Good article on the CBA and how Smith likely screwed the players out of billions.

[FlaPack]

Though I wonder how many players complaining because they were making millions so not like any extra cash means anything to them it was just the old union vs business and that they don't want to look like a weak union and give anything to ownership.

Assuming it’s $10m that’s pocket change when factoring in 1,600+ players. Can’t frame that much different. Now if extra cash went to retired players and benefits that’s a different discussion but neither the league or the union seem to care about that and that’s even pre D Smith

 

[GBP4EVER]

Assuming it’s $10m that’s pocket change when factoring in 1,600+ players. Can’t frame that much different. Now if extra cash went to retired players and benefits that’s a different discussion but neither the league or the union seem to care about that and that’s even pre D Smith

The CBA always screwed over retired players because the current players did not give a about the guys that came before them made less then then and had their bodies destroyed to pave the way for them to have a safer game and make more money. Of course during this CBA they will brag about the retired players getting more money but it's still jack squat for what they should get.

 

[realitybytes]

Probably a little unfair to cast him in that light. The NFL effectively split the union, and along lines that should be familiar to most people. If there was a national referendum, a straight up and down vote, no strings attached, that offered every wage earner in America a 15% raise plus more benefits in exchange for limiting the potential income of the top 1%, how do you think the vote would go?

how soon can we have that vote?

 

[rpiotr01]

how soon can we have that vote?

I wish we could have single issue referendums, up or down.

 

[HowardK4]

Inside how the NFL got its 17th game

Last year's CBA should have been a defining moment for DeMaurice Smith and the labor force of America's most popular sport. Instead, some players -- and some owners -- have come to see Smith as an asset to management.

www.espn.com

quote: "And players stood in near-uniform opposition. They wanted higher salaries and better benefits for their current workload, providing labor for America's most popular sport." I would ask this writer to show me an industry where the employees don't want higher salaries and better benefits. As the NFL has gotten more popular, the salary cap and player's salaries have risen by an annual average of over 6% the last 7 years. Good work if you can get it.

 

[FlaPack]

The CBA always screwed over retired players because the current players did not give a about the guys that came before them made less then then and had their bodies destroyed to pave the way for them to have a safer game and make more money. Of course during this CBA they will brag about the retired players getting more money but it's still jack squat for what they should get.

And the league / owners did not give a rats ass either which is consistent with their actions on other issues such as player safety.

 

[realitybytes]

The CBA always screwed over retired players because the current players did not give a about the guys that came before them made less then then and had their bodies destroyed to pave the way for them to have a safer game and make more money. Of course during this CBA they will brag about the retired players getting more money but it's still jack squat for what they should get.

just out of curiosity, what do you think is a fair pension for someone who worked in a job for four years? because isn't that the average nfl career. if you're a government worker, you don't even qualify for a pension until you logged have five years. they played a game 16 times a year (or less), and got paid more money than the average worker got paid for working 250 days a year. i'm guessing that when the league was young, nobody ever thought of "football player" as a pensionable career. even now, i'm not so sure it should be.