With No Talk of Settlement, NFL Players Taking a Walk

National Football League players went on strike for the second time in five years Monday night, but this time the owners will try to play without them.

Gene Upshaw, executive director of the NFL Players Assn., announced on television at halftime of Monday night’s game between the New England Patriots and New York Jets at East Rutherford, N.J., that he will stick to his extended strike deadline and order the players out, effective today.

During his appearance, Upshaw, speaking from Washington, exchanged rhetoric with Jack Donlan, executive director of the NFL Management Council, who was in New York.

The only new revelation was Upshaw’s response to a question about future negotiations: “As far as who’s gonna make the first move, I’ve already initiated a move to a person who I feel has some authority, a person that hopefully can bring this process to a speedy and fast conclusion.”

At the time, he didn’t explain who the person was, and ABC announcers Al Michaels and Frank Gifford failed to follow up.

However, later in the telecast, ABC checked back with Upshaw and quoted him as saying: “Hopefully, we’ll be able to tell you something about that tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, the owners prepared to bring in non-union free agents, who were cut during training camp, and continue the schedule, after one week off.

Upshaw said picket lines will go up Wednesday, instead of today, “because the owners changed when the scabs come in until then.”

Earlier Monday, Upshaw told reporters: “I have something up my sleeve I’m going to reveal later,” inspiring hope for a last-minute settlement.

But he backed off later, saying: “I have nothing up by sleeve but my arm.”

NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle said he is just an observer of the dispute between the NFLPA and the league’s Management Council. “They are so far apart it wouldn’t make sense for me to intervene right now,” he said.

The strike raises many questions, some of which are addressed below:

Q: Will all teams play games with non-union players?

A: Yes, by league directive. There will be no games next weekend, but the schedule will resume Oct. 4.

Q: Will those games count in the standings? And what about the two each team has already played?

A: All games will count equally.

Q: So, conceivably, if the strike lasts all season, Super Bowl XXII at San Diego next Jan. 31 could be played with non-union players?

A: Yes.

Q: Do you mean the strike could last that long?

A: Upshaw said: “When you walk out, you’re walking out for the season.”

Q: What about next weekend’s games?

A: Most likely, they’ll be erased from the schedule, which will pick up with Week 4.

Q: If the strike is settled quickly, can’t Week 3 still be played?

A: Not likely. Both sides have indicated that unless a settlement is reached today, by the time it could be put in writing it would be too late.

Q: Will Week 3 be made up?

A: Probably not. Each team will have just 15 games.

Q: Will the non-union games be televised?

A: That’s uncertain. The NFL says the networks are obligated by the contracts, but the networks haven’t conceded that.

CBS says that moving some college games to Sunday to replace the NFL telecasts is “a possibility we’re investigating,” but it’s “not definite.”

NBC says there “is no possibility” it will do college games but isn’t saying what it will do.

Since ABC’s only contract is for Monday night games, it can be speculated that the network will televising inferior games during prime time.

ESPN’s contract to do Sunday night games starts Nov. 8, “so we have plenty of time,” a spokesman said. “We might not be affected at all.”

Q: What will be on TV next weekend?

A: CBS and NBC plan expanded versions of their “NFL Today” and “NFL Live” shows on Sunday, and CBS will re-run its telecast of last January’s Super Bowl XXI, in which the New York Giants beat the Denver Broncos. ABC has announced no plans for Monday night.

Q: Will some players continue to play, or are they all on strike?

A: That should be learned this morning, when they have been ordered to report to practice.

Q: What strike benefits will they receive from their union?

A: None.

Q: How much will the new players be paid?

A: The current minimum of $50,000 or whatever their previous contract called for, pro-rated for 13 games. Most have already received salary advances of $1,000 to sign provisional contracts, in the event of a strike.

Q: Do players who were already on injured reserve or other reserve lists get paid?

A: Only if they cross the lines.

Q: Are the two sides trying to work this out?

A: They haven’t talked since last Friday and had no meeting scheduled as of Monday night.

Q: What effect, if any, will the baseball arbitrator’s collusion-issue decision Monday have on the pro football fight?

A: The players say it will strengthen their resolve to get free agency themselves. The owners say it won’t affect their opposition. “(The owners) will modify the system, they won’t change it,” said Management Council attorney Dennis Curran.

Q: How united are the players?

A: The owners expect some defectors on every team. The union says it is “very united” although, in a 1,600-man association, unanimity is impossible. Said Dick Berthelsen, NFL Players Assn. attorney: “We talked to every player rep over the weekend, and we have a solidarity that few expected.”

Q: What evidence does the union have of rank-and-file support for the strike position that has been presented publicly by Upshaw?

A: Berthelsen said that the membership, by a vote of 85% or more, has continuously favored all strike issues. By a 93% vote, the players ranked what has been called unlimited free agency as a very important issue, he said.

“The players have been polled twice at team meetings,” Berthelsen said. “The questionnaires were completely anonymous. They didn’t have to be signed. There was nothing to inhibit any player who wanted to vote secretly either way on any issue.”

Q: There have been player strikes the last four times that the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement expired. What’s the difference between this one and the other strikes?

A: “The dramatic difference this time is that the league has announced it will continue to play regular-season games with scab teams,” said Los Angeles AFL-CIO official Bill Robertson. “There has never been such a challenge to the players’ association. It’s like waving a red flag.”

Q: Will anyone show up or tune in to see pro football played by nonroster teams?

