Is DeMaurice Smith director of the NFLPA the Gulf Oil spill to the NFL Players Association?

demorris smith nflpa

Is DeMaurice Smith director of the NFLPA the Gulf Oil spill to the NFL Players Association?

Just this week, two very powerful old friends of DeMaurice Smith’s were quoted saying some rather bazaar things.  The first old friend; President Obama and the second Smith’s former boss Attorney General Eric Holder were quoted saying as far “As the Gulf oil spill is concerned we will keep our boots on the throats of the British Petroleum Executives.”

The Obama Administration could have just as easily said, “We are aware of the severe nature of this incident and are ready to stand side by side and lend full assistance until this spill is contained”; but no, even though the US Government has complete regulatory power they choose to take no responsibility, stand above the fray and jam their boot down on some throats.

Mr. Smith was chosen as the Director  for the NFLPA specifically due to his close ties to Obama and other high government officials.  Given that fact it is not surprising that Smith stated in Feb. 2010 without hesitation, “there is a 140% chance of a player lockout in 2011.”  Instead of saying something like ”We are ready to stand side … Read more at FryingPanSports

Things don't look good to avoid an uncapped year in the NFL.

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In the vote for the existing NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) only two teams voted against the deal that granted the players 60% of total revenues. Those two were the Bengals and the Bills. These two were maligned by a couple of other owners for being short sighted. Now all 32 teams agreed to opt out of the agreement. The 30 that voted for the deal realized that they can not survive with 40 percent of the gross revenues.

The combination of a sever recession brought on by politicians using the economy for social engineering and the reduction of revenues retained by the team have made the owners resolute in their positions. The NFL Players Association is just as resolute.

The new Executive Director DeMaurice Smith sounded very moderate the day that he won the job over a couple of former players. That was then. Today on ESPN Radio Mike and Mike show, the Commissioner of the NFL, Roger S.”The Hammer” Goodell, talked about some of the issues that the league is facing. He talked about the absolute necessity of the Commissioner having the right to discipline both players and teams that violate the code of conduct. He also said … Read more at FryingPanSports

February 28th a giant date for the NFL.

Fryingpan Sports

February 28th a giant date for the NFL.

By Bill Smith

In one of his first public statements, the newly elected Executive Director of the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) DeMorris Smith gave hope to millions of NFL fans. Smith said that he wanted to get started on negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) as soon as possible. While no one should hold his breath, there is a chance that the NFLPA and the owners can come up with a system that is going to acceptable to everyone involved.

February 28th is a key date in both 2010 and 2011. If the two sides can come to agreement and the players ratify it before 2/28/10, the uncapped year could be avoided. There is enough money for everybody. The cap for 2009 was originally estimated to be around 105 million, due to the TV contracts and other increases in revenue, the new cap is now over 116 million per team. That also raises the minimum salary to nearly 99.5 million which is the amount every NFL team must spend on salaries and player bonuses.

There are a number of poison pills placed in the last year … Read more at FryingPanSports