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Schefter tweets - Stay granted, lockout is on, complete win for owners

SNF

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Adam Schefter
The stay is granted. Lockout is on.
1 hour ago

Adam Schefter
Owners now have the leverage. This is a complete win for the owners. Players are in trouble, based on judge's words in this ruling.
1 hour ago

Adam Schefter
Here's the vote: Majority opinion is 2-1 decision to grant the stay and uphold the lockout.
51 minutes ago

Adam Schefter
Money phrase: On page 11 of today's ruling, judges wrote, "Our present view is that Judge Nelson’s interpretation is unlikely to prevail.”
42 minutes ago

Jason L. Reimer, Esq
by AdamSchefter
If NFL makes serious offer, Players have to think. 8th Cir. clearly indicates it doesn't think it can end a lockout. It will take 2-4 yrs until trial in front of Nelson.
31 minutes ago

Judy Battista
by AdamSchefter
And that might be an understatement. RT @Greg_A_Bedard: Boy, Judge Nelson got dissed in this decision. Repeatedly.
11 minutes ago

Adam Schefter
Bottom line: In this game of courthouse football, the owners have won most significant battle to date. Players now have choices to make.
5 minutes ago
 
Last edited:
Wow. This thing has more twists and turns than Pee Wee Herman in a peep show :)
 
If Tweedle De Smith continues to be the lawyer for the players and coupled with these decisions today, 2011 season is gone.
 
Someone, somewhere is asking, "So who wants to play football this year?"
 
I think this makes a full(ish) season more likely. The owners were waiting until they had more leverage--i.e., when players would start missing checks. Now there are very strong indications that that day will come, so the NFLPA is under pressure to work out a deal sooner rather than later.
 
If Tweedle De Smith continues to be the lawyer for the players and coupled with these decisions today, 2011 season is gone.

I agree. If he's allowed to continue the way he has he'll kill the sport, at least short term. The players need to wake up and get him out of there, or at least pressure him to put aside his ego and begin reasonable negotiations.
 
I think this makes a full(ish) season more likely. The owners were waiting until they had more leverage--i.e., when players would start missing checks. Now there are very strong indications that that day will come, so the NFLPA is under pressure to work out a deal sooner rather than later.

I agree. If he's allowed to continue the way he has he'll kill the sport, at least short term. The players need to wake up and get him out of there, or at least pressure him to put aside his ego and begin reasonable negotiations.

Romberjo, I wanted to quote SNF on this too. De Smith has another lawyer on the team who is taking a strong lead and that particular lawyer wants to abolish FA, the draft, and change the game to a point where it is no longer recognizable.

A few minor changes is one thing, but what De Smith and Co. want now is simply mind boggling. If they choose to continue on this course, even after what we have seen this evening, the 2011 season is gone. Yes, you would see some cracks in the union, but it would take a long time.

We'll see what happens.
 
Before Judge Nelson's ruling, there were rumblings of a break within the union with some of the lesser known players, the ones who might not last more than 3-4 years. I wonder in light of this ruling if those rumblings might get a little louder?
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It's all fun and games until paychecks start being missed.
 
I want them to negotiate and work this out. I hate that courts got involved at all. But the players were intent on taking this to court. Now it looks like that has not worked. I don't care who has the leverage. Work it out and get back on the field.
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I don't care how they settle this. They all make so much money it laughable anyway. Just get something done and lets get to some real football.
 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sport...othings-free/2011/05/16/AFW4gD5G_story_1.html

I know Sally isn't beloved in Redskins land, but she has an interesting take. The fact that Wilf is trying to push his deal through without a vote is preposterous. The players lost some of the PR battle yesterday, but the longer this goes on, the worse the owners look as some of this crap comes to light.
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Judy Battista
by AdamSchefter
And that might be an understatement. RT @Greg_A_Bedard: Boy, Judge Nelson got dissed in this decision. Repeatedly.
11 minutes ago


Can a reporter for a newspaper say "dissed?" Man...the quality of journalism has tumbled so far...
 
Oops...wrong thread.
 
If the owners wanted another piece of leverage, some of the players may be handing them one on a silver platter.

Locked-out players line up for cash loans
Special to FOX Sports The Daily


31
Updated May 17, 2011 1:38 PM ET
By Chris Corbellini and Jason Schwartz

As the NFL work stoppage continues with no end in sight, some cash-strapped players are taking out high-risk, high-interest loans to get them through the lean times — some as big as $250,000 with interest rates as high as 30 percent.


Players make their entire salary during the regular season, and many rely on offseason workout bonuses to get them through the spring and summer. With opening day — and their next payday — uncertain, some are turning to lenders like AGR Sports Funding, a Virginia-based firm that specializes in lending to professional athletes.

Jason Yorker, owner of AGR, likes to think of himself as a lifeline for NFL players. When cash gets tight, they can turn to him to borrow, as he puts it, “a couple extra hundred thousand dollars here and there.”

To explain the 30 percent interest rate he charges, Yorker said that, unlike other lenders, he doesn’t care much about his clients’s credit scores or whether they have any assets to back up the loan. If he thinks a player’s good for it, he can get them the cash in just a couple of weeks. Since the beginning of the lockout March 12, Yorker said, business has been booming.

“You’d be surprised at some of the names of people that have been reaching out to us,” said Yorker — declining to name names — adding that they even include Pro Bowl players.

Over the past six weeks or so, according to Yorker, he’s issued 25 NFL players loans, ranging from $30,000 to $250,000. Last year at this time, he’d made just three loans. Of the current batch, 10 went to veterans and 15 to incoming rookies. The demand from just-drafted prospects left out in the cold by the lockout has been “off the charts,” he said.


