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CLICK HERE to Register for a free account and login for a smoother ad-free experience. It's easy, and only takes a few moments.the players historically have gotten their greatest gains(free agency for one) when they have decertified. according to legal experts , this will help the players not the owners. whatever helps the owners come to their senses quicker and keeps the season intact i'm for,but if they drag it out because they have a large pool of money and want to totally break the union, then i will rethink my loyalty to this sport. i weaned myself from baseball and hockey addictions, and if need be, i can jettison the nfl. life is too short to let the mostly obnoxious owners(not all) ruin my enjoyment of this game- there is just too much else to enjoy in life .
One of the things that I have been wondering is whether or not decertification could backfire on the players? Could the owners actually WANT the decertification?
Well, the players won in front of Doty on the television contracts issue. The remedy has not yet been announced.
Here is why I ask this.
1) There are now 3 different Leagues that players can go to besides the NFL. There is the UFL, CFL, and AFL.
2) The players are going to have a much hard time proving that the owners are "limiting trade" because the NFL is no longer the only game in town.
3) The players will also have a harder time proving collusion since there are 3 other leagues that players can go to.
The owners could use those 3 leagues to say "Hey, we're paying our guys more than fairly in comparison to others in their field" . The owners could use that to their advantage to push down salaries.
I am fairly certain that pay is a non-factor in determining whether or not there are other venues where the players can ply their trade.I don't know about that. I'm not that familiar with the CFL, but I know the UFL and the Arena League don't pay near as much as the NFL.
But then I don't know much about litigation either.
For the record, the NFL has been ruled a monopoly in the past. The USFL technically won the lawsuit against the NFL, as the jury ruled that the NFL indeed was a monopoly and used unfair trade practices. However, the jury also felt that the reason the USFL was losing money so bad was much more their own fault than anything the NFL did, and thus awarded them just $1. (Some of the jurors have since said they thought the judge would make the award much higher.)
I am fairly certain that pay is a non-factor in determining whether or not there are other venues where the players can ply their trade.
The formula is a familiar one, since the union applied this strategy after the failed strike of 1987. But that’s the biggest challenge the union faces this time around, since the NFL will point to the union’s prior use of this tactic as evidence that it’s all a sham, which the league believes would prevent decertification — and allow the lockout to be implemented.
Also, the antitrust lawsuit wouldn’t be as strong this time around, given that the rules implemented by the league surely would include real free agency. Though the NFL lost the ability, via the American Needle case, to argue that the league is one business and thus immune from antitrust claims, the Supreme Court’s decision contains language suggesting that 32 teams possibly would be able to impose some restrictions.
Bottom line? The union may not be interested in actually resorting to its nuclear option, because the nuclear option may end up being as potent as a wet firecracker.
I am fairly certain that pay is a non-factor in determining whether or not there are other venues where the players can ply their trade.
I am also fairly certain that this was brought up when the NHL was on strike back in 2004. The NHLPA tried to say that the NFL was a monopoly and their argument was turned down because of the various European leagues and the Russian Elite league.
Well, the players won in front of Doty on the television contracts issue. The remedy has not yet been announced.
The ever hawkish Florio is hedging his bets a little this AM regarding decertification.
As they should have, the owners were way out of line creating a situation wherein they get paid but the players don't.