NFL Talks Status

Mike Florio has an interesting assessment about some of the cross currents in the negotiation process. He essentially says the players’ lawyers are using the players for their (the lawyers’) own ends. Or at least, he thinks the owners think that and also feels it’s a plausible concern. Florio hints at the lawyers seeing themselves as “making law”; perhaps he doesn’t mention a bigger paycheck because that motivation is so obvious.

I’ll add an anecdotal conversation I had with a football agent I know. He felt it was a mistake from the beginning to involve lawyers in the process because all lawyers know is law, as opposed to negotiating. Agents, in contrast, are all about negotiating on the behalf of the players and have established relationships with the owners. In other words, the interests of the agents are more in line with the interests of the players than those of the lawyers.

Given this line of argument, as well as the evidence Florio lays out, I hope some of the players are also thinking about these issues. If it’s correct, then they are facing 2 opponents: the owners and their own lawyers.