NFL Labor: Players don’t vote ondeal
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Associated Press
WASHINGTON ó NFL players didnít vote Wednesday on a full proposal to settle the leagueís labor dispute, citing several outstanding issues, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.
The person said there was agreement among representatives of all 32 clubs on what items needed to be resolved before any offer would be accepted. A second person, also speaking on condition of anonymity because the talks are supposed to be secret, said those players gave what was termed ěconditional approvalî of the proposal ó as it stood Wednesday.
ěWe still have a lot of work to do,î said Pro Bowl offensive lineman Tyson Clabo, who played for the Atlanta Falcons last season.
The meeting at the NFL Players Association headquarters lasted nearly 10 hours and included the groupís executive committee and the team reps.
In Atlanta, where the ownersí labor committee met, general counsel Jeff Pash said the sides would talk through the night in hopes of having a final agreement ready to go Thursday.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell joined the meeting of nine of the 10 members of the labor committee, which hoped to recommend a finalized proposal to all club owners, who are due there on Thursday.
Remaining issues are believed to include how to set aside three pending court cases: The playersí antitrust lawsuit against the NFL in federal court in Minnesota; the TV networks case, in which players accused owners of setting up $4 billion in ělockout insurance,î money that the league would receive even if there were no games played in 2011; and a collusion case, in which players said owners conspired to restrict salaries last offseason.