NFL talks adjourn until May 16, and potential player union "rift"

Topdawg13 · Apr 20, 2011

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Executive vice president Jeff Pash, the NFL's lead negotiator, said Wednesday that U.S. Judge Magistrate Arthur Boylan told both sides they likely won't convene again until May 16 because he has a few other matters on his judicial calendar.

In the interim, U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson is expected to decide well before then on the players' request to immediately lift the now 40-day-old lockout.

Also coming: U.S. District Judge David Doty has scheduled a hearing for May 12 on the players' request for damages after he ruled in March that the NFL did not maximize revenues for both sides when it renegotiated $4 billion in TV contracts with the labor dispute looming.

Finally, there could be a fourth set of lawyers and players at the mediation table, with a Philadelphia law firm talking with another group of players about joining the fight.

"We've had discussions about representing some additional players who want to have a voice in the matter," said Bryan Clobes of Cafferty Faucher.
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About the "other players".............

There could be a rift opening in the NFL Players Association.

A group consisting of as many as 70 players is close to signing with a law firm in order to intervene in the Tom Brady antitrust case, the Sports Business Daily reported on its website Wednesday, citing unnamed sources. The group of players isn't contesting the earlier lawsuit but wants a place at the mediation table, according to the report, so the group can explain its take on the labor dispute.

Whereas the plaintiffs in the earlier lawsuit filed by 10 players consisted of some of the biggest names in the NFL -- Brady, Drew Brees and Peyton Manning -- this new group comprises mid-tier players, according to the Sports Business Daily.

The new group of players, which the Sports Business Daily said could not yet be identified -- is reportedly unhappy that earlier mediation talks ended in Washington last month before the NFLPA filed for decertification.

DeMaurice Smith, the head of the players' trade association, said he was unaware of the report.

Vrabel said that abandoning the cause in this way would be the wrong way to demonstrate dissatisfaction.

"We all have a seat at the table already. If they're unhappy, then we should get together and elect a new executive board," he said.

Some things have to happen, however, before the intervention is filed, the Sports Business Daily reported. The law firm wants at least 75 players on board before filing the intervention, and the firm has to resolve a minor conflict, which was not identified in the report. If these issues are solved, the new group of players could file by the end of this week.
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Things just seem to be getting tons better, don't they folks?

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