Negotiations toward a labor deal that would end the N.F.L. lockout were confronted with a new hurdle Monday when the group of retired players involved in the antitrust lawsuit against the league — angered because they say their interests and representatives are being shut out by both sides in the talks — filed a separate complaint against players and owners. The class-action complaint was filed in Federal District Court in Minneapolis against the teams, the league, the players named in the Brady v. N.F.L. lawsuit and DeMaurice Smith, the head of the N.F.L. Players Association. It asserted that the sides were violating antitrust laws by negotiating settlement terms that improperly
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Retired players file complaint, complicating the N.F.L. talks
All Jason Babin ever wanted to be while growing up in Paw Paw was a member of the Navy Seals. He developed asthma at an early age, putting an end to that dream. Now, Babin just wants to know who he will be playing football for this season … if there even is one. Babin, 31, is coming off a Pro Bowl season as a high-energy, 6-foot-3, 260-pound defensive end where he earned a career-high 12.5 sacks for the Tennessee Titans. He replaced Kyle VandenBosch, who moved on to the Lions. Babin finished sixth in the NFL in sacks, second-best among defensive ends, and should be up for a big pay day. He was ranked 85th-best player in the league by his peers. It was his lone season with the Titans, but
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Jason Babin exploring all of his options
Andy Reid has spent six of his last 12 first selections in the draft on defensive linemen. Twice he traded up in the first round to do so. He’s also used a second-round pick and four third-round picks on defensive linemen. So how come the Eagles still need defensive linemen? Because of all of those picks, only Corey Simon, Reid’s first-round pick in the 2000 draft, has ever made it to a Pro Bowl. The rest have either been busts – Jerome McDougle, Victor Abiamiri, Bryan Smith; just OK – Brodrick Bunkley and Trevor Laws; or haven’t done enough yet to make a judgment – last year’s No. 1 pick, Derrick Graham. Mike Patterson, the No. 1 pick from 2005, kind of fits in the category of good
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Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive line is subject of scrutiny in 2011, as always
Legal teams for the NFL and players have met for three days at a Minneapolis-area law firm under the auspices of U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan, marking the first time that owners and players haven’t been involved in the clandestine talks. But owners and players will return to the proceedings Thursday. A number of owners and players arrived Wednesday in the Twin Cities to prepare for scheduled talks that will include NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith and the legal teams. The parties are scheduled to meet only on Thursday for now, but they’re prepared to continue into Friday if it’s deemed necessary to help the league-imposed
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NFL owners, players will rejoin Goodell, Smith in labor talks
It’s not exactly the Hatfields making peace with the McCoys, but in the contentious world of National Football League labor negotiations, what’s happening right now is a pretty significant step. DeMaurice Smith, the National Football League Players Association executive director, asked NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to speak at the NFLPA rookie symposium, and Goodell agreed. The commissioner’s appearance is scheduled for Wednesday morning at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Sarasota, Fla. The symposium, titled The Business of Football: Rookie Edition, is being held at the IMG Academy in nearby Bradenton, Fla. Goodell and Smith, in Minneapolis on Tuesday for the first of four days of labor
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Goodell agrees to speak at NFLPA’s rookie symposium on Wednesday
Very often in the NFL, there is a debate in the war room right up until the minute the ultimate decision is made on a draft pick, particularly in the first round. That was not the case in April for the Eagles, who failed to do as expected by both staying at their original position (No. 23) in the first round and then pulling the trigger on 26-year-old but relatively inexperienced Baylor tackle Danny Watkins, a Canadian native who only began playing the sport four years earlier. Head coach Andy Reid, offensive line coach Howard Mudd and general manager Howie Roseman all were on the same page from the moment they were on the clock. More incredible is their plan to make him a guard, a
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Eagles put first-round pick Watkins on fast track
It’s the fall of 1987. NFL players are on strike and Houston Oilers coach Jerry Glanville is sitting in a room with officers from the Houston Police Department. They’re about to watch a surveillance video of two alleged Oilers leaving the picket line to smash the windows out on a bus that brought Houston’s replacement players to their first practice. “The police say to me, ‘Coach, if you can identify these guys, we’ll arrest them and they’ll be in jail within two hours,”‘ Glanville said last month. “I said, ‘OK, boys, let’s do this.’ So we look at the video and I’ll be damned. It’s my two starting safeties.” Uh-oh. “The police say, ‘Coach, can you identify these two men?”‘ Glanville said.
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NFL strike of 1987 was full of drama and hilarity
Players involved in labor negotiations with the NFL traveled to Minnesota on Monday, but not just to meet with their legal team. They are there for a fifth round of “secret talks” with the league, a source with knowledge of the situation said. Minnesota is home to Arthur Boylan, the U.S. magistrate judge assigned to run court-ordered mediation and who has been present for the previous talks. Also constants in the room have been NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith, Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, New York Giants owner John Mara, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, New York Jets fullback Tony Richardson, Baltimore Ravens
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Minnesota welcomes league, players for labor negotiations
The NFL and players groups have agreed to meetings during the next four days in Minnesota — with a twist. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and his staff and NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith and his staff will meet without players or owners there. This will be the fifth round of “secret talks” between the players and the league. Minnesota is home to Arthur Boylan, the U.S. magistrate judge assigned to run court-ordered mediation and who has been present for the previous talks. Constants in the room during past talks have been Goodell, Smith, Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, New York Giants owner John Mara, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, New York
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Goodell, Smith and staffs will meet without players, owners
Among the details NFL commissioner Roger Goodell revealed to owners Tuesday at the league’s meeting in Rosemont, Ill., is that in the next proposed agreement players will receive a 48 percent share of “all revenue,” without the $1-billion-plus credit off the top that had been a point of contention in earlier negotiations, according to sources familiar with the presentation. Under the new formula being negotiated, players will receive 48 percent of all revenue and will never dip below a 46.5 percent take of the money, sources said. In the previous collective bargaining agreement, players received approximately 60 percent of “total revenue” but that did not include $1 billion that was
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Sources: 48 percent share for players
As the NFL’s players and owners work toward a new collective bargaining agreement that could end the lockout before the Fourth of July, Howie Roseman sits anxiously in his office at the NovaCare Complex, itching for the fireworks to begin. To say that Roseman, the Philadelphia Eagles’ second-year general manager, is geeked up for the impending start of the league year is like labeling Cleveland sports fans as “pleased” that LeBron James flopped in the NBA Finals. Armed with an expendable quarterback, Kevin Kolb, that numerous teams covet and secure in the conviction that the Michael Vick-led Eagles can contend for a Super Bowl championship, Roseman can’t wait to start wheeling and dealing
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Eagles eagerly anticipate start of free agency
The NFL has asked owners to keep their schedules open next week, when the league holds meetings in Chicago, NFL Network reporter Albert Breer confirmed Tuesday. The owners are scheduled to meet June 21, and the memo from the league asked for flexibility by the owners in case the meeting spills into Tuesday night or Wednesday. That has fueled speculation that perhaps the league and the NFL Players Association are making progress in their negotiations toward an agreement that would end the three-month-old lockout. Last week, the sides concluded two days of what sources described as “very serious talks” in an attempt to build off previous secret negotiations in suburban Chicago. It is
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Sign of progress? Owners asked to clear schedules next week
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