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NFL must satisfy Brady plaintiffs to seal deal
The NFL will have to satisfy the 10 named plaintiffs in Brady vs. NFL antitrust case in order to complete the deal for its new collective bargaining agreement with the NFL Players Association.
As named plaintiffs, players including Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Logan Mankins and Vincent Jackson would be entitled to compensation as part of any settlement.
None, though, were expected to derail any possible deal with their demands.
One high-ranking NFLPA executive told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen: "Any media reports of a last-minute power play by players are misleading and erroneous. There are unresolved issues and we remain focused on resolving them."
Yahoo! Sports has reported that Jackson's agents have requested that the wide receiver become an unrestricted free agent when the lockout was over or receive $10 million. The Boston Globe said that both Manning and Brees were seeking to avoid the use of a franchise tag, which would make Manning an unrestricted free agent, and give Brees the same status after the 2011 season.
Manning, Jackson and Mankins all received franchise tags before the NFL locked out its players in March.
A league source confirmed to ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter the demands made by Jackson's agents, but Mankins and his agent, Frank Bauer, have not given their damages or repayment number to the NFL Players Association or its attorneys yet, according to the source.
One league source told Schefter that he doubted Jackson, in particular, would hold up a settlement, however.
"Is Vincent Jackson going to hold up the NFL season for 1,900 players, the clubs and the fans? Too smart a guy for that," the source told Schefter.
Sources told ESPN.com's John Clayton that neither Jackson nor Mankins have been contacted recently about a settlement to the Brady lawsuit. However, the NFLPA is drawing up a draft of the settlement to review Tuesday, a player source told Schefter.
Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe, apparently reacting to reports that some of the plaintiffs in the Brady lawsuit were stalling negotiations with their demands, voiced his displeasure Tuesday afternoon on Twitter.
"Sigh, and once again greed is the operative byword. 'Congrats Brees, Manning, Mankins, and Jackson for being 'that guy'. #d-----bags," he wrote.
If any of the plaintiffs were unhappy with settlement terms, they could object and opt out of the class action. That would not derail a settlement and would not, in itself, stop a new collective bargaining agreement.
But both the NFL owners and players have been working on a "global solution" that would include settling all legal issues surrounding their labor battle. And if the antitrust case is not settled, that could be a deal-breaker.
According to ESPN legal analyst Roger Cossack, if any of the named plaintiffs opt out, the antitrust suit would remain alive in federal court.
"The question then would be who would finance the suit?" Cossack said. "Who would pay the legal fees for Mankins and Jackson? Unless you're Bill Gates, you don't want to get into an antitrust case with the NFL.
There is precedent for plaintiffs in the Brady lawsuit to demand free agency. As part of the Reggie White antitrust lawsuit vs. the NFL in 1993 that instituted free agency, the plaintiffs were granted a lifetime exemption from the franchise tag.
On Tuesday, lawyers for the NFL and for the players suing the league submitted a joint request to the court, asking for an extra week to file written arguments "to allow them to focus on the continuing mediation." Tuesday's filing notes that "the parties have also been meeting regularly since April 11, 2011, in an effort to resolve their disputes."
Hall of Fame defensive end Carl Eller and lawyers for retired NFL players joined labor talks with representatives of owners and current players Tuesday as signs mounted that the league's lockout might almost be over.
As part of the pending deal, the NFL and its players have agreed to increase benefits for retired players by nearly $1 billion over the life of the agreement, according to a source. That includes creating a "legacy fund" that will increase by $620 million over the 10-year span, the source said.
The newly created fund is designed to help retired players deal with the injuries and troubles that come after football and would be financed by siphoning off a chunk of total league revenues.
The court-appointed mediator, U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan, also was at the session Tuesday, his second consecutive day overseeing negotiations at a New York law firm. The sides were trying to close a deal to resolve the NFL's first work stoppage since 1987.
Members of the NFLPA's executive committee and representatives of every team were heading to Washington by Wednesday in preparation for a possible vote.
Players' association spokesman George Atallah said the players would be gathering "with the hope they have something to look at, and with the hope we can move forward on this."
A player representative confirmed that players will vote on the proposed CBA Wednesday, assuming both sides address the unresolved issues beforehand.
The NFL sent a memo to all 32 teams Monday instructing key executives to attend Thursday's owners meeting in Atlanta, sources told ESPN's Schefter. Each team will have two representatives (the owner and one executive) in the room to vote on a CBA, if one is agreed to by players and owners. However, each team also will bring other front-office personnel to learn about the rules of a potential new CBA.
If the owners ratify a new CBA Thursday, players can begin arriving at facilities Friday and team activities can begin as early as Monday.
Jackson and Mankins both sat out several games last season in contract disputes with their teams. Both were restricted free agents -- a result of the NFL's going from a salary-cap system to an uncapped year in 2010.
Jackson's original five-year contract expired after the 2009 season. Unhappy that he didn't get a long-term deal, Jackson refused to sign a $3,268,000, one-year tender in 2010.
He sat out the first seven games, then reported and served a three-game suspension on the roster exempt list. The 6-foot-5 Jackson was on the active roster for the final six games to accrue a season toward unrestricted free agency. But because Jackson hadn't signed the tender by June 15, prior to the 2010 season, the Chargers slashed their offer to 110 percent of his 2009 salary, or $583,000. Due to the games he missed, he made less than $300,000 in 2010.
Mankins and the Patriots were at odds last summer, when the guard said he hoped to be traded because of the slow pace of negotiations on a contract extension.
Mankins refused to sign his $3.26 million tender. That led to an extended standoff, with Mankins not reporting until the eighth game of the season. The Patriots sliced his tender to $1.54 million, which was prorated over the final nine games of the season.
