The devil of the new NFL CBA is in the details for retired players

NOTE:  This is a reprint of Mr. Hogan’s editorial.

We thank him for his efforts and encourage each reader to sign the petition for the independence of the retired players from the NFLPA.

By John V. Hogan, Esq.

The new CBA contains a provision that on its face appears to be of benefit to some retired NFL players receiving Total and Permanent disability benefits under the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Player Retirement Plan. Article 61, Section 2 (a) (i) provides that a player will be permitted to receive up to $30,000 per year of earned (i.e. “work”) income without affecting his disability benefits. Presumably this was enacted to allow guys to be paid some appearance fees or earnings from card signings and other events without jeopardizing their “total disability” eligibility.

However, I’m sure than many – if not most – retired NFL players who receive T&P disability from the Bell/Rozelle Plan also receive Social Security disability. If so, having earned income up to $30,000 per year would most likely cause a cessation of their SSA benefits. In general, a person receiving Social Security disability benefits may work and earn up to a maximum of $1,000 per month gross ($12,000 per … Read more at FryingPanSports

The Truth behind the NFL CBA situation.

To understand why we now have a lockout with a union that has de-certified, we have to first look at the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

After a long struggle of bickering back and forth, negotiations came together very quickly over a single weekend. Federal Judge Doty put pressure on the league to accept a revised proposal from the union.

The deal was rushed through in a fashion that made the legal (and illegal) back room deals that got Obama Care passed in the Senate look like child’s play. Just like then Speaker Pelosi said of Obama Care, the NFL owners would have to pass the deal to find out what was in it. Just like Obama Care, there were some land mines embedded deep within the agreement.

The biggest one was that the hold back that the league got off the top of the revenue to help defray the expenses of putting on the games was a fixed amount–one billion dollars. As the revenues grew that fixed amount became a smaller and smaller percentage of total revenue. The result was that as revenues grew the players were getting far more than the 59.5% of total revenue that they were designed … Read more at FryingPanSports

Things to look for this week in College and Pro football.

FOOTball

The Big East is a fraud. Despite the pollsters doing their best to get a BE team into the top 25, the league stinks this year. Several teams have crept into the top 25 only to lose and fall back out the next week. The current top team is Syracuse (6-2) who is tied for 28th in the AP. The league is recruiting BcS #3 TCU to join the league. TCU would love to get into an automatic qualifying conference. The BE desperately needs a team–any team– that can get into the top 25 and stay there. It also would love to have a TV presents in the Dallas market. The only problem is the BE basketball is 16 teams already and TCU does not have a strong basketball tradition.

#3 TCU @ #5 Utah – The loser is out of the Championship picture. The TCU D is #1 in most college stats and the O is 9th in scoring and 9th in rushing. The Utah D is 6th in points allowed and their O is 3rd in scoring. The key may be the difference in opponents. The only big time opponent that Utah has played was a badly over … Read more at FryingPanSports

The NFL, NFLPA, and an 18 game season.

nfl

“We’re ready for round 5 in the Goodall vs. Smith fight.”

While almost every NFL analysts was projecting a massive spending spree by the league in an uncapped year, nearly 2 years ago I told you that the NFLPA would be crying for the reinstatement of the salary cap floor because teams would use the uncapped year to dump expensive players and save money. That is exactly what happened.

More than a year ago on this site, I proposed a solution to the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that involved the 18 game season. The proposal was that the current players would get paid 18/16ths of their current contracts which would increase their gross by 12.5%. It should allow the NFLPA and NFLPA Exec Dir DeMaurice Smith to give back 8% of the player’s cut of the total income from around 60% down to around 52%. If that proposal included an increase in the rosters from 53 to 60 and a rookie salary cap (to cut the amount of the pie that went to newbies and increase the pool available for the Vets) with the reinstatement of the NFL Salary cap, I believed that the NFLPA would accept it in … Read more at FryingPanSports

Questions in the AFC South and West training camps.

NFL

Note: We will look at all the divisions of the NFL with this same point of view over the next few issues of Fryingpansports.com.

AFC South

Texans

  1. Was last year the breakout season for QB Matt Schaub or will he go back to being just another guy under center? He had better be up to last year because there is nothing behind him. If he gets hurt or regresses, HC Gary Kubiak may want to tear up his new extension through 2012. His choices would be to start Dan Orlovsky or John David Booty.
  2. How will the D survive the 4 game suspension for LB Brian Cushing? The team has spent top draft choices on the D line but got very little pass pressure from the front 4. Cushing won the D Rookie of the Year in 08 but was hit with the 4 game suspension.
  3. Who will start at RB and can they hold onto the ball? Steve Slaton was the starter last year. He is very quick and fast but has fumbleitis. He is also coming off a season ending injury. The team drafted RB Ben Tate and expect him to get the majority of carries this year.
Read more at FryingPanSports

Analysis: the NFL proposal for the "enhanced season"

nfl

Note: Tuesday we will have a projection of the NBA Draft

I have some good news and some bad news about a possible CBA. For the first time in 4 months, the NFL management council reps met with DeMaurice Smith and the NFLPA team yesterday. The proposal that the NFL put on the table is an 18 game regular season that would eliminate 2 preseason games.

On the league side, the preseason games are very profitable. The teams generally require season ticket buyers to also pay full price for the 2 preseason games in their stadium. That has been a bone of contention between the Union and the league for several negotiation cycles. The last agreement solved the problem when the union won a percentage of TOTAL REVENUE in the last CBA.

NFL players currently get a “daily stipend” for their work in the preseason. Under the NFL proposal they would get full salary shares for the 2 games that become part of the regular season. That would add 12.5% of their salary to their gross pay. With the addition to individual players pay, the league is hoping that the players will accept a lower total percentage of revenues. That … Read more at FryingPanSports