Pressure grows on NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith

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The hard line former candidates for the post of NFLPA Executive Director that were defeated by DeMaurice Smith in vote of the Executive Committee last year are clambering again. Former NFLPA President Troy Vincent was one candidate that is reportedly active again in the annual meeting of the union this year. Rumors are that Vincent’s immediate target is current NFLPA President Kevin Mawae. Originally, Mawae was not expected to have any opposition for reelection. Now he will from the hard line group. Mawae is known to be less hard line than his likely opponents. The President must be an active NFL player. If Vincent can get Mawae replaced by a hard line guy, that will put more pressure on Smith to take a more aggressive stance against the owners. It will also put another hard liner on the negotiating team.

There are 4 players that are stepping down 10-man Executive Committee. Those players are Keenan McCardell, Donovin Darius, Mark Bruener, and Kevin Carter. If those 4 are replaced by hard liners, Smith’s position could be in jeopardy. A change at the top of the union’s negotiating team would insure a 2011 lockout.

What restarted the attempted coup is an … Read more at FryingPanSports

The NFL may not play in 2010!

Fryingpan Sports

The NFL may not play in 2010!

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Troy Vincent Trace Armstrong

By Bill Smith

Technorati Tags: NFL, NFL DRAFT, STRIKE, Upshaw, Vincent, Armstrong, NFLPA, Executive Director, Utt, Covert, Smith, free agent, contract

There is another election going on in March and it will not select a president. It will select the man that will replace Gene Upshaw as Executive Director of the NFL Players Association. This election is critical to every NFL fan because the winner will be the key to the future of the league.

Right now there are 5 candidates. Troy Vincent and Trace Armstrong both former Presidents of the NFLPA are the favorites. While both are popular among the players, according to John Clayton’s conversation with him about his possible retirement, Upshaw preferred Armstrong to replace him. Other candidates include former Bears tackle Jim Covert, Ben Utt, who played for Baltimore and Indianapolis, and Washington-based attorney DeMaurice Smith.

The league needs to negotiate a new deal with the players. When Upshaw was the rep for the players, he was able to get them major concessions in the percentage of the total NFL revenue payable to the players and significantly increased the minimum that each team … Read more at FryingPanSports