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The Issues Facing the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement Negotiations and the Effects of an Uncapped Year, 20 Marq

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The Issues Facing the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement Negotiations and the Effects of an Uncapped Year, 20 Marq Marquette Sports Law Review Volume 20 Article 5 Issue 1 Fall Third and Long: The sI sues Facing the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement Negotiations and the Effects of an Uncapped Year Michael J. Redding Daniel R. Peterson Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/sportslaw Part of the Entertainment and Sports Law Commons Repository Citation Michael J. Redding and Daniel R. Peterson, Third and Long: The Issues Facing the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement Negotiations and the Effects of an Uncapped Year, 20 Marq. Sports L. Rev. 95 (2009) Available at: http://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/sportslaw/vol20/iss1/5 This Symposium is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at Marquette Law Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THIRD AND LONG: THE ISSUES FACING THE NFL COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT NEGOTIATIONS AND THE EFFECTS OF AN UNCAPPED YEAR MICHAEL J. REDDING* & DANIEL R. PETERSON" I. INTRODUCTION The National Football League (NFL) has enjoyed a lofty position among other professional sports leagues and has claimed its spot as "America's Game" in recent years.1 In a July 2009 ESPN poll, the NFL had the highest 2 twelve-month average fan interest compared to all other leagues or sports. Much of the NFL's popularity can be attributed to its television deals, which provide fans with almost constant NFL programming, and the revenue that such deals have generated for the NFL. Entering the 2007 season, the NFL had television contracts in place with the following television rights holders with annual values as follows: ESPN ($1.1 billion through 2013), 3 Fox ($712.5 million through 2011), 4 CBS ($622.5 million through 2011), 5 NBC . Michael J. Redding is an associate at Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren S.C. Michael graduated from Marquette University Law School and earned the Sports Law Certificate from the National Sports Law Institute in 2006. Daniel R. Peterson is an associate at Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren S.C. Dan graduated magna cum laude from Marquette University Law School and earned the Sports Law Certificate from the National Sports Law Institute in 2006. 1. See generally America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions (NFL Network); MICHAEL MACCAMBRIDGE, AMERICA'S GAME: THE EPIC STORY OF How PRO FOOTBALL CAPTURED A NATION (chronicling the Super Bowl, its rise to popularity, and pinnacle as national holiday status as NFL football has increased in popularity in the United States). 2. ESPN Sports Poll: NHL Avid Fan Interest at 12-Month High in July, STREET & SMITH'S SPORTS Bus. DAILY, Aug. 25, 2009, http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/article/132818. 3. Daniel Kaplan & John Ourand, 'MNF' Offer on Table in ESPN-NFL Net Talks, STREET & SMITH'S SPORTS Bus. J., July 7, 2008 at 1, available at http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/ article/59503. 4. Fox extended its deal with the NFL through the 2013 season at an estimated two percent increase per year. Stuart Levine, CBS, Fox Extend NFL Deals, VARIETY, May 19, 2009, availableat http://www.variety.com/article/VR 111 8003970.html?categoryid=1 011 &cs=1. 5. Id. MARQUETTE SPORTS LA W REVIEW [Vol. 20:1 ($600 million through 2011),6 and DirecTV ($700 million through 2010 and $1 billion per year 2011-2014). 7 Furthermore, the proliferation of fantasy football has allowed for avid fans to become even more involved in NFL games and has helped grow interest among casual fans by giving them reasons to become invested in the performance of players throughout the NFL, not just the fans' local team. Another primary reason for the success of the NFL that cannot be discounted has been the relative labor peace between the National Football League Management Council (NFLMC), the representative body for the NFL clubs with respect to collective bargaining, and the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA), the representative body for the NFL players with respect to collective bargaining. The last work stoppage in the NFL occurred during the 1987 season when the players' union went on strike in an effort to obtain true free agency, among other things. 8 Comparatively, the other three major professional sports leagues in the United States, the National Basketball Association, 9 Major League Baseball,' 0 and the National Hockey League, " have each undergone at least one work stoppage during that period. In 1987, the NFL players' union was unsuccessful in its strike due to many factors including lack of solidarity among union members and continuance of NFL games played by replacement players. 