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I respect your opinion on this one, Mike, but I do have to disagree.
Looking at what's happened in player-owner relationships in the NFL over the last 40 years and comparing them to, say, Major League Baseball, NFL players have a right to say they're not keeping up with the Joneses. MLB still doesn't have a salary cap, and I believe the percentage of revenue going to players, while not part of the CBA, is pretty similar.
Granted, MLB players have been able to hang together when job actions took place, and when the owners locked out the players in 1994, they were perceived as the bad guys. It's only been in the latest skirmish between the two sides, over performance-enhancing drugs, that MLB's player's union leaders have taken the hit. This doesn't appear to be a major NFL issue.
The last time there was a job action in the NFL, the union fell apart. However, that was over 20 years ago. Understandably, players are itching to get a larger share of the pie.
Also, as you note, Upshaw did a poor job of handling the issue of retired players and medical benefits. That clearly needed to change, and it's certainly an issue active players can point to.
No one has job security anymore, and the only immunity is on Survivor. No one likes seeing someone who's held a job for 20 years or more shown the door, but if they're not doing what their employers want him to do -- and let's face it, Gene Upshaw is employed by the NFLPA -- it may be time for a change.
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