The passing of National Football League’s Players Association Executive Director Gene Upshaw is certain to create unrest and uncertainty for some time.
Upshaw, a former player and Hall of Fame lineman, certainly left his mark on the NFL when it came to labor negotiations for the rank and file over the years. Hailed by some, chided by others, as a negotiator, there was very little middle ground with Gene Upshaw. To stage a job action was nothing that he feared in order to get what he thought was best for the players he represented. With that came a great deal of scrutiny.
Gene Upshaw enjoyed the longest and most financially lucrative tenure of any of his team sports counterparts. He took a union that was on the brink of bankruptcy to one of the more financially well off operations in all of sports, and that was where the problem was.
Critics will say that while Upshaw enjoyed a big salary and cozy relationship with then-commissioner Paul Tagliabue, he lost track of the players and their needs. There were no guaranteed contracts, poor disability coverage and poorly constructed contracts that would call for a player to be cut at the whim of meeting a salary cap.
Upshaw would counter about how salaries had gone up dramatically and that today’s player was better off now than at any time in the NFL. While that may have been true to a point, the bigger issue was that he failed to mention that players were playing less in the leagues when it came to years of service. Few free-agent signings ever saw a player play out the entire length of the initial contract. In all, it’s debatable just how good the system really was for the players.
It took HBO’s Bryant Gumbel to call out Upshaw’s cozy relationship with owners when he expressed hopes that Upshaw would not be the same kind of “lap dog” for new Commisioner Roger Godell as he was for Tagliabue. That prompted league officials to scurry and protect their interests in reprimanding Gumbel behind closed doors. I am not sure that it is a coincidence that he is no longer doing games on the NFL Network.
So, what happens to the Players Association now? Will they look outside of the membership to find a new executive director? All three of the other sports have done it with solid results. Even the National Hockey League Players Association, after they had their lunch served to them by Commissioner Gary Bettman and the owners, cleaned house with their leadership and found someone who will represent the masses instead of the stars.
As for the NFLPA, former player Troy Vincent has been mentioned as Upshaw’s successor, a fine defensive back who graduated from Wisconsin. But this ownership group is tough. They have no problem reducing whoever tries to get cute with them to cinders, if need be.
What is at stake here is that the collective bargaining agreement expires after next year. An uncapped year would be something the owners will have over their 32 dead bodies as well as the commissioner’s. Yes, a lockout is an option. These guys have amassed an enormous war chest so if they have to sit, then they will sit and lock out the players until they get the deal they want. Players can’t afford to take the hit for too long.
Whoever takes over needs to take better care of yesterday’s players, as well as today’s – players who border on being disabled, with no real help from the so-called union that was supposed to take care of them. The other thing the new director will have to start on is changing the current salary structure. Guarantee the deals with real money and not signing bonuses that get eaten up in the first year due to taxes and agent fees. While this may take some doing, it apparently works in the other leagues, where there are no silly holdouts and guys just get flat out cut in the middle of the season because someone either got overpaid in the beginning or someone needs to be paid soon.
The NFLPA would be wise to look outside their current membership for their next leader, as that person will have the keys to a nice ride that is losing its shine and in working on severely worn tires.