Fingon Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 (edited) We’ve mentioned a time or two (or more) the potential end result of the current antitrust Tom Brady litigation filed by the players against the NFL. Under lawyer Jeffrey Kessler’s view of reality, a non-union NFL should have no rules of any kind among the 32 teams. That means no salary cap, no restrictions on free agency, no franchise tags, and no draft. Kessler shrugs at the potential consequences, believing that a truly open market for player services would be good for everyone. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/04/21/goodell-fears-an-nfl-without-a-draft-free-agency-rules/ The NFL players' lawsuit in a U.S. district court is seeking declaration that the NFL draft violates antitrust laws. Von Miller is a plaintiff in the suit, and it's not crazy to think this could hurt his draft stock. The draft is just one of the many things the players' suit challenges, also including the franchise tag, the owners' forthcoming lockout, and probably restricted free agent tenders. All along, we've been under the assumption that the draft was the only thing set in stone for the 2011 offseason. Now, it's questionable whether it's going to happen. http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/42040628/ The Eller case seeks to end the draft: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/03/29/retired-players-file-a-class-action-lawsuit-that-primarily-attacks-the-draft/ and just recently: 2. The players want the NFL to immediately implement a system which does not violate antitrust laws. (Does that mean a system without a draft or free agent restrictions? Discuss amongst yourselves.) http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/04/27/players-ask-for-1-billion-bond-if-stay-is-granted/ Edited April 27, 2011 by Fingon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fingon Posted April 27, 2011 Author Share Posted April 27, 2011 Where is the no draft part that your title implies?? Can you even read? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RealityCheck Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Can you even read? Some people cannot. But hey, it looks like the next argument to be made by the players is that of collusion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOKBILLS Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/04/21/goodell-fears-an-nfl-without-a-draft-free-agency-rules/'>http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/04/21/goodell-fears-an-nfl-without-a-draft-free-agency-rules/ http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/42040628/ The Eller case seeks to end the draft: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/03/29/retired-players-file-a-class-action-lawsuit-that-primarily-attacks-the-draft/ Jeffrey Kessler, NFLPA lawyer, wants no draft or FA rules: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/04/21/goodell-fears-an-nfl-without-a-draft-free-agency-rules/ This is what the Owners are having to deal with because in the eyes of the Players they have not negotiated in good faith...So the Players are going to go the legal route and throw everything they can at the Owners so they can get the best Deal possible...Now the Owners, through Goddell, are taking the worst-case-scenerio to the Public so they can guarantee a win in that Court...The Court of Public opinion... But here's the deal...And the Players know this...I'm a lifelong...I mean a 40 year diehard NFL Fan...If they do away with the NFL Draft I'm done...I'm out, and I'm not coming back...I don't even really care much...If it was a League without a College Draft I'm more than happy spending my spare time Gaming or hanging out with My Girlfriend...There are thousands upon thousands of Fans like me, or FAR more casual than me, who would bail as well...The thing that makes the NFL is the competitive balance...If that's gone the league is going to suck for a whole bunch of Cities, people will stop going to Games, they will stop buying merchandise, it will be a mess... So this is all a bunch of cheap posturing at this point...The Players have won Rd #1 in the Courts, but the only thing they have won is to possibly end the Lockout...That's all...The rest is yet to be decided...But there is not going to be an NFL the way we know it today very long without a College Draft...The Owners know it, the Players know it, the Lawyers know it, hell even the greedy Agents know it...The NFL draft is VERY good for the NFL in a lot of ways...It's a weapon for leverage right now, and a good one at that...Nothing more... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumbalaya Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 They've been running the Bills without a draft for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphean Bills Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Kessler shrugs at the potential consequences, believing that a truly open market for player services would be good for everyone. Isn't that like saying a large dose of radiation is no big deal, because the cancer won't get bad until later? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeSpeed Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 No draft and no salary cap would mean the end of the NFL as the most dominate pro sport in the USA. It would become the MLB 2.0. Dallas, Washington and New England would be guaranteed playoff spots by way of buying their way in (ala NY Yankees) and the Bill, Bengals, and all small market teams (I believe even Green bay) would fade off into obscurity. This doesn't even begin to include the bad rap that Buffalo gets. It's almost impossible to get FA's to come here even now. So yes NFLPA push this. Because when the league shinks down to 12 teams there be a lot less players to pay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KOKBILLS Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 They've been running the Bills without a draft for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimd Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 What you would have without the draft is a set-up like European soccer. The big money teams would get all the the good players. In European soccer, even when a "small" team gets lucky and finds a diamond in the rough, he ends up leaving for a big team within a few years. Literally every year the same 4 or 5 teams finish in the top 5. It's a completely different dynamic than the NFL. It works over there because that's what they are used to--people passionately support their small teams even though they have no chance to win the title. They are just happy when their team finishes higher than expected, or even if they just avoid relegation. I don't think that would work here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slayers Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 No draft and no salary cap would mean the end of the NFL as the most dominate pro sport in the USA. It would become the MLB 2.0. Dallas, Washington and New England would be guaranteed playoff spots by way of buying their way in (ala NY Yankees) and the Bill, Bengals, and all small market teams (I believe even Green bay) would fade off into obscurity. This doesn't even begin to include the bad rap that Buffalo gets. It's almost impossible to get FA's to come here even now. So yes NFLPA push this. Because when the league shinks down to 12 teams there be a lot less players to pay. And why would Brady, Manning, and Brees care if there are only 12 teams they will still be getting 95% of the teams money while the rest get to fight over the crumbs that they leave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Such a ridiculous claim (players don't want draft) by their lawyer confirms the absurdity of the player's suit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 If they really want the freedom to work where ever they please, they're more than free to work in MLB, McDonalds, or the local accounting firm. It might not be playing football, but there's plenty of competition out there for their services. