NFL: players union could be closer to deal thanks to TV cash ruling

By Scott Matthews

The NFL Strike, or lockout, will start tonight unless there is a huge, last-minute change of course in the negotiations.

National Football League owners and players are still talking, still working on a labor deal less than 24 hours before their collective bargaining agreement expires at Midnight Eastern Time on Friday. They are trying to avoid a shutdown of the biggest pro sports league on the planet and the United States’ most-watched television sport.

If you doubt the seriousness of this issue, and the desire of both sides to come to an agreement, look at the critical mass that has gathered for the final two days of talks. For the first time, NFLPA president Kevin Mawae is there, as is New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees. Also on hand is pretty much every NFL owner and the entire owners’ labor committee.

The big news yesterday was a federal judge, David Doty, delivering a key ruling in favor of the players, one that took away what the union had called unfair leverage for team owners in the heated negotiations.

CBS, NBC, FOX and ESPN are currently paying more than $20 billion to broadcast NFL games. Late Tuesday, Doty agreed with the NFL Players Association that the league could not collect more than $4 billion in TV revenue that would be due whether there’s a lockout or not. The NFLPA argued successfully that the league structured TV contracts in 2009 and 2010 knowing owners would be guaranteed money even with no games in 2011, and that the move violated an agreement that NFL Owners must make good-faith efforts to maximize revenue for both the league and players.

“The record shows that the NFL undertook contract renegotiations to advance its own interests and harm the interests of the players,” Doty wrote in the ruling.

Now, some would think this just drives an even bigger wedge between the two sides. But the way I see it, it actually improves the chances of getting a deal done. NFL owners love money more than even most people, and this ruling means they cannot count on the cash to keep flowing during a lockout. For the first time, they will be in the same position as the players. There is no way this will do anything but put more pressure on the NFL to get a deal done.

And what do you know: suddenly, after this ruling, we heard a word that had not been uttered before in these talks: extension.

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