Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 7, 1993 TAG: 9301070042
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From Associated Press and Washington Post reports
DATELINE: GRAPEVINE, TEXAS LENGTH: Medium
NFL OWNERS, PLAYERS SETTLE DISPUTE
The NFL and its players, under threat of a court-imposed settlement, agreed to bring unrestricted free agency and a salary cap to pro football and end five years of labor unrest.\ Working under a judge's deadline, the NFL and its players agreed Wednesday on a seven-year contract that brings unrestricted free agency and a salary cap to professional football.
The league has not had a labor agreement since the 1987 strike.
"Neither side got everything that it wanted to get," NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue said at a news conference. "But that's the litmus test of a fair and balanced agreement."
On Tuesday, both sides were given 24 hours to reach an agreement by U.S. District Judge David Doty of Minneapolis.
"Both sides seem somewhat unhappy with the result, leading me to believe that it is a good mutual settlement," Doty said.
The contract, which runs through 1999, includes a free-agency plan that allows players with more than five NFL seasons to become unrestricted free agents. If player costs reach 67 percent of designated NFL gross revenues, a salary cap goes into effect and players can become free agents after four years.
If the two sides had not reached agreement by Wednesday, Doty said he would impose his own contract - and that neither side would be happy.
"Judge Doty played a major role all the way," said Gene Upshaw, executive director of the NFL Players Association.
Doty's threat came a week after an agreement fell apart, with each side accusing the other of backing off earlier concessions.
This deal, though, is official. Even the pending lawsuits filed by players against the league have been dropped.
"We are pleased to announce a settlement agreement has been reached in the Freeman McNeil, Reggie White and related lawsuits," Tagliabue and Jim Quinn, the players' lawyer, said in a joint statement.
Free agency in the NFL will more closely resemble the NBA's system than baseball's, where superstars command huge sums of money. One reason is that NFL careers are shorter and the salary cap will limit spending by owners trying to buy a Super Bowl victory.
The agreement includes the following key points:
Free agency: Starting this year, players who have been in the league at least five years and whose contracts have expired will be unrestricted free agents. The free-agency signing period will run from approximately March 1 to July 15 each year.
Salary cap: If player costs reach 67 percent of designated NFL gross revenues, a salary cap will be triggered and unrestricted free agency will begin for players after four years.
Salary guarantee: Players will receive a minimum of 58 percent of the league's designated gross revenues during each year of the agreement that includes a salary cap.
Draft: It will be reduced from 12 to seven rounds, plus one round for teams that lose free agents.
Damages: The NFL has agreed to pay $195 million in damages and attorneys fees to settle all outstanding litigation.
Rookies: Total salaries of drafted rookies will be capped at about $2 million per club. Those levels will increase with the growth of designated revenues.
Free-agency exceptions: Each team will be able to exempt one "franchise" player from free agency for the duration of his career if he is offered a contract at the average of at least the top five players at his position. In 1993, each team will be able to use the right of first refusal on two of its free agents if they are offered a contract at the average of at least the top 10 players at that position. In 1994, every club will have one right of first refusal under the same conditions as '93.
The agreement is the first since 1987, when players struck for 24 days, then went back to work without a contract. The NFL Players Association then took its case to court, and last summer a jury threw out the limited Plan B free-agency system.
Keywords:
FOOTBALL