E-GIANTS
Dave Klein was the Giants' beat writer
for The Star-Ledger from 1961 to 1995.
He is the author of 26 books and he is one of
only four sportswriters to have covered all the Super Bowls.
Dave has allowed TEAM GIANTS to reprint some of his articles.

FORGET 2010... COULD LABOR ISSUES DERAIL GIANTS 2011 PLANS?

By Aaron Klein
Sure, you're still stinging from the crushing disappointment that was the Giants' 2010 season, and you didn't buy the talk that a 10-win season is a success.

It is, and it is not.

Some of you lost sleep when it was announced that head coach Tom Coughlin would be back, others were behind the idea.

And now, as you shake it off, watch the playoffs -- oh, what might have been? -- and start sketching out a mock draft, we need to talk.

Circle March 4 on your calendar, it could be a big day. That's when the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) will expire and the day that, if there is no new CBA, the NFL can lock out the players. While that word, lockout, has scary connotations, it may not be a disaster, depending on what you choose to believe.

There are those who think that a deal will be done on or about March 4 and that both sides just want to hammer out the details as soon as possible despite all the doom and gloom. Technically, if there is no new agreement by then, the league can lock the doors, but it doesn't have to lock them. It's a public relations decision as much as it is a legal one. A lockout sounds so grim, so defiant, that the backlash could be bad on the league's Teflon shield. Conversely, leaving the doors open past that date while operating under current and temporary rules would be a nice gesture, though it could diminish leverage.

There are also those who think that a deal will be delayed, maybe into the summer and possibly even cutting into the first few weeks of the regular season.

What's it all about?

Well, the league wants to cut back expenses, get a rookie wage scale and implement an 18-game season. The league wants to shrink the players' piece of the pie from the current 59 percent, though it insists that doesn't necessarily mean a pay cut, just that the players would draw from a smaller pile of cash. That the players are taking up nearly 60 percent of the total NFL pie sounds, on the surface, like a sin. Why, though, should the player give up what they already have?

The NFL says it needs to cut in order to invest in other areas, like NFL Network, NFL Properties and other entities all designed to make more money. There is also a lingering internal problem having to do with supplemental revenue, the ice cream atop the pie (see: new stadiums, luxury boxes, etc.), which does not fall under the usual revenue shared by the 32 teams from areas including television and memorabilia like shirts, hats, mugs, posters, jerseys and all that stuff.

The problem is, the NFL is having a hard time stating its case when it is set to post record numbers this year, though there are teams that have not kept up and are even losing money. Still, the argument worked better this time last year.

The NFL Players Association, for once, is not the bad guy, at least on the surface. It is protecting the players' rights and livelihoods, though.

The 18-game season doesn't sound like a really big deal and the players are against it for the most part, citing physical wear and tear as the biggest problem. Get over it guys. While I don't think the current 16-game schedule is in need of repair, two more regular season games will grow the overall revenue and, therefore, expand the players' slice regardless of the current proposal.

Rookie wage scale? Fine by me. Rookie quarterback Sam Bradford brought in a contract worth something like $50 million before taking a pro snap while veterans were getting cut.

There is a theory floating around NFLPA representative DeMaurice Smith actually wants a lockout so that he can push harder and force some other changes, so that he can look good and powerful and get a Congressional hearing and all that. It sounds like nonsense, like NFL propaganda, but if it's true, the players need to oust him immediately since that would just make it all worse and could expose the players to further losses.

Since both sides knew this was coming, the 2010 season was "sort of" an uncapped year, though I bet you didn't see a lot of huge contracts with a team trying to buy its way into the Super Bowl. In fact, the NFLPA recently filed charged that the NFL was in collusion since only one Restricted Free Agent signed with a new team last year.

Yeah, collusion. Like it takes collusion to figure out that no one wanted to spend any more than it had to with this CBA issue looming.

As a result of this limbo year, players can be released on or after Feb. 4 but none can be signed by new clubs until the new CBA is in place.

Similarly, there will be a 2011 draft, though not without a few hitches. For one, like veteran free agents, none of the rookie can be signed until the next contract between the NFL and the NFLPA is in place. Also, there can only be trades involving draft choice before and during the draft unless there is a new CBA. That means, the Giants can't trade, say, Antrel Rolle or Brandon Jacobs during the three-day draft to move up for fresh blood, just draft choices. That's why the New England Patriots amassed six picks in the first three rounds.

So, how does all this impact the Giants? While we can argue that the pending labor issue may have had an effect on the team to retain the coaching staff, it's probably a weak point. More importantly, decisions have to be made as to which players currently without contracts should be retained and which should go. The team will also have to sit on its wish list of veteran free agents who played elsewhere last year.

In the end, this will be worked out. Sure, there could be a lockout and subsequent nasty court battle just as easily as there could be an agreement in place at any moment.

Again, it's about money first, but it's also about public relations, public perception, and neither side wants to look bad when this mess is finally put to rest.

Then the Giants can get back to the business of cutting Eli Manning's interceptions, finding the left tackle of the future, drafting a killer linebacker, debating the backfield situation and fixing the special teams.

Send questions, comments or criticisms to aklein22@verizon.net.

Check out Dave's website at E-GIANTS where you can subscribe to his newsletters which run much more frequently than what is available here.
- Team Giants

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