NFL players' union files case claiming improper TV deals by NFL

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/09/AR2010060905653.html

By Mark Maske
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 10, 2010

The NFL Players Association filed a complaint with an arbitrator Wednesday, claiming that the NFL improperly negotiated its national TV deals to create what would amount to a work-stoppage fund for team owners if they lock out players in 2011.

The union's complaint to special master Stephen Burbank, a University of Pennsylvania law professor who resolves disputes that arise from the league's contract with players, contends that the TV contracts give the owners unfair leverage over players because the league would collect the TV fees even if there is a work stoppage.

"It seems like they have a $4 billion net underneath them and we have nothing to protect us," Baltimore Ravens cornerback Domonique Foxworth, a member of the union's executive committee, said in a conference call.

The union also claims that the league may have violated the terms of a 1993 settlement with the players by accepting less money in rights fees from the TV networks than it could have obtained if the deals did not contain the provision that they would be payable during a work stoppage.

The league denied the union's allegations. In a written statement, the NFL said: "The television contracts that the union attacked today were agreed to during the worst economy in our lifetimes. Far from failing to maximize revenue, the contracts grew league revenue to fund higher player salaries and benefits."

FULL story at link.