Source: AP
As named plaintiffs, players including Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Logan Mankins and Vincent Jackson would be entitled to compensation as part of any settlement.
None, though, were expected to derail any possible deal with their demands.
One high-ranking NFLPA executive told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen: "Any media reports of a last-minute power play by players are misleading and erroneous. There are unresolved issues and we remain focused on resolving them."
Yahoo! Sports has reported that Jackson's agents have requested that the wide receiver become an unrestricted free agent when the lockout was over or receive $10 million. The Boston Globe said that both Manning and Brees were seeking to avoid the use of a franchise tag, which would make Manning an unrestricted free agent, and give Brees the same status after the 2011 season.
Manning, Jackson and Mankins all received franchise tags before the NFL locked out its players in March.
A league source confirmed to ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter the demands made by Jackson's agents, but Mankins and his agent, Frank Bauer, have not given their damages or repayment number to the NFL Players Association or its attorneys yet, according to the source.
One league source told Schefter that he doubted Jackson, in particular, would hold up a settlement, however.
"Is Vincent Jackson going to hold up the NFL season for 1,900 players, the clubs and the fans? Too smart a guy for that," the source told Schefter.
Sources told ESPN.com's John Clayton that neither Jackson nor Mankins have been contacted recently about a settlement to the Brady lawsuit. However, the NFLPA is drawing up a draft of the settlement to review Tuesday, a player source told Schefter.
Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe, apparently reacting to reports that some of the plaintiffs in the Brady lawsuit were stalling negotiations with their demands, voiced his displeasure Tuesday afternoon on Twitter.
"Sigh, and once again greed is the operative byword. 'Congrats Brees, Manning, Mankins, and Jackson for being 'that guy'. #d-----bags," he wrote.
If any of the plaintiffs were unhappy with settlement terms, they could object and opt out of the class action. That would not derail a settlement and would not, in itself, stop a new collective bargaining agreement.
But both the NFL owners and players have been working on a "global solution" that would include settling all legal issues surrounding their labor battle. And if the antitrust case is not settled, that could be a deal-breaker.
According to ESPN legal analyst Roger Cossack, if any of the named plaintiffs opt out, the antitrust suit would remain alive in federal court.
"The question then would be who would finance the suit?" Cossack said. "Who would pay the legal fees for Mankins and Jackson? Unless you're Bill Gates, you don't want to get into an antitrust case with the NFL.
There is precedent for plaintiffs in the Brady lawsuit to demand free agency. As part of the Reggie White antitrust lawsuit vs. the NFL in 1993 that instituted free agency, the plaintiffs were granted a lifetime exemption from the franchise tag.
On Tuesday, lawyers for the NFL and for the players suing the league submitted a joint request to the court, asking for an extra week to file written arguments "to allow them to focus on the continuing mediation." Tuesday's filing notes that "the parties have also been meeting regularly since April 11, 2011, in an effort to resolve their disputes."
Hall of Fame defensive end Carl Eller and lawyers for retired NFL players joined labor talks with representatives of owners and current players Tuesday as signs mounted that the league's lockout might almost be over.
As part of the pending deal, the NFL and its players have agreed to increase benefits for retired players by nearly $1 billion over the life of the agreement, according to a source. That includes creating a "legacy fund" that will increase by $620 million over the 10-year span, the source said.
The newly created fund is designed to help retired players deal with the injuries and troubles that come after football and would be financed by siphoning off a chunk of total league revenues.
The court-appointed mediator, U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan, also was at the session Tuesday, his second consecutive day overseeing negotiations at a New York law firm. The sides were trying to close a deal to resolve the NFL's first work stoppage since 1987.
Members of the NFLPA's executive committee and representatives of every team were heading to Washington by Wednesday in preparation for a possible vote.
Players' association spokesman George Atallah said the players would be gathering "with the hope they have something to look at, and with the hope we can move forward on this."
A player representative confirmed that players will vote on the proposed CBA Wednesday, assuming both sides address the unresolved issues beforehand.
The NFL sent a memo to all 32 teams Monday instructing key executives to attend Thursday's owners meeting in Atlanta, sources told ESPN's Schefter. Each team will have two representatives (the owner and one executive) in the room to vote on a CBA, if one is agreed to by players and owners. However, each team also will bring other front-office personnel to learn about the rules of a potential new CBA.
If the owners ratify a new CBA Thursday, players can begin arriving at facilities Friday and team activities can begin as early as Monday.
Jackson and Mankins both sat out several games last season in contract disputes with their teams. Both were restricted free agents -- a result of the NFL's going from a salary-cap system to an uncapped year in 2010.
Jackson's original five-year contract expired after the 2009 season. Unhappy that he didn't get a long-term deal, Jackson refused to sign a $3,268,000, one-year tender in 2010.
He sat out the first seven games, then reported and served a three-game suspension on the roster exempt list. The 6-foot-5 Jackson was on the active roster for the final six games to accrue a season toward unrestricted free agency. But because Jackson hadn't signed the tender by June 15, prior to the 2010 season, the Chargers slashed their offer to 110 percent of his 2009 salary, or $583,000. Due to the games he missed, he made less than $300,000 in 2010.
Mankins and the Patriots were at odds last summer, when the guard said he hoped to be traded because of the slow pace of negotiations on a contract extension.
Mankins refused to sign his $3.26 million tender. That led to an extended standoff, with Mankins not reporting until the eighth game of the season. The Patriots sliced his tender to $1.54 million, which was prorated over the final nine games of the season.
Source: AP