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The NFL and its players both want to go back to mediated talks -- but the sides differ on where those discussions should take place and who should mediate them.
The NFL sent the NFL Players Association a request Thursday that the sides resume mediation with federal mediator George Cohen in Washington, sources told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. The players, meanwhile, sent a letter to U.S. District Court Judge Susan Nelson on Thursday asking to begin federal mediation in Minnesota as she requested Wednesday in a hearing on the players' request to lift the lockout imposed by owners.
In the players' scenario, Judge Nelson then would assign the mediator. On Wednesday, Nelson said such negotiations should take place at "not the players' table, not the league's table, but a neutral table, if you will."
In the letter to Nelson on behalf of the Brady class, attorney Barbara Berens called Nelson's suggestion "excellent" and said the players "are prepared to engage in such mediation without delay. Our agreement is, of course, contingent on the NFL defendants' agreement that they will not attempt to use this, our willingness to mediate, against the Brady class in some way, for example by arguing that such mediation efforts constitute 'collective bargaining' or otherwise arise out of a 'labor relationship."
Nelson received yet another letter Thursday accepting her offer of facilitating mediation -- this one from a lawyer representing Hall of Famer Carl Eller and other retired players whose case was combined with the Brady case.
The Eller class has suggested Kenneth Feinberg, the U.S. government's special master for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, as the mediator for the Eller vs. NFL case, player sources told Schefter. There's a pending motion to consolidate the antitrust cases of the current and former players, which means eventually Feinberg could be the mediator for the Brady vs. the NFL case.
In its letter, the NFL is offering to indemnify the NFLPA legally, which the league believes will prove its offer is not a stunt but a serious offer to the players, a league source told Schefter. If the players agree to mediation and collective bargaining now -- with Cohen -- the NFL would agree not to hold it against them and to protect them against any losses they'd incur by doing so if Judge Nelson rules the NFLPA did decertify legally and is not a union.
The NFL wants to move the talks out of Minnesota, so it won't have federal oversight in the next collective bargaining agreement as it has since 1993 when the league and players settled the Reggie White antitrust suit which became the CBA.
But the NFLPA is unlikely to agree to more mediation with Cohen in Washington, a player source told Schefter. It believes he tried but failed to produce an agreement last time when talks eventually broke down on March 11 and his powers are non-binding. They want a mediator that has the power to bind both parties to an agreement.
The union dissolved itself after those failed talks last month, saying it no longer represented players in bargaining under labor law, which allowed them to sue the league under antitrust law. Owners locked out the players, creating the NFL's first work stoppage since 1987.
Nelson told both sides Wednesday that it could take "a couple of weeks" for her to rule on the players' request to lift the lockout imposed by owners and let them get back to the job.
After Wednesday's hearing, James Quinn, an attorney for the players, said they'd "listen carefully" to Nelson's recommendation. But David Boies, a lawyer for the league, hedged when asked about Nelson's offer to supervise talks.
"We don't need a settlement of this lawsuit," Boies said Wednesday. "What we need is a collective bargaining agreement so that players can go on playing and the league can put on games. Until we have that, we're not going to make any progress."
Boies said in court that "there are numerous factual disagreements between the parties."
The first issue is whether Nelson should issue a preliminary injunction that would lift the lockout. The players argue their careers are being "irreparably harmed" by the work stoppage.
The owners argue that the court doesn't have the jurisdiction to impose the injunction while the National Labor Relations Board is considering an unfair labor charge filed by the league that players didn't negotiate in good faith.
When the five-hour hearing concluded, Nelson offered to help facilitate a return to the mediation table in hopes of bringing this matter, and the subsequent antitrust lawsuit filed by the players, to a close.
"This is really a matter that should be resolved because a lot of people are impacted by this dispute," she said. "I hope both sides take advantage of [mediation]."
The NFL and its players both want to go back to mediated talks -- but the sides differ on where those discussions should take place and who should mediate them.
The NFL sent the NFL Players Association a request Thursday that the sides resume mediation with federal mediator George Cohen in Washington, sources told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. The players, meanwhile, sent a letter to U.S. District Court Judge Susan Nelson on Thursday asking to begin federal mediation in Minnesota as she requested Wednesday in a hearing on the players' request to lift the lockout imposed by owners.
In the players' scenario, Judge Nelson then would assign the mediator. On Wednesday, Nelson said such negotiations should take place at "not the players' table, not the league's table, but a neutral table, if you will."
In the letter to Nelson on behalf of the Brady class, attorney Barbara Berens called Nelson's suggestion "excellent" and said the players "are prepared to engage in such mediation without delay. Our agreement is, of course, contingent on the NFL defendants' agreement that they will not attempt to use this, our willingness to mediate, against the Brady class in some way, for example by arguing that such mediation efforts constitute 'collective bargaining' or otherwise arise out of a 'labor relationship."
Nelson received yet another letter Thursday accepting her offer of facilitating mediation -- this one from a lawyer representing Hall of Famer Carl Eller and other retired players whose case was combined with the Brady case.
The Eller class has suggested Kenneth Feinberg, the U.S. government's special master for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, as the mediator for the Eller vs. NFL case, player sources told Schefter. There's a pending motion to consolidate the antitrust cases of the current and former players, which means eventually Feinberg could be the mediator for the Brady vs. the NFL case.
In its letter, the NFL is offering to indemnify the NFLPA legally, which the league believes will prove its offer is not a stunt but a serious offer to the players, a league source told Schefter. If the players agree to mediation and collective bargaining now -- with Cohen -- the NFL would agree not to hold it against them and to protect them against any losses they'd incur by doing so if Judge Nelson rules the NFLPA did decertify legally and is not a union.
The NFL wants to move the talks out of Minnesota, so it won't have federal oversight in the next collective bargaining agreement as it has since 1993 when the league and players settled the Reggie White antitrust suit which became the CBA.
But the NFLPA is unlikely to agree to more mediation with Cohen in Washington, a player source told Schefter. It believes he tried but failed to produce an agreement last time when talks eventually broke down on March 11 and his powers are non-binding. They want a mediator that has the power to bind both parties to an agreement.
The union dissolved itself after those failed talks last month, saying it no longer represented players in bargaining under labor law, which allowed them to sue the league under antitrust law. Owners locked out the players, creating the NFL's first work stoppage since 1987.
Nelson told both sides Wednesday that it could take "a couple of weeks" for her to rule on the players' request to lift the lockout imposed by owners and let them get back to the job.
After Wednesday's hearing, James Quinn, an attorney for the players, said they'd "listen carefully" to Nelson's recommendation. But David Boies, a lawyer for the league, hedged when asked about Nelson's offer to supervise talks.
"We don't need a settlement of this lawsuit," Boies said Wednesday. "What we need is a collective bargaining agreement so that players can go on playing and the league can put on games. Until we have that, we're not going to make any progress."
Boies said in court that "there are numerous factual disagreements between the parties."
The first issue is whether Nelson should issue a preliminary injunction that would lift the lockout. The players argue their careers are being "irreparably harmed" by the work stoppage.
The owners argue that the court doesn't have the jurisdiction to impose the injunction while the National Labor Relations Board is considering an unfair labor charge filed by the league that players didn't negotiate in good faith.
When the five-hour hearing concluded, Nelson offered to help facilitate a return to the mediation table in hopes of bringing this matter, and the subsequent antitrust lawsuit filed by the players, to a close.
"This is really a matter that should be resolved because a lot of people are impacted by this dispute," she said. "I hope both sides take advantage of [mediation]."
