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Everyone looks a winner in contract deal
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The NFL struggled through two overtime periods to seal the deal that made everyone look like a winner after reaching agreement on a six-year extension of its labor pact.
The league keeps its salary cap and the players get a bigger share of a pie worth billions of dollars.
The smaller-revenue teams also receive a $900 million helping hand from more profitable clubs after owners voted 30-2 on Wednesday on a new agreement that restores order to one of the most successful sporting leagues in the U.S.
The deal, approved after two 72-hour extensions beyond the original deadline, keeps the NFL on track through the 2011 season.
"I'm pleased," said NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue after nine different team owners had a hand in hammering out compromises at the emergency meeting at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport.
"More than pleased, I'm relieved."
Failure to agree an extension would have led to a tighter salary cap next season, the cutting of several highly-priced experienced players, the potential chaos of a no-salary cap for 2007 and the threat of a players' strike in 2008.
What was billed as a battle between the players' union and the league turned into a wrangle among owners over the sharing of revenue beyond the TV money that is already split up evenly among the clubs.
"Some teams are contributing a little more than others," said Daniel Snyder, owner of the high-revenue Washington Redskins. "It's really a win-win situation."
NFL Players' Association chief Gene Upshaw said: "This agreement is not about one side winning or losing. Ultimately, it is about what is best for the players, the owners and the fans of the National Football League."
Players will receive 59.5 percent of NFL revenue, adding between $850 million and $900 million to salaries over the length of the agreement.
The NFL has been a model of stability and success and the envy of other sporting leagues since overcoming player strikes in 1982 and 1987, enjoying popularity and growing profits after locking in a salary cap in 1992.
The league is in the middle of eight-year TV deals with three national TV networks, a cable network and a satellite network that total $23.9 billion, and has also launched its own cable station.
But lower-revenue teams wanted to extend revenue sharing to cover local broadcast rights, stadium-naming rights and in-stadium signage that further enrich several clubs.
"We were willing to make some sacrifices to get this thing done," said Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, a vocal opponent of revenue sharing.
Under the compromise agreed, the 15 top-earning teams will contribute on a sliding scale about $900 million during the next six years into a fund to be distributed among the lowest-earning 17 clubs.
"It was a good compromise," said Jim Irsay, owner of the small-revenue Indianapolis Colts.
An unlikely ally singled out by Upshaw, a former Hall of Fame guard with the Raiders, was Oakland team owner Al Davis, who has often been a thorn in the side of league officials.
"Additional thanks go to my old boss, Al Davis, for being the first to rise, as he did in 1993, in support of Paul (Tagliabue) and an agreement," Upshaw said.
The only dissenting votes came from the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals, two small-revenue teams.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The NFL struggled through two overtime periods to seal the deal that made everyone look like a winner after reaching agreement on a six-year extension of its labor pact.
The league keeps its salary cap and the players get a bigger share of a pie worth billions of dollars.
The smaller-revenue teams also receive a $900 million helping hand from more profitable clubs after owners voted 30-2 on Wednesday on a new agreement that restores order to one of the most successful sporting leagues in the U.S.
The deal, approved after two 72-hour extensions beyond the original deadline, keeps the NFL on track through the 2011 season.
"I'm pleased," said NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue after nine different team owners had a hand in hammering out compromises at the emergency meeting at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport.
"More than pleased, I'm relieved."
Failure to agree an extension would have led to a tighter salary cap next season, the cutting of several highly-priced experienced players, the potential chaos of a no-salary cap for 2007 and the threat of a players' strike in 2008.
What was billed as a battle between the players' union and the league turned into a wrangle among owners over the sharing of revenue beyond the TV money that is already split up evenly among the clubs.
"Some teams are contributing a little more than others," said Daniel Snyder, owner of the high-revenue Washington Redskins. "It's really a win-win situation."
NFL Players' Association chief Gene Upshaw said: "This agreement is not about one side winning or losing. Ultimately, it is about what is best for the players, the owners and the fans of the National Football League."
Players will receive 59.5 percent of NFL revenue, adding between $850 million and $900 million to salaries over the length of the agreement.
The NFL has been a model of stability and success and the envy of other sporting leagues since overcoming player strikes in 1982 and 1987, enjoying popularity and growing profits after locking in a salary cap in 1992.
The league is in the middle of eight-year TV deals with three national TV networks, a cable network and a satellite network that total $23.9 billion, and has also launched its own cable station.
But lower-revenue teams wanted to extend revenue sharing to cover local broadcast rights, stadium-naming rights and in-stadium signage that further enrich several clubs.
"We were willing to make some sacrifices to get this thing done," said Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, a vocal opponent of revenue sharing.
Under the compromise agreed, the 15 top-earning teams will contribute on a sliding scale about $900 million during the next six years into a fund to be distributed among the lowest-earning 17 clubs.
"It was a good compromise," said Jim Irsay, owner of the small-revenue Indianapolis Colts.
An unlikely ally singled out by Upshaw, a former Hall of Fame guard with the Raiders, was Oakland team owner Al Davis, who has often been a thorn in the side of league officials.
"Additional thanks go to my old boss, Al Davis, for being the first to rise, as he did in 1993, in support of Paul (Tagliabue) and an agreement," Upshaw said.
The only dissenting votes came from the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals, two small-revenue teams.