Union president Gene Upshaw says the league and the union are miles apart in CBA negotiations....thats pretty normal talk during labor talks, but what is abnormal, is the step Upshaw threatened to take if a deal wasnt done before the current CBA expires....if the CBA isnt redone by 2007, it will be an uncapped year(no salary cap), but Upshaw says if that happens, he will decertify the union and every player will be a free agent....I have no idea if hes right, but that would be total and utter chaos....with every player free and no salary restrictions, things will get crazy really fast....
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (TheBeef)</div><div class='quotemain'>Union president Gene Upshaw says the league and the union are miles apart in CBA negotiations....thats pretty normal talk during labor talks, but what is abnormal, is the step Upshaw threatened to take if a deal wasnt done before the current CBA expires....if the CBA isnt redone by 2007, it will be an uncapped year(no salary cap), but Upshaw says if that happens, he will decertify the union and every player will be a free agent....I have no idea if hes right, but that would be total and utter chaos....with every player free and no salary restrictions, things will get crazy really fast....</div> Sounds like a bunch of BS. The only sticking point is what counts as revenue for division among the owners and then thusly the players. I.E. will luxury box revenues be divided up.
I can't imagine that this is anything more than a semi-bluff. I don't get it though. If this is such a good decision for the players and the game, then why not just do it now? I guess I just don't get unions like this.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (MKIV_Supra)</div><div class='quotemain'>What they should do is just raise the amount of salary cap for every team.</div> Its really high now....almost no one is having trouble staying under at this point becuase ithig is so h....the issue is always going to be what % of revenue is slated for salaries....the salary cap is currently about 59% of counted revenues and Upshaw is saying the league is asking for the new deal to start around 54%-55% of counted revenue....Upshaw says theres no way they will accept any less than they currently are getting....when labor chiefs make statements about what they will "never" do, that leads to labor strife and loss of face....
they raise the cap usually every year because the revenues are getting higher each year this year is higher than last year. I hope the union gets this worked out i mean its really just an embarressment when u do what hockey is doing. They make plenty of money compromise its how life works u cant just demand and expect to get it
With the salaries getting to where they are, eventually every major sport is going to be in a situation that hockey is in. Somewhere is has just got to stop. The main thing keeping the NFL alive is the major TV contracts. Salaries cannot keep going up 15% every year, while revenue goes up 6%. Teams will not be able to stay afloat. It's the same thing with cost of living. The cost of living can't keep going up 15-20% a year while salary and inflation rates go up 2-3% every year. It has to stop somewhere, you would think.
