Lead negotiator says NFL proposed 10-year CBA

WASHINGTON – The outcome of the NFL’s first work stoppage since 1987 could be decided in court.

The first hearing on the players’ request for an injunction to block the owners’ lockout was scheduled for April 6.

In the meantime, there probably will be more of the same as Monday, when Kevin Mawae, president of the now-dissolved NFL Players Association, accused the league of spreading “complete falsehoods and complete lies.”

New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees said the owners’ final offer Friday “was all a front.”

“I think it was all a show, with no real intent to get a deal done, other than just to say they made a proposal – that was no different than anything else that they proposed over the last couple years, couple months, couple weeks,” said Brees, a named plaintiff in the players’ antitrust lawsuit against the league.

Brees and Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday, also a member of the players’ executive committee, complained that the players were not given enough time to assess and ask questions about the proposal owners made.

“It just seems odd you would wait until Friday to put out a 20-point proposal, when each point has a number of different details in it,” Saturday said.

The NFL’s lead labor negotiator, Jeff Pash, said in a telephone interview with the Associated Press that Friday’s proposal contained various new provisions. He said owners offered a 10-year deal.

He also said the league would have been willing to agree to a third extension to the collective bargaining agreement, but it “it was perfectly obvious they weren’t interested.”

The main sticking points are how much owners would get before dividing the rest of $9 billion in annual revenues with players, and the players’ demand for full financial disclosure.

“If we’re going to talk about ’trust,’ maybe you should ask the owners if they trust each other to see each others’ books,” Mawae said.