NFL Negotiations and a 10-Year Collective Bargaining Agreement Benefits Us All

NFL negotiations are moving along with today's meeting in Atlanta, where the players are in position to recommend a finalized proposal to the club owners. The owners will vote on the proposal this week, which includes topics such as the rookie salary system, retiree and pension benefits, the 2011 NFL calender, lockout insurance and guidelines for free agency.

The negotiation process will end with a 10-year collective bargaining agreement.

As fans, we are anxiously awaiting the end of the lockout through the acceptance of this agreement. We want to get this ball rolling and our teams back on the field.

The negotiations and 10-year contract appear relevant not only to NFL teams and owners, but to marriages as well. We often enter marriage with illusions of the "happily ever after," yet reality can send us into "unhappily never after" when we realize the challenges inherent in long-term relationships.

Our society and faith systems support the concept of "'till death do us part." This goal is made more manageable when we, too, negotiate with our partners by discussing what we can do to keep the spark alive, continuing to share our team and family visions and working with each other through the changes we experience as individuals and a couple.

Marriage in a 10-year contract phase seems like a logical step to maintaining the business and heart of a relationship.

Similarly, the NFL contract addresses issues related to money, retirement, a work calendar, insurance and guidelines when a player's options to play expand.

When the most common conflicts in marriage center around sex, money and kids, one can easily see the parallel between the NFL negotiations and our own marriages.

In the 10-year proposed marriage contract, I would recommend couples discuss:

How are they managing money? What are their financial goals for the future and what is their plan for following through with their stated monetary visions?

How will they keep the spark alive in the marriage through a regular, positive and healthy sex life?

How will they balance their roles with work and managing their home and children (if applicable)?

Who will be the main provider? Will they share financial responsibilities with dual employment, or will they decide one partner will be the sole provider?

How will they prioritize and balance their time: individual, family, work, friends, hobbies and more?

How do they plan to raise (if any) children and work through the multiple clashes that can occur with two different people from different backgrounds and parenting styles raising children?

Will they re-negotiate monogamy? Household arrangements? Private vacations?

Will they review their goals and changes throughout the years and decide whether to continue or end their marriage contract?

How will they decide whether they are interested in "free agency" and what needs to change to maintain the current marital relationship?

How will they communicate to create an environment of compromise, compassion and commitment?

How will they work as a team to support their relationship goals?

What role will laughter and fun play in their marriage?

Will a healthy lifestyle be a priority?

How will they maintain dates, activities and hobbies with the large responsibilities of work and family life?

We do not get paid for our relationships, yet it takes as much work to maintain and thrive in a marriage as the energy, effort, application and dedication needed to be a successful NFL player.

Let's look at the current NFL lockout as a way to spark negotiations in our own relationships: To negotiate ways that respect the individual, the couple and the family unit. 

Let's get the ball rolling on the field and in our relationships. Game on!