Jerome Bettis: “I do see the NFL having a lockout.”
Enjoy your football in 2010, because it may not be there in 2011...
With an uncapped year and the end of the current NFL collective bargaining agreement on the horizon, the league is approaching some pretty interesting times. An economy that hasn't exactly rebounded like crazy and a new leader at the helm of the Players' Association add to the intrigue and potential treachery that lies ahead.
Former NFL running back Jerome Bettis did nothing to dissuade those notions when joining "The Drive" on AM 1250 in Pittsburgh:
"I do see the NFL having a lockout. I believe that (the owners) want to try to get a lot of concessions and get things they had in the deal, get them back on the next deal because they feel that there's an opportunity to take advantage. Obviously, Gene (Upshaw) is not here. They had a great relationship, him and (Roger) Goodell. So they just feel that the time is right with the economic part that's here, that they can lean on that and say, 'Hey, this is a problem for us going forward.' And they'll have a convincing argument although it won't be the right argument."
I think what Bettis means there at the end is that the owners will embellish economic issues at the bargaining table. Embellishment and posturing in negotiations? Never.
Although the memory of Gene Upshaw as a puppet for Paul Tagliabue will serve only to hinder the process. The union desperately wants to change its perception as a pushover in the new DeMaurice Smith - Roger Goodell era.
The side effect could be an increased national interest in college football in 2011.
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