NFL Players to meet at NFLPA headquarters, prepare for lockout
With a lockout just around the corner, National Football League (NFL) players are scrambling to prepare themselves. The Players Association (NFLPA) has been organising events and trying to raise awareness. This week NFL players are expected to convene in
Washington D.C. at the headquarters of the NFLPA.
If the league and the players union are able to get a deal done before a lockout, the union will need its executive members present in Washington to ratify the new deal. The odds of that actually happening in the final days of negotiations are next to nothing.
With labour negotiations breaking down, there is a good chance that the Players Association will decertify before NFL owners can lock them out by the 3rd March deadline, when the current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expires. The players
are gathering as a show of strength and to support their cause.
The players union launched an extensive media campaign against the NFL since the start of the labour negotiations. Union representative and players have been on hand to offer their version of events to the fans. If the union decertifies, or if they players
are locked out, the congregation of players will serve as a stepping stone for the union's public relations objectives. The high profile players present in Washington are expected to come forward with comments about the labour strife.
The players union is also mulling setting up a fund for players during a lockout. The union will pay NFL players from the fund to help players who will be affected by the lockout. A lockout won't have an effect on players’ compensations until May, however
players who were scheduled to receive bonuses will not paid those amounts if there is no deal by the deadline.
Nearly 75 people were scheduled to receive a total of around $200 million. The fund has been created to keep the players together during a lockout. When players start to feel the financial pinch, the NFL expects the unions resolve to crumble.
An estimated 25 percent of players are entering free agency this year. Many of those players have no received contract extensions because of the labour dispute. Unless they are signed within the next few days, they will be unable to sign with any NFL franchise
until a new collective bargaining agreement is in place.
Players will also have to pay for their own health coverage as of 3rd March. While their health insurance will continue to be unaffected, they will have to pay the premiums themselves. Those costs are expected to be around $800 to $900 a month
or higher.
The lockout fund will hand out pay-cheques to players depending on the number of years a player has spent in the NFL. The players association has been advising players since before the end of the regular season to cut back on spending and save their last
few game cheques for a lockout.
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