Football

The cheers of football fans across the country were audible this week as the NFL's proposed new collective bargaining agreement was approved by team owners, the Executive Committee of the Players' Association and the Player Reps from each team. Although some people found the break from NFL-mania to be a welcome respite, the overwhelming majority couldn't wait to start planning tailgates, donning their team jerseys, cleaning up their man caves and buying tickets to football games that previously were on hold, some feared, for the season.

Banner ads are popping up all across the internet recruiting people to their fantasy football leagues, while teams are scrambling to sign the 1000+ free agents, draft picks and undrafted rookies before training camps begin on Sunday, July 31st.

These last few days have been very exciting, as fans eagerly watch and wait to see who is added to their favorite team's roster. For all of you die-hards, here is how this will play out... Starting at 10AM EST on July 26, teams were permitted to do the following: 1) sign drafted and undrafted rookies, 2) talk to both restricted and unrestricted veteran free agents and 3) discuss trades with other teams. So for example, Eagles fans, that means that Eagles can officially shop Kevin Kolb to other teams. Then, starting 6pm EST on July 29, teams can sign veteran free agents and complete player trades. One big change you'll notice: no more mega contracts for drafted rookies. The new collective bargaining agreement eliminates the type of deals that guaranteed players $50MM in the past. There is now a rookie pool and limited incentives.

In the end, who won and who lost in this unprecedented NFL Lockout? As with most labor disputes, neither side got everything it wanted. Team owners succeed in getting a larger percentage of revenues, limiting rookie contracts and didn't really lose any money during the lockout. Players got increased safety rules, established more money to be paid by the league to the retired player funds, and preserved many of the free agency benefits achieved under the prior collective bargaining agreement. Additionally, the players will have to re-form their union in order to drop an antitrust lawsuit against the league, initiated when the lockout began in March. (Players decertified their union in order to be able to pursue the lawsuit).

FYI, some of the biggest names that will be in play during free agency are: Nhamdi Asomugha, Reggie Bush, Plaxico Burress, Santonio Holmes and several other big named players will be traded such as Donovan McNabb, Kevin Kolb, and Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie

Joshua M. Marks, Esq.
JM LAW GROUP, LLC
1818 MARKET STREET, SUITE 3740
PHILADELPHIA, PA 19103
215.832.3600
http://www.lawmr.com
josh@lawmr.com
http://www.youtube.com/user/jmsportsrep

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