NFL Labor Talks: The NOT-NFLPA Is Heading Down a Path of Destruction

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In Attempts To Wring More Money Out Of Owners, Players Will Do More Harm

The NFL lockout is all about money. This can be classified under "Stuff We Already Know."

However, the players reckless attempts to get more money out of the owners could come with some serious consequences.

Right now the players have filed an antitrust lawsuit against the owners in an attempt to get the owners to cave to their wishes. What the players are failing to realize is removing all the antitrust protections from the NFL now exposes the NFL to some very bad financial possibilities that will come back and impact the players down the road.

First of all, the players have no plan other than to sue. That much has become obvious. The owners made a presentation and an offer to the players. The players rejected it. Instead of giving a counter offer, they just said the owners offer was not good enough and went to court.

The NOT-NFLPA continues to act very much like a union and I'm going to predict right now the courts will hold that against them on April 6. Once that happens, the players have no plan because they are being led by arrogant lawyers who only benefit from everything going to court.

DeMaurice Smith, the former head of the NFLPA, promised war last fall. Besides the fact a person who is supposed to be preaching peace should not be using the term "war," Smith has done nothing to help the process and has fostered this attitude of "Us vs. Them" that pervaded the talks.

There is complete distrust on both sides, and for good reason. The players do not believe they can trust the owners because the owners are looking out for their own best interests. While this is a true statement, it is rooted in ignorance. The owners duty is to look out for their own best interests.

The owners do not want to deal with the players because they see it as a complete waste of time. The fact the players never gave the owners a counter offer and decertified only gives that line of thought more credibility.

Back to the original point, though, if the players get everything they want, it will result in a whole new set of rules that will lead the NFL to being more like Major League Baseball. If you know nothing about how baseball works, know this: This is a very bad thing.

I am as much for the little guy as the next struggling American, but as a football fan, I have to root for the owners, otherwise the quality of the product will drop.

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