All About Sports

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Star QBs Brady, Manning, Brees say 'It is time' for new deal

Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees say "it's time" for NFL owners and players to wrap up talkses on a deal to end the league's lockout.

The 3 star quarterbacks are one of 10 players who are appointed plaintiffs in an antitrust suit -- Brady et al v. National Football League et al-- against the NFL that's pending in federal court in Minnesota.

In a affirmation released to The Associated Press via the NFL Players Association on Wednesday, the New England Patriots' Brady, Indianapolis Colts' Manning and New Orleans Saints' Brees told they guess "the overall proposal made by the players is fair for both sides and it's time to get this deal done."

The statement continues: "This is the time of year we as players turn our attention to the game on the field. We desire the owners look the same way."

Brady, Manning and Brees spoke out as a group publicly for the 1st time as representatives of players and owners gathered Wednesday morning at a Manhattan office block for the latest round of dialogue aimed at resolving the fourth-month lockout. It is the NFL's 1st work stoppage since 1987, and talkses are at a critical phase.

Deadlines are coming up next week to get training camps and the preseason began on time. While it comes along that the sides have agreed on the basic elements of how to split more than $9 billion in annual revenues, among the key sticking points recently have been how to structure a new rookie earnings system and what free agency will look like.

Federally mediated talkses to arrive at a new collective bargaining agreement broke down March 11, and the old labor contract ran out. The NFLPA directly dissolved itself, meaning players no longer are secure under labor law but instead are now admitted to take their opportunities under antitrust law. That day, Brady, Manning, Brees and others filed their class-action lawsuit.

On March 12, the owners imposed a lockout on the players, a right direction has to close down a business when a CBA expires. During the lockout, there can be no communication between the squads and current NFL players; no players - including those drafted in April -- can be signed; teams won't pay for players' health policy.

A series of court rulings followed, including one last week from an appeals court that told the lockout could continue.

Dialogue resumed in May, overseen by a court-appointed mediator, U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan, who is on vacation this week. Boylan ordered both sides to talk with him in Minneapolis next Tuesday, and the owners have a special meeting set for July 21 in Atlanta, where they could vote to ratify a new deal if one is reached.

That means there's intense pressure on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA head DeMaurice Smith to keep things moving in a positive direction. Disruptions to the planned preseason schedule would decrease the overall revenue pie.

Smith was among those arriving Wednesday morning for talks, along with powerful team owners Robert Kraft of the Patriots, John Mara of the New York Giants and Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys.

Star QBs Brady, Manning, Brees say 'It is time' for new deal Rating: 4.5 Diposkan Oleh: Admin

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