Sherman: Legal action could be considered if Eric Reid isn't signed.

[BadMoFo]

I'd sign him.......the dude can play

as for the kneeling, who gives a sh.t

Hell yeah. He's a million times better than Jordan Richards.

 

[maineman209]

We are 9 days into FA. There are better safeties than Reid that have not yet been signed. He previously derided “the notion that I can be a great signing for your team for cheap” thus intimating he is expecting a big ticket contract and that at a position that by most accounts is looking at a market correction after becoming inflated the last few years. But yeah, 9 days in Reid hasn't 'made his money' so of course it's collusion. For a guy as smart as Sherman is purported to be by some he sure has a knack for saying things that aren't doing anyone any favors. A bright guy should also understand that enlightened self interest on the part of ownership isn't representative of anything more than good business.

Sherman's declaration on this sounds like a guy practicing his act for a post-football run at public office.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Hell yeah. He's a million times better than Jordan Richards.

I agree. He says he won’t kneel anymore so this shouldn’t be an issue. Besides so many players around the league kneeled and they are still employed...

 

[Ring 6]

Under the CBA, no team can agree with the NFL or another team to restrict an individual club's decision to negotiate or not negotiate with any player. That's basically Kaepernick's grievance.

If this were a different administration he would also have filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board claiming a Section 7 violation because he would claim he is also being penalized for engaging in "concerted activity." With Republican control of the NLRB there is no chance of that complaint succeeding.

Reid would have similar claims, but maybe stronger because he is a better player.

I’m curious about your nlrb point. Very interesting angle.
Would Reid be able to file (successfully) a case when he doesn’t have an employer?
His contract expired with his previous employer (team) is there really any grounds of entitlement to be hired by a new employer when the criteria of hiring is so varied, and subjective?

 

[XLIX]

I’m not sure if pro sports teams are exempt from every aspect of the antitrust law though.

They are not exempt from every aspect of antitrust law. For example, when the USFL sued the NFL for antitrust violations, people forget that the USFL actually won the lawsuit and a jury ruled the NFL illegally violated antitrust principles. However, the USFL were only awarded $1 in damages due to the fact that it was a very poorly run league.

If the USFL had not tried to bite more than it could chew, they may have actually won some serious money. Not the billions they were looking for, but certainly in the millions.

 

[XLIX]

Then put me in ignore. The OP asked for help from attorneys (which includes me)...he didn’t say antitrust attorneys. Besides, you would hard-pressed to find an antitrust attorney on this board, whether in private practice or someone who works for the DOJ/FTC. They comprise a very small part of the bar.

Your statements are 100% right on and you provided the exact statute which supports your argument, as well as the appropriate interpretation of that statute. While I don't see the original posts, it seems to me that the lame reply "googling doesn't prove law" is just someone who always needs to have the last word but cannot admit when they are wrong.

 

[Deus Irae]

Hard to prove, sure. However, he may be entitled to discovery of written communications between NFL club members. They may want to buy him off rather than risk something embarrassing being leaked to the public.

Kaepernick's already using the discovery angle, and he's still unemployed and without a payoff.

 

[XLIX]

Kaepernick's already using the discovery angle, and he's still unemployed and without a payoff.

Yeah, Reid's only strategy would be the same think Kaepernick is doing. Whether or not it works for Kaepernick is yet to be determined, but as you say the NFL hasn't settled for fear of discovery.

 

[Froob]

The NFL would probably still win even if they did collude and admitted it.

 

[Deus Irae]

The NFL would probably still win even if they did collude and admitted it.

The NFL got away with punishing the Cowboys and Redskins for actually following a CBA, so you may be right.

 

[BadMoFo]

I agree. He says he won’t kneel anymore so this shouldn’t be an issue. Besides so many players around the league kneeled and they are still employed...

I'd probably prefer Kenny Vaccaro, but Eric Reid is slouch, plus Reid may be playing with a chip on his shoulder because all this mess. Either way, get Richards out.

 

[Froob]

The NFL got away with punishing the Cowboys and Redskins for actually following a CBA, so you may be right.

Wasn’t that situation they all agreed to not spend over a certain amount. Isn’t that the type of illegal collusion the owners should be punished for? Shame the NFLPA sucks.