LABOR FIGHT HITS HOME
The battle between millionaire players and billionaire owners greatly impacts common folks.
Leon McKenzie, president of Sure Sports Lending, a Florida outfit, said the number of players coming to see him is increasing, as well.

“There does seem to be more people looking,” he said, adding that his interest rates typically run from six to 15 percent.

Considering that NFL players have yet to miss a game check, it’s somewhat curious that some veterans, as well as rookies, are looking for these loans. But Yorker said he’s been hearing from several players who’ve found themselves in need of quick cash after missing out on offseason workout bonuses.

“Believe it or not, some guys are dependent on that,” he said.

Chad Lewis, a three-time Pro Bowl tight end over a nine-year career in the NFL, indicated that many NFL players are notoriously free-spending and bad at managing their money.

“Most players aren’t making what a rock star makes,” Lewis said. “But if their lifestyle is gonna approach that of a rock star, then their money will run out very quickly.”

The minimum NFL salary is roughly $320,000, with the average approaching $2 million per season.

Hall of Famer Deion Sanders told The Daily he tries to educate young players.

“One of the things I do is try to go back and grab these young guys and say, 'Understand, there’s going to be a famine,’” Sanders said. “They say, 'What do you mean by a famine?’”

Now, added Sanders, “Some of those guys are crying broke.”

“You tell these guys to manage their money better, but it doesn’t happen,” said agent Rick Smith of Priority Sports and Entertainment. “So they take out bridge loans to get them through it.”

The former union has opened a savings war chest, funded over the past two years by the players themselves, to help ease the monetary burden. The first payments began April 15, and according to NFL.com, up to $60,000 will be available per player. That’s close to what an average player would make during the offseason, but the concern is how to make those dollars stretch.

“That’s basically to cover their insurance,” Smith said. “It’s their own money being kicked back to them, to be able to pay for their health insurance.”

Another reason players are borrowing now — before even missing a major payday — is that they may be afraid credit will dry up if the lockout continues into the NFL season, said Darren Heitner, an agent and the author of sportsagentblog.com. After all, if interest rates are this high now, what will they be like when players start to miss game checks and lenders know they are even less likely to be repaid?

To financial planners, these high-interest loans represent a troubling trend.

“I get so frustrated when I hear stories like that,” said Ted Reid, a senior vice president and wealth adviser for Morgan Stanley, who’s been helping athletes invest their money for 25 years.

“I’ve heard ranges way above the 15 percent level, but even 15 percent, that’s absolutely ridiculous.”

Reid said that if players need cash, they ought to be taking out home equity loans or other, asset-backed lines of credit, with interest rates from 2-4 percent. Or they should start selling things off: “If you’re borrowing at 30 percent, it’s time to start liquidating your assets,” he said.

But Yorker said he’s offering players a square deal. The interest is high because, more often than not, he’s not asking his clients to back their loans up with anything.

“You ask any of my clients if they’ve ever felt that I took advantage of them, they’ll tell you straight up, I’m a lifesaver. When nobody would give them any money, I gave them money,” Yorker said.

“They thank me and we’re friends. We continue to be friends after that. If they ever need money, they know they can come to me.”

Article link: http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/nfl-lockout-leads-to-players-taking-out-cash-loans-with-huge-interest-rates-051511
 
Nice summary here:

For NFL fans, the ruling from the Eighth Circuit to keep the lockout in place may actually bode well for football being back in business sometime this summer. Beyond the immediate emotion and disappointment that fans have about the NFL still being closed for business, the ruling on Monday night – followed by a similar result on appeal – may be the most direct path to a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and a full season in 2011.

The ruling and the appeal

Two of the three appellate court judges from the Eighth Circuit agreed with the NFL that this battle between the Players and the Owners – at least in regard to the lockout – is beyond the jurisdiction of Judge Nelson's court.

The ruling endorsed the NFL’s broad interpretation of the Norris-LaGuardia Act -- originally meant to protect employees from injunctions --to protect the NFL (an employer) from an injunction (lifting the lockout) arising from the ongoing labor dispute.

These same three judges will be deciding the appeal. That does not bode well for the Players, as it is hard to see a different result.

Thus, it is likely that the lockout will continue with a favorable ruling to the Owners from the June 3d hearing, a ruling that will come in late June or early July.

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Owners-court-victory-a-path-to-a-deal.html

I think the players screwed up here. When Nelson ruled in their favor, they should have tried to resume negotiation right away. Instead they waited for the court-mandated negotiation, and when the appeal came down, they got smacked down. Tactical mistake.

What I think is clear in all this is something Brandt said in the last part of that article, that both sides mistrust and hate each other. Strong words, but probably true. The owners now have most of the leverage, especially in light of the nonsense Serv posted.

Here's an interesting question I wonder if either side is contemplating, but particularly the owners. The majority of football fans are God-fearing, USA-lovin' people. If the owners are willing to wait out the players until the start of the season so the players will really feel the pain, thereby giving them a better deal (or at least a chance at one), they will miss the opening day being on 9-11. Given everything that has happened in the last month, and also granting you that September is a LONG way away, I personally can't see that reaction being very positive.

I keep reading there is no pressure on either side until the game checks start being missed in September, which is why neither side has displayed a great sense of urgency, but I have to wonder if they are accounting at all for 9-11, on this, the 10 year anny?
 
Oh, and Serv, let me clarify. I don't think you shouldn't have posted that, just that that kind of nonsense is indicative of why the owners will ultimately win, unless there is a staggering reversal in the courts.

Nice find, and very enlightening. And depressing.
 

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