NFL and the NFLPA Medation Countdown: Lockout Day Delayed+3

With the NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, the team owners and the NFL Players union still convening with the federal mediator, George Cohen,in Washington, D.C., this is the first day of seven days left before NFL’s potential lockout.  The team owners and members of the players union board are participating in meetings recently, but it’s kind of gone the way of Dilbert really.  Meetings to propose more meetings does not make an agreement make, and meetings to discuss an extension to agree to create another extension does not help much either.  At least with this one, it appears, if no agreement can be negotiated between the two parties, the team owners will execute the more than probable lockout or the union will either decertify by the end of these seven days of mediation.  The main issue for the owners seem to be money, and for the players, it is player safety drawn from the extension of the regular schedule to 18 regular season games. Although fans would like to see some real progress, I am less than optimistic.  Indianapolis Colts Jeff Center, a member of the NFL players executive committee, Jeff Pash, the league’s lead negotiator  and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell are still expressing optimism in their negotiations, but as this drags on, they may be eating their words soon. President Barack Obama may not intervene now, but if a lockout occurs and holds for a couple of months or more, he may be driven to.

This may be the game of old warriors, but perhaps it’s now a game of greedy ones, too.