NFLPA Briefs Agents About Possible Lockout
NFLPA staff addressed a group of 130 agents at last week’s agent seminar in Glendale, Ariz., and talked about preparing their clients for a possible expiration of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement at the end of the 2010 season.
“This seminar focused largely on the likelihood that the owners would give notice this year of their desire to shorten the CBA by two years, making 2009 the last capped year and 2010 an uncapped year,” said Mark Levin, the NFLPA’s director of Salary Cap & Agent Administration. “Because of the possibility the owners will back out of the CBA this fall, not only did we talk about a possible lockout, but we also stressed that the agents should brush up on contract negotiation rules in the CBA, should 2009 be the final capped year.”
The seminar included presentations from Director of Player Development Stacy Robinson; General Counsel Richard Berthelsen (on the CBA update and post-career disability benefits); NFL PLAYERS Assistant Vice President for Trading Cards and Collectibles Karen Bush; Staff Counsels Tom DePaso and Arthur McAfee (on agent regulations and agent discipline); and Levin (on negotiating NFL player contracts).
Ned Ehrlich, one of the NFLPA’s recommended Workers’ Compensation Panel Attorneys, spoke about the importance of players applying for workers’ compensation benefits when injured on the job. Ehrlich also provided some anecdotes from players who had applied for benefits and also from some who had failed to do so.
Michael Huyghue, commissioner of the new United Football League, was also on the agenda for the seminar. Huyghue told agents that the league is scheduled for kick off in August 2009, playing a fall schedule on Friday nights. Huyghue said the UFL will sign veteran players who had signed an NFL contract at least once in their football careers. The league will also compete with the NFL for rookie players drafted in rounds 3-7 of the NFL’s annual college draft. Player salaries will range from $75,000 to $1 million. The league is targeting major U.S. markets that currently do not have an NFL team, including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Memphis and Orlando.
NFLPA staff has now addressed more than 600 certified agents between the Indianapolis seminar (at the Combine in February) and the Glendale seminar. The final opportunity for certified agents to fulfill their annual seminar requirement is May 16 in San Francisco, in conjunction with the annual Sports Lawyers Association Conference.
- NFL Players.com