12 Following the 1987 strike and bouts of legal proceedings between the 6. NBC extended its deal with the NFL through the 2013 season at an estimated two percent increase per year. John Eggerton, NBC, NFL Extend Dealfor Two More Years, BROADCASTING & CABLE, Aug. 19, 2009, available at http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/328038- NBCNFLExtendDealForTwoMoreYears.php. 7. DirecTV extended its deal with the NFL to have the exclusive right to broadcast the Sunday Ticket Package from 2011-2014 at an annual value of one billion dollars during such period. Matthew Futterman, NFL, DirecTV Extend Pact in $4 Billion Deal, WALL STREET J., Mar. 24, 2009, at B5, available at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123786503490122053.html; NFL Media Rights Dealsfor '07 Season, STREET & SMITH'S SPORTS Bus. DAILY, Sept. 6, 2007, http:// www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/article/1 14714. 8. Paul D. Staudohar, The Football Strike of 1987: A Question of Free Agency, 111 MONTHLY LAB. REv. 26, 27 (1988). 9. National Basketball Association underwent a 191-day lockout beginning on July 1, 1998. NBPA History, NBPA.COM, http://www.nbpa.com/history.php (last visited Sept. 3, 2009). 10. Major League Baseball underwent a 32-day spring training lockout in 1990 and a 232-day strike in 1994, including the cancellation of the 1994 post-season. Don Fehr Announces Retirement, MLB.COM, June 22, 2009, http://www.mlb.com/pa/news/ article.jsp?ymd=20090622&content id=5470258&vkey-=mlbpa.news&fext=.jsp. 11. National Hockey League underwent a 103-day lockout during the 1994-95 season and a complete cancellation of the 2004-05 season due to a lockout. Paul D. Staudohar, The Hockey Lockout of2004-05, 128 MONTHLY LAB. REV. 12, 23 (2005). 12. Staudohar, supra note 8, at 27. 2009] THIRD AND LONG NFLPA and the NFLMC, the parties negotiated a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in 1993.13 This CBA was extended several times and serves as the basis for the most current CBA between the NFLPA and the NFLMC, which was most recently extended in 2006.14 The 2006 CBA initially was set to expire following the 2012 season; 15 however, the 2006 CBA allows either party to terminate the 2006 CBA early, essentially eliminating the final two years of the 2006 CBA. 16 In March 2008, the NFL owners elected to exercise this early termination option, 17 thus, making the 2010 season the final league year under the 2006 CBA. 18 Consequently, the NFL is in a precarious situation. The NFLMC and the NFLPA must agree on terms to extend or create a new CBA prior to March 1, 2010, (the "2010 League Year") to avoid an uncapped 2010 season and all of the ramifications that an uncapped year would entail. 19 More importantly, the NFLMC and the NFLPA must agree on terms to extend or create a new CBA prior to March 1, 2 0 2011, to prevent a work stoppage in the 2011 season. The CBA negotiations may have an added hurdle to overcome as the respective leaders of the NFLMC, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, and the NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith, are overseeing their first collective bargaining negotiation as leaders of their organizations. 2 1 Some commentators believe that this new leadership could slow the negotiation process because of the lack of familiarity in working with each other.22 The NFLPA and the NFLMC recently have commenced CBA 13. Nat.'l Football League, NFL Owners Opt Out of CBA, NFL.COM, May 20, 2008, http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d8O868b78&template-without-video&confirm--true. 14. Id. 15. Id. 16. NAT'L FOOTBALL LEAGUE, NFL COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE NFL MANAGEMENT COUNCIL AND THE NFL PLAYERS ASSOCIATION, art. LVIII § 3(a) (March 8, 2006) [hereinafter NFL CBA]. 17. Nat.'l Football League, supra note 13. 18. NFL CBA, supra note 16, at art. LVIII §3(a). 19. Vie Carucci, Commissioner, Owners Preparingfor Crucial CBA Discussions, NFL.COM, http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d80f699 1 d&template-without-video-with- comments&confirmn--true (last visited Sept. 7, 2009). 20. See Patrick Patterson, OaklandRaiders and the Countdown to 2011: The Coming Labor War, EXAMINER.COM, Feb. 14, 2009, http://www.examiner.com/ x-514-Oakland-Raiders-Examiner-y2009m2d 14-Oakland-Raiders-and-the-countdown-to-20 11 -The- coming-labor-war. 21. Liz Mullen, Another Variable: New Leadership, STREET & SMITH'S SPORTS BUS. J., Aug. 17-23, 2009 at 29 [hereinafter New Leadership]; NFL General Counsel, Jeff Pash, is assuming a leading role on behalf of the NFLMC. Liz Mullen, League Wants to Deduct More Costs from Revenue, STREET & SMITH'S SPORTS BUS. J., Aug. 17-23, 2009, at 28. 22. See New Leadership, supra note 21. MARQUETTE SPORTS LAW REVIEW [Vol. 20:1 negotiations, but there are many issues where the parties have conflicting views. This article will highlight some of the main issues that likely will be disputed topics during the CBA negotiations. Furthermore, this article will discuss in greater detail the ramifications and consequences of a failure to agree on terms to extend or create a new CBA prior to the 2010 League Year.
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