NFL VP Jeff Pash Responds To NFLPA’s DeMaurice Smith On Labor Issues

NFL VP Jeff Pash appeared on ESPN’s Mike and Mike show one day after NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith appeared on the same show talking about the labor issues in the NFL. We’ve detailed some of the union’s perspective on these topics which can be read here.

Here are a few topics Pash addressed in his segment on Mike and Mike.

On the lack of money being spent:

“The thing you’re seeing right now on both sides is a tremendous amount of uncertainty. It’s really no different than what you see in the broader economy. Businesses all over America are sitting on cash, they’re not expanding, they’re not hiring because they don’t know what the economy will be like, what the government regulations will be like or what the taxes will be like. That type of uncertainty tends to freeze a lot of activity.”

On the NFLPA’s call to keep the current system in place:

“I think when someone tells you that they’re happy with the deal and they should just extend it and not change a thing, that’s a code for saying it’s a pretty one-sided deal.”

On the growth of the game:

“There’s no question economics platy a role in this. If the clubs have shown anything, they’ve shown they have very good ability to grow the game and develop revenues, 60% of which go to players. If you look at the last few years of player salaries, they’ve gone up quite substantially.”

Are the players resistant to HGH testing?

“Absolutely.”

On the suggestion that the NFL owners are in collusion because of the lack of first round picks signed:

“I don’t think the level of rookie signings is indicative of anything other than the fact that there’s a lot of uncertainty out there. People don’t know what the system is going to be like going forward. The clubs and the players are having to figure this out. I think you’ll see signings move ahead as we get closer to training camps opening and into camp. It’s a function of the uncertainty of the market place right now.”

On a rookie wage scale:

“I think the rookie wage scale would have a lot of positive advantages. Starting with making it possible to shift money from untested rookies to proven veterans and including retiree benefits.”