A: The crowds and TV ratings will be larger, at least in the beginning, than many persons expect, an NFL club source predicted. Of the readers who replied to a Dallas Morning News poll Monday, 70% said they plan to watch nonroster games.

One reason is that pro football of any kind has demonstrated that it holds more interest to some fans than some other kinds of events. Another reason is that some of those who hold good season tickets will pass them on to others who will attend.

Q: At the Coliseum and other stadiums, will other trade unions be able to strike the games and perhaps shut them down?

A: “A lot depends on whether (the other unions) have a no-strike clause in their bargaining agreements,” the AFL-CIO’s Robertson said. “The international presidents will make a decision later in the week.”

Q: Financially, what will it cost the players, should a game be canceled?

A: If an NFL player’s annual salary and benefits exceed $230,000, as the Management Council has reported, the athletes will lose more than $15,000 apiece, on the average, for each game they miss.

Q: What will it cost the owners?

A: In addition to the TV refunds that have been built into the network contracts but not publicly revealed, the owners will lose their gate receipts, less expenses and players’ salaries. In a 50,000-seat stadium with an average ticket price of $20, the gross loss would be about $1 million a week. The net loss might approximate $250,000. The average weekly player payroll, counting 50 athletes earning an average $15,000 each, is about $750,000.

Q: What is the average NFL club profit?

A: The owners say some of them lose money. The players say the 28 franchises make between $2 million to $10 million a year. The only owners who announce their annual profit are those who run the Green Bay Packers. With a small stadium and a losing team, the Packers announced a record profit of $3 million last year.

“Each team earns about $17 million a year from TV,” NFL spokesman Dick Maxwell said. “And that’s 60% of all revenues.”

Both sides dispute all figures, and outside evaluators say everything depends on the bookkeeping.

Q: Are the owners carrying strike insurance?

A: Not this year. But they have announced that they have a $100-million line of credit at the banks. This is a loan that will have to be repaid, Maxwell said. It is designed to help the owners with their temporary cash-flow problems at a time when receipts will be low, erratic or both.

Q: Why isn’t Rozelle actively involved in trying to settle the dispute?

A: The players have announced that they don’t want him as a mediator because he is paid by, and represents, the owners.

Q: Is anybody trying to settle this?

A: Nobody seems to be trying very hard. The negotiators, who seldom meet, are the two executive directors: Donlan of the NFL’s Management Council and Upshaw of the NFLPA.

Q: Who are they?

A: Donlan is a former airline labor negotiator who was brought into the NFL shortly before the 1982 strike. Upshaw, who assisted his predecessor, Ed Garvey, during that period, is a former Raider player representative.

Q: What is the Management Council?

A: It’s the group that gives Donlan his orders. The chairman is owner Hugh Culverhouse of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Other members are Dan Rooney of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Chuck Sullivan of the New England Patriots, Mike Brown of the Cincinnati Bengals, Tex Schramm of the Dallas Cowboys and Joe Robbie of the Miami Dolphins.

Q: Who gives Upshaw his orders?

A: The players and their executive committee. Members are four Raiders or ex-Raiders--Mike Davis, James Lofton, Brian Holloway and Upshaw--and six others: Dan Marino of the Miami Dolphins, George Martin of the New York Giants, Marvin Powell of Tampa Bay, Mike Kenn and Mick Luckhurst of the Atlanta Falcons, and former player Michael Jackson.

Q: Why are the pros striking again?

A: Berthelsen said they don’t want to strike but that management won’t bargain with them unless they threaten to walk out. Donlan said the hang-up is Upshaw’s insistence on free agency. Upshaw said free agency is no more important than the union’s other issues, which all have equal weight.

Q: What did the players gain in their other strikes?

A: Most of what they have now, Berthelsen said, mentioning injury protection, pensions and increasingly better pensions, an impartial arbitration system replacing the old Rozelle arbitration system, $17 million in lawsuit settlements, an automatic 10% salary increase after a player’s option year instead of a 10% decrease, severance pay of $140,000 and more, a complete exchange of salary information so the players aren’t bargaining in the dark, postseason pay, exhibition season pay, minimum salaries, and so on.

Q: How bitter were the strikes that brought about these benefits?

A: In 1974, for instance, the league played most of the exhibition season with nonroster players while the veterans bargained. In 1982, the NFL closed down for seven games at a total cost of millions, not to mention the next year’s costs in smaller crowds, lower ratings and turned-off fans--all of which may be about to happen again.

THE KEY ISSUES

FREE AGENCY

Players’ position: Unrestricted free agency for players with four years in the National Football League.

Owners’ position: Modifications in the present system, which provides for draft-choice compensation and first-refusal rights.

DRUGS

Players: Probable-cause testing.

Owners: Unscheduled testing.

CONTRACTS

Players: Guaranteed for second-year players.

Owners: Guaranteed for fourth-year players.

PENSIONS

Players: Annual $25-million NFL contribution.

Owners: Annual $12.5-million NFL contribution for pensions and severance payments, combined, with annual raises.

ROSTER LIMIT

Players: Increase to 52, with training-camp limit of 80.

Owners: Increase from 45 to 47.

SALARIES

Players: Minimum $90,000 to $320,000 for 13th-year players (up from minimum $50,000).

Owners: Minimum $60,000 to $180,000 for 13th-year players.

PLAYER REPRESENTATIVES

Players: Can’t be traded without their consent.

Owners: Arbitration.