June 16, 2010, 3:43 pm
N.F.L. Brings Expanded Season Proposal to Union
By LYNN ZINSER
At a meeting between the N.F.L. and the players’ association negotiating teams in New York on Wednesday, the league spelled out its proposal for expanding the regular season to 18 games while cutting preseason games back to two. The two sides met for several hours in their first session since early February.
The two sides did not discuss any of the issues involved, said Mark Murphy, the president of the Packers, who is a member of the N.F.L.’s negotiating team. Murphy said most of the details of expanding the regular season would have to be ironed out in negotiations, including potentially expanding rosters, altering the off-season schedule and changing injured-reserve rules. Murphy said 2012 would be the earliest an 18-game schedule could be started.
According to the union, the players’ main concerns involve increased risk of injury in a longer season.
“I’ve been blessed to play this game for so long, but it’s time to start thinking about what legacy and impact changes like this will leave for the players of tomorrow and us after we retire.” Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis said in a statement released by the players’ association. “I know our fans may not like preseason games and I don’t like all of them, but swapping two preseason games for two end-of-season games—when players already play hurt—comes at a huge cost for the player and the team.”
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said: “I’ve taken part in several postseason runs where we have played 20 games. The long-term impact this game has on our bodies is well documented.”
Murphy said an N.F.L. study has shown that injury rates do not increase as the season progresses, but that the league was sensitive to the players’ safety fears. He said the league would look at the structure of the off-season, consider a bye week between the preseason and regular season and other modifications the players might propose.
The union has also suggested that players’ compensation should be boosted because of the addition of two regular season games. The league’s position is that because the overall number of games does not change, player pay should remain the same.
“In the current system, players are our partners,” Murphy said, referring to player compensation being approximately 60 percent of league revenues under the salary cap system. “If we can grow revenue and improve the game, they benefit.”
The expanded regular season has not been voted on by N.F.L. owners, Murphy said, but added, “It has a lot of momentum among the owners. It addresses a real problem we have in our league, the quality of the preseason.”
The league also proposed starting a developmental league, with the goal of giving more preparation time to young players that would be lost by cutting out preseason games. Murphy said that starters rarely play more than five or six quarters of the preseason and the major beneficiaries of the extra time are young players and backups.
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