In order to avoid the possibility of the NFL Players’ Association decertifying this Friday, thereby taking their contention with the owners to federal court, many believe that the owners will soon “open the books” so to speak, at the behest of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Sports Illustrated’s Peter King reports.
This is, of course, a reference to the owners ponying up financial information, which to this point, has been privy only to them. The general thinking is that, since the owners would be required to give up the financial information anyway, if the case goes to court, they might as well just give it up now.
The revelation of “the books” is now thought to be key in the negotiations.
The opening of the books could be the answer to the $750 million gap between the players and the owners.
The Sports Business Journal’s Liz Mullen, via ProFootballTalk, cited an unnamed source near the talks today who said, “The players really think that the NFL opening their financials has become the key to getting a deal done.”
Which basically means that, unless they want to take their case to court, the owners might soon be forced to reveal themselves... Financially.
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