Let's get one thing clear from the start: The NFL sky is not falling. In simplest terms, what the league's 32 owners decided unanimously Tuesday was to shorten a deal they no longer believed was working for them. They did not put the immediate future of their game in peril. They did not draw a proverbial line in the sand for the NFL Players Association, looking to instigate the sort of ugly labor fight they've been able to avoid for more than two decades. What the owners did was arrive at a conclusion that had pretty well been reached long before the NFL Spring Meeting here: That it does not make good business sense to maintain the terms of a six-year extension added to the collective bargaining agreement (originally negotiated in 1993) in March, 2006. So they exercised their right to make 2010 the final season of the extension rather than 2012. Any time you make a deal you don't know how it's going to work until you experience it," Commissioner Roger Goodell explained. "We've had two years now of operating under the new deal. Clearly, the economics are not working for the owners. Clearly, we have been investing more in stadiums and the cost of generating that revenue has become more significant. "And it's no secret what we're going through, from an economic standpoint, creates more risk into the market place. It's not a failure of negotiations. It's a failure of a deal, so let's get to the negotiations." If nothing else happened between the owners and the NFLPA, three seasons would be played without interruption -- 2008, 2009, and 2010. The 2010 season would not have a salary cap, thus putting new rules in place for free agency and franchise- and transition-tag designations. And a question mark would loom over the 2011 season and beyond. But something will happen. There will be negotiations. As Goodell promised, another extension deal will be reached "at some point." The goal, as the commissioner pointed out, is to do so with the "least amount of pain and turmoil." Translation: Both sides should keep much of the discussion as possible at the bargaining table and while minimizing the amount of rhetoric for public consumption. With such an approach, it is reasonable to expect that there won't be an interruption after the 2010 season or in multiple years thereafter. "It is our responsibility to work out these matters and that is our job, and that's what we're going to be focused on immediately," Goodell said. "We recognize how important it is to continue to have NFL football for our fans. We've had labor peace for several years and we hope to continue that." By taking the action they took Tuesday, instead of waiting for the Nov. 8 deadline to do so, owners clearly bought valuable time for themselves and for the NFLPA to come to a resolution, either before, during, or after the 2010 season. There is ample opportunity for both sides to engage in constructive dialogue to understand their respective issues and find workable solutions. The prospect of getting a deal done before allowing a season to go uncapped would seem to provide an incentive make March, 2010, the beginning of that year's league calendar, a natural negotiating deadline. As Goodell pointed out, owners don't fear the absence of a cap; the 2009 cap already is at a fairly healthy $123 million per team. Still, it would seem to be a good target date to shoot for. "It's like most issues, deadlines always are helpful," Goodell said. "Anytime you have a deadline, it forces people to understand the consequences of not reaching an agreement." "Obviously, we'll work hard to try to get something done," Gene Upshaw, executive director of the NFLPA, said during a conference call with reporters after learning of the owners' decision. "All labor agreements go down to the 13th hour almost, and then you ask for extensions even with that. But that doesn't mean you don't start the process. If you look back to 2006, we started those negotiations in 2004. We met and met and met and met, and we finally got to the part where we felt, 'this was the time to make a deal,' and we did." The biggest problem with the CBA, from the owners' perspective, is that clubs must spend far more than half of their revenues -- nearly $4.5 billion collectively this year alone -- on player costs. There is no denying, of course, that NFL teams also earn substantial revenues and the league is in good financial health. However, what owners and players must resolve is putting together a CBA that does a better job of recognizing the ever-increasing costs associated with generating maximum revenue as well as the country's soft economic climate. By sticking with the extension as it was structured two years ago, owners would lose incentive to further invest in stadium construction, operations, and improvements to keep pace with fans' interests and demands. Owners also are looking to change the current system that allows rookies, particularly those taken high in the draft, to be paid much more than established veterans. Jake Long, who has yet to play a single down in the NFL, instantly became the league's highest-paid offensive lineman when he signed a contract (including $30 million in guaranteed money) with the Miami Dolphins as the top overall pick of the 2008 draft. Negotiations bring their share of saber rattling. They always do. Upshaw used the forum of the conference call to call on NFL owners to disclose audited financial statements "to prove to us that they were really in the dire straits that they're in." While the owners are willing to provide some financial information to the NFLPA, it is unrealistic -- and I suspect Upshaw understands as much -- to expect them to reveal every business detail of their respective clubs. They never have before, and it is unlikely they will do so now. "We're not in dire financial straits," Goodell said. "We've never indicated that, we've never stated that. What we are looking for is a fair deal for both sides, the players and the management." It won't be easy, but with the realization that reaching an agreement is in the best interests of both parties, one would have to be encouraged by the prospects of a resolution within three years. Owners and players have far too much at stake to allow labor difficulties to bring harm to the biggest and best brand in sports. "It's going to be hard negotiation, there's no question about that," Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney said. "But everything can get done." "Right now, we're going to play football through 2010 and hopefully beyond that," said Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen. "Hopefully we can come to some fair arrangement during that time." NFL.COM
