What has to happen for the staunchly pro-owners faction of fans to back off their opinions a little? At this point every authority has favored the players. The owners lost their two biggest points of leverage thanks to Doty and Nelson.
If the 8th Circuit goes the same route, will you guys rethink your stance? How many judges can you swear off before you recognize maybe the owners overshot the mark and underestimated the players a little?
The owners are smart - you go into any negotiation asking to get more than you expect. And they did that and then some, because they had leverage - the players, rightfully, held their ground as well.
Now, the owners are losing leverage by the minute. We'll see how the negotiations go from here.
I don't believe any decision will lead those who support the owners to change their stance, but to be fair i wouldn't change my opinion on the matter based on the rulings either.On the other hand the actual owners need to really start wondering if they are getting good legal advice or if they have hired people who are simply telling them what they want to hear, and in the case of David Boies I would be shocked if that is the case. Is it that the owners simply will not accept the fact that the law is not on their side and that they are not fully in the driver's seat in negotiations and actually have to bargain in good faith? Given their history in court and the analysis of this Judge's decision i think the owners are almost foolish to continue pursuing this matter and should accept the fact that they have to have a working agreement with the players for the league to operate in the ways they want it to.
If I were Bob Kraft, and actually i'm not, i would look at the latest ruling and get on the phone to the other owners who are on their executive counsel and push for a good deal for all, and that means concessions on both sides.
I believe the player's have won and given the behavior of the owners i don't think they owe it to them to do anything less than play hardball, however i do believe they have an obligation that goes beyond that and in that sense they should be willing to go to the table, negotiate in good faith, give on some issues and stand firm on the ones that are fundamental, and create a deal that benefits all for a long long time.
Give on the rookie cap, even though that will be much harder now than prior to decertification. Free agency
Give on the % of revenues and give back 5% to 60% of adjusted revenues.
Give on HGH testing, but place some limits on the commissioners authority so that he isn't an absolute ruler and has to weigh input from a players committee or something of that type.
Accept the recent structure of free agency as the basis for the system going forward, but eliminate the franchise tag.
Stand firm on the 18 game schedule unless that becomes the only thing standing in the way of the deal and then agree to continue negotiations to keep the expansion a possibility.
Stand firm on no ceiling on revenue sharing, the percentage remains the same but the initial giveback, currently 1 billion, could be expanded to reflect the growth of overall revenues.