So what if there is no NFL/PA deal by September?

Then the season is screwed

Originally posted by fryet:
So if the players are not on strike, then why not just continue playing football? The NFL can put money aside for stadiums as they like and pay the players whatever they want. The players are already under contract, so I don't see what the point of decertifying the union accomplishes for them.

See if they remain a union they fall under the collective bargaining agreement. As a union they have to negotiate with owners to reach a deal. Which they realize they will eventuality lose b/c the owners have more money. If they decertify they become a collection of guys who can now sue the NFL. as a group they can sue the NFL saying that the owners are illegally locking them out and stopping them from work. and a judge could rule on their side thus restoring the league back to the rules of the previous agreement. They believe they have a better chance to win this way than remaining a union and trying to hold out in negotiations.

and they can't just hire replacements b/c what would stop any business or corporation from just firing all their employees whenever they felt like. then hire cheaper and inferior workers?

Originally posted by lamontb:

Originally posted by fryet:
So if the players are not on strike, then why not just continue playing football? The NFL can put money aside for stadiums as they like and pay the players whatever they want. The players are already under contract, so I don't see what the point of decertifying the union accomplishes for them.

See if they remain a union they fall under the collective bargaining agreement. As a union they have to negotiate with owners to reach a deal. Which they realize they will eventuality lose b/c the owners have more money. If they decertify they become a collection of guys who can now sue the NFL. as a group they can sue the NFL saying that the owners are illegally locking them out and stopping them from work. and a judge could rule on their side thus restoring the league back to the rules of the previous agreement. They believe they have a better chance to win this way than remaining a union and trying to hold out in negotiations.

and they can't just hire replacements b/c what would stop any business or corporation from just firing all their employees whenever they felt like. then hire cheaper and inferior workers?

Well, a company can fire all of their workers and hire cheaper ones. Only unions prevent that. If my company decided to cut my salary in half, there isn't anything I could do about it, but decide to leave. If I was the NFL, I would start to tax each of the teams for a stadium fund. The teams are then free to pay their players whatever they want - there is no need to lock out the players. They would probably lose things like the draft, salary caps, and things like franchise tags, but in the end they would be able to have better control over their finances. I just don't see how decertifying the union strengthens the players, but apparently there is some legal tactic that they believe gives them an advantage. I just wish some reporter would explain it.