Meeting adds to optimism, but there's more work to be done

The league owners came, they went and yet the NFL is still locked out.

What does this all mean? It means we are getting closer to a deal. Not close enough to not worry -- but close enough to be more optimistic that we will have a full football season starting with training camp in July.

In March, the roadblock was time, which favored both sides because they wanted to see whom the courts might favor in this dispute. No one was losing a check and no money was being lost, therefore most thought time was on their respective sides. And in any negotiation time is always the enemy. So much so that the standard rule of negotiations when dealing with the Japanese is that nothing of substance will transpire until right before your plane to return home is due to take off.

However, allowing this time to pass has cost everyone -- owners and players -- money. When the deal is eventually announced, revenues will have shrunk, and that will affect the ability of all 32 teams to chase and pay a premium for free agents.

Time is running out for both sides as we near the end of June. I was told Tuesday by a league official that the owners were unified (which is always a good sign), they want to get a deal done quickly and that things are moving in the right direction. However, it will take considerably more time and negotiation before a deal is finally announced and the lockout ends.

Starting today in Boston, the talks must start making huge strides or we will begin to lose parts of the season. I also was told Tuesday that almost everyone present at the owners meeting feels certain we will not miss any regular-season games, but the preseason is a concern.

The major purpose of the meeting was to inform every team about the direction that the negotiations are headed and for the league to discuss potential revenue sharing.

A huge component of the new deal involves revenue sharing among the owners -- which must work in harmony with the next collective bargaining agreement.

'Serious' negotiations continue The NFL's negotiating team is moving full steam ahead for a fourth set of clandestine face-to-face meetings with NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith and players Wednesday and Thursday in suburban Boston, Albert Breer writes. More ...

The NFL has always been a shared-revenue league -- almost to the detriment of promoting the art of entrepreneurial leadership. Teams without great stadium leases or money-making venues, or those without the initiative to find alternative ways to make money, must rely on the profitable teams to fund an account that then will allow the poorer teams to have similar economic prosperity as the richer ones.

This method of sharing is what has made the league so strong, and there was a concern that this revenue-sharing plan might hold up an agreement of a new deal. Yet after yesterday, I was told by a league official that "nothing will keep the owners from getting a deal done."

Today starts the real negotiation because time now favors no one.

Sensing we are getting close to a deal, Buffalo Wild Wings announced Tuesday that the restaurant will give out six free chicken wings -- if a deal is reached by July 20 -- to anyone who signs an open letter asking the NFL asking it to reach an agreement. That's a strong commitment on their part, and if both sides make the same strong commitment to reaching a deal then Buffalo Wild Wings will have to pay up.

Let's all hope the future is sooner rather than later.

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L.A. stadium not subject of Vikings' meeting with AEG boss

AEG CEO Tim Leiweke was in Minneapolis this week and met with Vikings officials, setting off speculation that owner Zygi Wilf might be considering having his team fill the company's proposed downtown Los Angeles stadium.

Although that possibility might not be entirely off the table, it's far from the reason that Leiweke was in town.

A source with intimate knowledge of the situation said Thursday that Leiweke's Minnesota trip was to tend to business with Target Center, the home of the NBA's Timberwolves and a property managed by AEG. Leiweke has an existing relationship with the Wilf family and the Vikings, which prompted the meeting while the CEO happened to be in the area.

The Wilfs primarily were inquiring about the idea of developing an entertainment district around a new stadium in Minnesota. AEG recently has developed such projects in London, Edmonton and Kansas City, and it built the LA Live complex adjacent to Staples Center, home to the NBA's Lakers and NHL's Kings and at the epicenter of the proposed NFL stadium.

The Vikings on May 10 announced a deal with suburban Ramsey County to collaborate on a $1.1 billion retractable-roof stadium, but they are still seeking funding to build. The team's lease at the Metrodome expires after the 2011 season.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press first reported the meeting between Leiweke and the Wilfs.

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Goodell focused on Favre probe meeting 'the right conclusion'

MINNEAPOLIS -- NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he's still "following up" on some of the information in the Brett Favre investigation to make sure it's thorough and reaches "the right conclusion."

Goodell met with Favre briefly during his visit to Minnesota for Monday's Bears-Vikings game at snowy TCF Bank Stadium. Goodell did not elaborate on the nature of the work he has left to do on the investigation, nor would he be specific when asked when he will declare his decision.

"I'm not going to put a timetable on it, other than I did say I hope it'll be by the end of the regular season," Goodell said.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will take your questions live on NFL.com at 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Join the conversation as Goodell discusses a wide variety of league issues.  More ...

He added: "We want to be as thorough and serious about it and reach the right conclusion."

Favre said he had a "brief conversation" with Goodell before the game, but the quarterback declined to elaborate on the discussion.

"I wouldn't call that an investigation or anything like that," Favre said.

Favre allegedly sent inappropriate messages and lewd photos to former New York Jets employee Jenn Sterger two years ago when they were both with the team. The allegations against the 41-year-old quarterback surfaced months ago on the website Deadspin.

Favre, who was declared out for the game when the Vikings issued their injury report on Saturday, was upgraded to questionable on Monday and started despite a sprained throwing shoulder that kept him out the week before and ended his NFL-record streak of 297 straight regular-season games started.

His return didn't last long. Bears defensive end Corey Wootton slammed Minnesota's quarterback to the ground in the second quarter, and Favre watched the rest of a 40-14 loss from the bench.

Favre has said several times this year that this will be his last season, and only two games remain.

Goodell requested a meeting earlier in the day with Minnesota Gov.-elect Mark Dayton regarding the team's drive for a new stadium. The Vikings had been lobbying for a new place to play for more than a decade before the Metrodome's roof collapsed under the weight of last weekend's blizzard.

Goodell also met with business leaders, union leaders and state legislators. He said he will help however he can.

"I think there's a recognition that we need to find a long-term solution for the Vikings here, get a new stadium built, and we're all going to work together," commissioner said.

Dayton said before the meeting that Goodell will have a "crucial" role in the process.

"If it's a good deal for the people of Minnesota, I'll support it," Dayton said. "If the financial benefits of 8,000 construction jobs, the taxes they pay, the additional revenues from contractors, subcontractors, all of the financial gains to the state of Minnesota exceed the costs, then it's a good deal for the people of Minnesota."

Two separate groups in Los Angeles are aiming to build stadiums there. The Vikings have a lease at the Metrodome through next season. But Goodell said he "certainly" hopes the franchise would not be relocated.

"Our focus is entirely on making sure they're successful here in this market," Goodell said.

Goodell stopped by the Metrodome to see the damage and called it "quite startling." Because the focus has been on getting the stadium at the University of Minnesota ready, Goodell said, it was too early to assess the Metrodome's status for next season.

Players from both the Bears and the Vikings voiced worry this week about the safety of the turf at TCF Bank Stadium, the University of Minnesota's home field, but Goodell said experts have signed off on the condition and expressed no concern about it.

"We have great respect for the players," Goodell said. "They're a part of developing these rules and focusing on the techniques that we think should be eliminated from the game. We'll continue to make sure that the rules are enforced to make the game as safe as possible."

Goodell also addressed the status of the league's labor talks with the players' union, given the lack of a collective bargaining agreement in place for next season.

"We're not as close as I'd like to be. We have a lot more work to be done," Goodell said. "We have time to get it done, but it's going to need a very concerted effort to get that done."

For more NFL labor news, visit http://NFLLabor.com

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

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