AP source: Judge expected in NY for NFL talks

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Talks to end the NFL lockout will resume with the court-appointed

mediator in New York on Monday and could continue through Thursday,

a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated

Press.

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The person spoke to the AP on Sunday on condition of anonymity,

because the discussions are supposed to remain

confidential.

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The mediator, U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan, originally had

ordered representatives of the league’s owners and players to meet

with him Tuesday in Minneapolis. Now Boylan is expected to arrive

in New York on Monday to oversee talks aimed at ending the NFL’s

first work stoppage since 1987.

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The owners have a special meeting set for Thursday in Atlanta,

where they potentially could ratify a new deal – if one is reached

by then. Any agreement also must be voted on by groups of players,

including the named plaintiffs in a federal antitrust suit against

the league, and the NFL Players Association’s 32 team

representatives.

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More than four months into the lockout, owners and players have

made significant progress on the framework of an agreement. But

re-establishing the union and figuring out what it will take for

nine NFL players – including star quarterbacks Tom Brady, Peyton

Manning and Drew Brees – to settle that antitrust suit are among

key issues blocking a deal to end the lockout, people familiar with

the negotiations told the AP on condition of anonymity.

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The unresolved matters also include how the TV networks case, in

which the players accused the owners of setting up “lockout

insurance,” will be settled.

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Among the parts mostly squared away following significant progress

last week:

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– how the more than $9 billion in annual league revenues will be

divided;

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– a rookie salary system;

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– free agency rules;

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– a cap of about $120 million for player salaries in 2011, with

about another $20 million in benefits.

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The lockout began March 12, when negotiations broke down and the

old collective bargaining agreement expired. The NFLPA announced it

was dissolving itself and would no longer be a union that could

bargain for all players under labor law, instead saying it was now

a trade association. That allowed players to take their chances

against the NFL in federal court under antitrust law.

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There is a possibility that the sides will be able to put together

a tentative agreement in principle in time to keep the preseason

completely intact. The exhibition opener is scheduled to be the

Hall of Fame game between the St. Louis Rams and Chicago Bears on

Aug. 7, and as of Sunday, no preseason games had been

canceled.

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Members of the legal and financial teams for the two groups met in

New York on Saturday, while NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and

NFLPA head DeMaurice Smith spoke with each other. The larger

negotiating teams that gathered for more than 30 hours of intensive

face-to-face talks spread across Wednesday through Friday –

including owners and current or former players – did not meet

Saturday.

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Among the parts of the deal that people familiar with the

negotiations told the AP are largely in place:

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– The players’ portion of the league’s full annual revenues will be

on a sliding scale with a floor of 46.5 percent and a ceiling of

48.5 percent. There no longer will be the old formula, under which

owners got a cut off the top for various operating expenses before

revenues were divided.

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The new percentages represent a decrease for players, because they

were winding up with a higher percentage under the old contract,

which is among the main reasons spurring owners to opt out of that

deal. According to NFLPA figures, the players got 52.7 percent of

all league revenues in 2006, 51.8 percent in 2007, 51 percent in

2008, and 50.6 percent in 2009. There was no salary cap in 2010. As

far back as 2000, meanwhile, the players’ take was 56.5 percent of

all revenue.

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The players are still hoping, though, to get a commitment from

owners that each team will spend a minimum amount of the

cap.

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– Most players will be able to become unrestricted free agents

after four years in the league, and the owners’ hope for being able

to get a right of first refusal on three players per team in 2011

was dropped.

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– First-round draft picks will sign four-year deals, with a club

option for the fifth year. The new rookie salary system will help

curtail first-year players’ soaring salaries, with much of that

money going to veterans.

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—

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AP Sports Writer Jon Krawczynski contributed to this

report.

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