cro is restricted if they play under last yrs ruling all in all though this is a terrible blow for the fans because the longer this court mess keeps going on the worse chance we have of getting an agreement these guys should be negoiating at a table and not having judges making all the decisions
I'm traveling. Only landed in BWI a short while ago.. Heard we had snow a few days ago...... I was in Maine with rain while your home and mine apparently had some more snowfall.
Maybe that's the answer. Judd Nelson should sit the owners down with the players' union in the library, break out a couple of blunts and kick the shit around until they all decide that they've actually all got lots in common after all, then Goodell and DeMaurice Smith can go and have a good fumble with each other before promising to ignore each other in the corridor on Monday morning.
I'm pretty sure that if the lockout ends and free agency begins without a new CBA, Cromartie would (assuming he signs it) be playing on a 1-year tender.
does this include GM's not talking to agents? because it sure would be great if tanny could get some ball park numbers for our FA and what they want.... it should would give us a better idea what we need draft wise. If we are pretty sure tanny can get both braylon and holmes signed with their current demands, it would be great news to have before the draft...
i could care less about the players being allowed into the facillities to work out tomorrow. I care more about tanny being able to formulate a plan that will allow him to get an updated accurate representation of the wants of our top 4 FA's, so that he can get an idea who they have a good shot at keeping, and who will likely be lost. When he knows that (or at least has the best look he is going to get three days pre-draft) he will know if we are going to be losing a WR, or Cro, or one WR and Cro or if keeping all 4 is a perfectly reasonable option. Yeah it awesome if the players can come to work, but if we can't actually talk to them, its all but irrelevant to helping us figure out who is coming back to play next year.
It wouldn't give him any better idea since the agents will start with a really high number to start negotiations, they won't say something like "we want 10, but probably you'll be able to sign us for 7 so you can get Braylon too". In the end it'd be pointless.
Fuck the facilities. The best use of the free hours prior to the appeal being granted would be for the entire front office staff to goad Brandon Marshall by phone.
Was going to say the same thing... If you don't think GM's and agents have been talking then I got a bridge to sell ya.
my understanding is that since the lockout began GM's weren't able to speak to the agents about deals, just like they can't talk to the players. Obviously Tanny has spoken to the agents prior to the lockout. But sometimes perspectives change on things like this. Hell maybe Cro decides that he really likes the Jets and that he doesn't want to go elsewhere. Maybe Tone's original demands were 9.5 a year, and now his agent has dropped it to 8.5 because Tone wants his new deal ASAP because he is running out of money. Obviously the original demands will be well above what they actually get paid, but a starting point is the key to negotiations. But the lockout may have changed some opinions on things. Hell even if it didnt, its important to know that as well. I hope tanny was able to garner some new information while the lockout has been lifted...
For the next day or so you might not see the CS talking to the players, but the league risks a collusion charge if it goes much beyond that. The justification in the short run is no one knows what to say or do. Meh. Whatever merit that has drops every day going forward. I thought it would go this way up to this point. The real wild card is what will the 8th Cir. do on appeal. Although perceived as a pro-employer court likely to rule in the league's favor, from what I have heard I doubt it's even 50-50 it will. The trial court's factual findings will be difficult to overturn. I think that will include that the player's union decertification was for real. So I hope what this means is that the league will have an incentive to bargain that for whatever reason it has not had up til now. And the players, while coming off a victory, should be concerned about losing their leverage if the appeal were to go against them. In short, conditions are good for a settlement. But... that assumes both parties will be reasonable. In hindsight I have to question the owners' legal strategy. Unlike MLB they don't have antitrust exemptions. Did they really think they would win the trial court phase? I haven't heard any qualified commentator say they thought so. So, losing at the district court level, they would have been counting on a reversal? Pretty high stakes, imo. Well, maybe they feel they have not lost much, either, at least up til now.
