When league and NFLPA* sources aren’t saying that a labor deal is or isn’t close, they’re talking about the “hard work” that remains.
1 such source played the “hard work” card tonight with ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio, saying that “there is a lot of difficult work to be done.”
As to no matter whether a deal will be presented to the owners for approval on July 21, the source said, “I just do not know.”
Either way, the parties have 200 million factors to make it happen. As one owner told Paolantonio,”Everybody is trying to figure out how to open training camps inside the next two weeks so we don’t lose a week of preseason. Nobody desires to lose $ 200 million.”
And therein lies the current difficulty, in our assessment. With each and every side assuming that the other side doesn’t want to blow its cut of $ 200 million, every side is assuming that the other side will blink on the remaining problems. It’s consequently now much more essential than ever that the respective leaders, Roger Goodell and DeMaurice Smith, offer actual leadership.
Everyone loses if a week of the preseason is lost at this point, neither side really should be trying to secure a win.
