Union files complaint alleging NFL improperly re-negotiated contracts with TV networks

Union files complaint against NFL over TV deals

NEW YORK — The NFL Players Association filed a complaint Wednesday claiming the league deprived players of potential revenue when it re-negotiated its contracts with television networks.

The complaint alleges the NFL structured the contracts so it would be guaranteed money even if there is a lockout in 2011 — while not maximizing revenue from other seasons when the league would have to share that income with players. The union says that violates a 17-year-old agreement between the two sides, which stipulates the league must make good-faith efforts to maximize revenue for players.

“One of the fundamental problems we have with what happened is it appears owners have traded revenues during the term of the (collective bargaining) agreement to maximize their own welfare at the expense of the players after the agreement is over: during a lockout,” Jeffrey Kessler, the outside counsel for the NFLPA, said on a conference call.

The complaint was filed to the special master who oversees disputes between the two sides.

In a statement, the NFL noted that union executive director DeMaurice Smith said earlier this year: “My hat’s off to Roger Goodell. Television is locked up until 2014 to the tune of about $5 billion a year.”

“The television contracts that the union attacked today were agreed to during the worst economy in our lifetimes,” the statement said. “Far from failing to maximize revenue, the contracts grew league revenue to fund higher player salaries and benefits. … The union’s meritless charges, including many inaccuracies, will be addressed in the proper forum, but they are simply a distraction and do nothing to get us any closer to a new CBA.”

The current collective bargaining agreement expires in March, which could lead to a work stoppage during the 2011 season. Smith said talks between the union and league were still set to resume this month, and he insisted the complaint wouldn’t hamper those negotiations.

Smith said the NFL would essentially be paid $4 billion to not play football. He claims the NFL gave networks new media rights for free for the seasons leading up to the lockout, which violates a settlement reached in 1993 that resolved an antitrust suit brought by the union against the league.

“It doesn’t seem fair in a lot of ways,” said Baltimore Ravens cornerback Domonique Foxworth, a member of the NFLPA executive committee. “We assume we’re going into this business relationship together. We’re going out on this ledge together to try to come to some sort of agreement. But it seems like they have a $4 billion net underneath them and we have nothing to protect us.

“It makes us very nervous; it makes us very scared when there’s a fire behind us and all of our players to get a deal done, because if we don’t, we don’t work. But that fire doesn’t extend to underneath their feet if they have this cushion under them.”