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 What you would have without the draft is a set-up like European soccer. The big money teams would get all the the good players. In European soccer, even when a "small" team gets lucky and finds a diamond in the rough, he ends up leaving for a big team within a few years. Literally every year the same 4 or 5 teams finish in the top 5. It's a completely different dynamic than the NFL. It works over there because that's what they are used to--people passionately support their small teams even though they have no chance to win the title. They are just happy when their team finishes higher than expected, or even if they just avoid relegation. I don't think that would work here. I hear soccer is very popular in Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddogblitz Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 My caution to the players on this: be careful what you ask for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphean Bills Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 If the players all become independent contractors, De Smith will have to find a new line of work. The chaos of a wild west approach with no roster minimum limits, no salary cap or floor, no pension plan, no health insurance, no veteran status, etc. all sounds vaguely unappealing to the rank and file player (you know the guys that nominally have no union and are not part of the Brady lawsuit). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 My caution to the players on this: be careful what you ask for. Exactly. While no rules would be great for Brady, Manning, and the superstars, most of the players could really be hurt by this. I also agree that this would hurt the NFL as a whole (both the league and the players) and in particular the small and medium market teams. This is why I want the owners to prevail in the litigation - which may still happen if the owners are patient enough to let the Eighth Circuit or Supreme Court decide before caving to any deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucci Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 There is no NFLPA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frostbelt City Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 I LOVE football and the Bills are my #1 team.. but if the NFL ever comes to this... Buffalo does have a pretty good hockey team Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Direhard Fan Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 I believe you meant ruining, not running the team with out a draft. Any way Smith was a terrible choice for the players to make and I believe he will be gone next year. Killing the golden goose is just stupid and in this day and age they all should be on their knees being thankful they have 9 billion to play with. Shame on all of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickey Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 http://profootballta...e-agency-rules/ http://nbcsports.msn...om/id/42040628/ The Eller case seeks to end the draft: http://profootballta...acks-the-draft/ and just recently: http://profootballta...tay-is-granted/ Umm...not for nothing but that stuff about Kessler is presented in the article you linked as if it was a quote, it isn't. It is the writer of the article's speculation of what Kessler's views are. It was the league and not the players who instigated this dispute by opting out of the CBA. The players' best negotiating tool is a lawsuit which essentially threatens armageddon for the league if successful. If the players wanted to stop the draft and all these other terrible things, why weren't they the ones who opted out of the current deal? The draft and limits on player movement are in the long term interests of the league as they perserve and promote competetiveness. That success, if shared, benefits players and owners alike. That is why the league is as old as it is without the anti-trust issue ever having been completely resolved in court. Its is not in their interests, players or owners, to do so. The player give up economic freedom in exchange for more $$$$ and their share in a pie that gets bigger every year. The league accepts that because it gives them labor peace and their own share of an expanding pie. The fight here is over the size of each piece of that pie and everything both sides are doing is geared toward to getting a better deal. The NFL decided that it was worth risking all that is now being risked to get a better CBA. The player have responded in kind. Frankly, all the trembling and quaking over the "end of football as we know it" is just plain silly. The sky isn't falling. Coke and Pepsi are fighting over market share, that's all. Now that the lockout has been kiboshed, I think the league will now have to fork over the books and then the real fun at the negotiating table will start. That is, unless the injunction gets turned over on appeal. If that happens, I think there is a real chance there won't be football come opening day. Exactly. While no rules would be great for Brady, Manning, and the superstars, most of the players could really be hurt by this. I also agree that this would hurt the NFL as a whole (both the league and the players) and in particular the small and medium market teams. This is why I want the owners to prevail in the litigation - which may still happen if the owners are patient enough to let the Eighth Circuit or Supreme Court decide before caving to any deal. This is not what the players want. The owners triggered this disupte by opting out of the CBA, there is no orchestrated campaign by the players to end football as we know it, etc. The league strated this by pulling out of the CBA and then threatening a lockout which would have given them a huge advantage in negotiating a new CBA. The players filed the lawsuit to stop the lockout and thereby remove that card from the deck and to have a means by which to force the league to open its books. A lawsuit means depositions, document requests, etc. The players will be able to poke around the league's financial closet. That will give them the ability to validate or invalidated the league's claims of financial stress. Both sides are just trying to position themselves to be able to negotiate from a position of strength. I am sure that the league will be pumping out all sorts of dire warnings about the players and their suit and I am sure that plenty will buy their story that the players are causing the sky to fall. I'm not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts