NFL, NFLPA Exchange Letters, Both Ready To Talk

The NFLPA is ready and willing to talk with the NFL. The NFL is ready and willing to talk with the NFLPA.

But, as has been the case lately, both sides are having trouble deciding on the manner in which those talks will take place.

On Wednesday, Judge Susan Nelson urged both sides to return to mediation. The NFLPA issued a statement indicating that they’ll accept Judge Nelson’s recommendation that the two sides return to mediation.

The class of NFL players wrote to Judge Susan Nelson today, embracing her recommendation to participate in mediation under the oversight of the federal court of Minnesota. Though the injunction to lift the owners’ lockout remains under Judge Nelson’s consideration, the players took to heart her advice given during Wednesday’s hearing that the two sides should not delay to meet. The players expressed their hope that mediation under court oversight will begin immediately.

I bolded that section because it’s an important distinction -- mediation under the federal court in Minnesota vs. mediation under George Cohen at the FMCS. The players prefer the former, while the owners prefer the latter.

Mark Maske of the Washington Post reports the players are not interested in returning to the table under Cohen’s mediation, even if the NFL assured them (which they reportedly did via a letter on Thursday) “they would not compromise any legal position if they agree to return to mediation with Cohen.” NFL lawyer David Boies said publicly following Wednesday’s court session they are interested in collective bargaining under Cohen.

As a fan who is interested in seeing football, I think I’d prefer the NFLPA’s version of mediation. Judge Nelson would have the authority in that scenario to at least keep them at the same table -- even if it’s not necessarily a settlement -- whereas the NFL’s version of mediation would include Cohen, and we’ve been there and done that. It didn’t work. While I’d like to think the NFL and NFLPA may view mediation under Cohen in a different light the second time around, what’s the guarantee?

That said, at the end of the day, I don’t really care how they sit down and talk. They just need to do it at some point.

And it’s kind of ironic that over the last few months I’ve been hoping these two sides would get a deal done without getting the courts involved. Now that a Judge is in the middle of it, I’d prefer that she use her authority to push the two sides to start talking.