 

[Kontradiction]

I'd probably prefer Kenny Vaccaro, but Eric Reid is slouch, plus Reid may be playing with a chip on his shoulder because all this mess. Either way, get Richards out.

Get Richards out should be the M.O. even if Reid or Vaccaro aren't signed.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

I'd probably prefer Kenny Vaccaro, but Eric Reid is slouch, plus Reid may be playing with a chip on his shoulder because all this mess. Either way, get Richards out.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t the addition of JMac mean that Chung can go back to covering TEs (and leave Richards the odd man out)? And with Dmac and Chung patrolling the backfield, wer’re in pretty good shape there. Reid or Vaccaro would serve for depth purposes.

 

[Deus Irae]

Wasn’t that situation they all agreed to not spend over a certain amount. Isn’t that the type of illegal collusion the owners should be punished for? Shame the NFLPA sucks.

The year was supposed to be uncapped, under the CBA. Dallas and Washington took advantage of that. 30 teams did not run their teams as if the year was uncapped.

Not surprisingly, because of the obvious collusion, it was the 2 teams that actually followed the CBA who were punished.

N.F.L. Strips Cowboys and Redskins of Salary Cap Room


It really should have opened people's eyes as to just how badly corrupted our contract/legal system has become.

 

[TomPatriot]

I’m curious about your nlrb point. Very interesting angle.
Would Reid be able to file (successfully) a case when he doesn’t have an employer?
His contract expired with his previous employer (team) is there really any grounds of entitlement to be hired by a new employer when the criteria of hiring is so varied, and subjective?

That's a good question.

It doesn't matter if he is employed at the time of filing.

He wouldn't be arguing for reinstatement to the 49ers or any other team but instead would be seeking damages. And while it's subjective, which is often true, it's not speculative.

His argument would be we started this off as a protest against African-American men being killed by police. Soon it became a workplace issue of whether we could, acting together, kneel during the national anthem. Now I'm being punished because no one will sign me at the market rate for safeties.

It's still his burden to show what he would have been hired and under what terms.

 

[BradyFTW!]

All else aside, I'd really like to know his contract demands. He's an above average starting NFL safety, and he should be paid as such. If he's demanding more than market rate for that, then it makes sense that he's not signed. If he's unable to sign even for less than that, then that's pretty messed up.

 

[Deus Irae]

All else aside, I'd really like to know his contract demands. He's an above average starting NFL safety, and he should be paid as such. If he's demanding more than market rate for that, then it makes sense that he's not signed. If he's unable to sign even for less than that, then that's pretty messed up.

I've got no problem with owners not paying these guys, as long as it's not because of collusion. There's not a chance in hell I'd sign either Reid or Kaepernick, if I were an owner, and I certainly have not been colluding with the league, or the owners, to come to that position.

 

[PatriotsNumero1Fan]

Would love to sign this guy on a 1 year deal but idk how much money they have. Really liked him out of college.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

No I’m not. The so-called antitrust exemption (Sports Broadcasting Act) only applies to Section 1 violations of the Clayton Act and other FTC laws. I do not believe it covers the Sherman Antitrust Act Section 1, which speaks to collusion. Heck, in 2011, Brady brought an antitrust suit against the league, so it’s not as if the NFL is exempt from every part of the antitrust laws.

15 U.S. Code § 1291 - Exemption from antitrust laws of agreements covering the telecasting of sports contests and the combining of professional football leagues

Exactly. Unlike MLB, the NFL only has two anti-trust exemptions.

One is the Sports Broadcasting Act exemption, which applies to all the pro sports, and allows teams in a league to negotiate broadcasting rights as a single entity, which would otherwise be disallowed by anti-trust law.

The second is the CBA exemption, which applies to all businesses -- if a business has a CBA with a union, and the union agrees, the business can do certain things that would otherwise be prohibited by anti-trust law. In the NFL, examples of prohibited behaviors which are only legal because of the existence of a CBA are the draft and salary caps. That's why the NFLPA decertified (or attempted to) during the last lockout -- lack of NFLPA representation removes that exemption and enables an anti-trust lawsuit.