to come regardless of what we do here, so we have to work within that framework," Hall of Famer Carl Eller, a plaintiff, said after one of the recent mediation sessions. "In order to have a season, preserve a season, prepare for a season, those are real consequences."
And the antitrust lawsuit is pending, too, with lead plaintiffs that include MVP quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. The suit has been combined with two other similar claims from retirees, former players and rookies-to-be, with Eller the lead plaintiff in that group.
Granting the injunction swings some of the leverage to the players' side, which could actually bring the two sides closer to a resolution, according to Seth Borden, a labor law expert at McKenna, Long and Aldridge in New York.
"It's still going to boil down to the way the parties view their respective positions and respective leverage," Borden said. "Until the league and the players feel like they're at the point of no return for next season, progress will be slow toward that overall resolution."
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It was said as of now they will operate under the old cba.
Now im not sure when it will start or how it will effect the draft.
nonetheless it will be interesting in the coming days.
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a legal analyst on espn said some agents are telling their clients to report to their teams tommorrow.
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a legal analyst on espn said some agents are telling their clients to report to their teams tommorrow.
a legal analyst on espn said some agents are telling their clients to report to their teams tommorrow.
The team needs the reps with the new coaches so I hope its true
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Does anyone know what this means though. They are saying that the Owners are just going to ask for a "Stay in Ruling?". I have no idea if this means that the end of the lock out is put on hold to rule on this. Also the Owner are having a committee rule on whether the Players Assosiation is still acting as a Union and they said they are looking into it and should have a ruling in 4-6 weeks, which people are saying means that the committee thinks that the NFLPA is actually still operating at as a Union for actually deciding to rule on it in a few weeks.
What I am trying to ask is does all this mean that FA can start right after the draft, or are will still stuck waiting 6 weeks.
Hillis-iz-Boss said:
Does anyone know what this means though. They are saying that the Owners are just going to ask for a "Stay in Ruling?". I have no idea if this means that the end of the lock out is put on hold to rule on this. Also the Owner are having a committee rule on whether the Players Assosiation is still acting as a Union and they said they are looking into it and should have a ruling in 4-6 weeks, which people are saying means that the committee thinks that the NFLPA is actually still operating at as a Union for actually deciding to rule on it in a few weeks.
What I am trying to ask is does all this mean that FA can start right after the draft, or are will still stuck waiting 6 weeks.
from what the article says and what the legal analyst said on espn, the judge isn't buying what the nfl is saying and she's in agreement with the nflpa.
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espn is reporting that steelers s ryan clark is asking his teammates to meet at their team's facility tommorrow at 8 am.
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demaurice smith is on espn2 right now and he said they'll be in contact with agents and players tonite.
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what we're waiting on now is the judge's ruling on the nfl's request for a stay on the lockout. from what was reported on espn a ruling should be made in the next 2 days and as early as tommorrow morning. i think the nflpa hit big with this one and they have the judge in agreement with them.
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Twitter Wrote: ESPNCleveland: RT @WillBurge: Scott Fujita informed me that Browns players will return 2 work unless or until the judge orders for a stay
Twitter Wrote: ESPNCleveland: RT @WillBurge: Scott Fujita also says that Josh Cribbs & Ben Watson r among a number of players who will work out 2morrow morn in Berea ...
Twitter Wrote: ESPNCleveland: RT @WillBurge: Fujita also added that teams who do not allow access to players will be in violation of judge Nelson's order
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Twitter Wrote: ESPNCleveland: RT @WillBurge: Scott Fujita informed me that Browns players will return 2 work unless or until the judge orders for a stay
Twitter Wrote: ESPNCleveland: RT @WillBurge: Scott Fujita also says that Josh Cribbs & Ben Watson r among a number of players who will work out 2morrow morn in Berea ...
Twitter Wrote: ESPNCleveland: RT @WillBurge: Fujita also added that teams who do not allow access to players will be in violation of judge Nelson's order
Twitter Wrote: ESPNCleveland: RT @WillBurge: Scott Fujita informed me that Browns players will return 2 work unless or until the judge orders for a stay
Twitter Wrote: ESPNCleveland: RT @WillBurge: Scott Fujita also says that Josh Cribbs & Ben Watson r among a number of players who will work out 2morrow morn in Berea ...
Twitter Wrote: ESPNCleveland: RT @WillBurge: Fujita also added that teams who do not allow access to players will be in violation of judge Nelson's order
Awesome, awesome, and awesome.
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