Amid a flurry of sniping and finger-pointing in the wake of the news that none of the players who took StarCaps in 2008 will be suspended before 2010, if ever, the NFL and the NFLPA will be convening later this month for a third meeting aimed at working out a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, according to Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Daily.
DeMaurice Smith, Executive Director of the union, previously has complained about the lack of progress.
As we’ve said in the past, the urgency projected by the parties depends upon the perceived moment at which the clock will strike midnight. And there’s a chance that the two sides have very different beliefs in this regard.
For the union, the deadline might be the start of the uncapped year, at which time the players likely will begin learn in stark terms that an unlimited spending environment isn’t the rain-making experience they have long been told it would be. For the league, there seems to be a willingness to endure an uncapped year -- and that willingness could be even greater if the Cowboys make it deep into the 2009 postseason, which would limit the ability of owner Jerry Jones to buy a billion-dollar team in the hopes that it will qualify for the Super Bowl to be played in Jones’ billion-dollar stadium.
Regardless of whether the two sides are on the same page as to when the goose that lays the golden eggs might morph into a parakeet that poops pumpkin seeds, there’s a lot of work to be done before if a new deal is to be put in place before March 2010.
