"Each generation must have its war," the late NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw said in 2006. Heading toward the March deadline, the drums are pounding on both sides.
The futures of hundreds of unrestricted free agents could be thrown into doubt and hundreds of millions of dollars in salaries could be lost – not to mention public goodwill if the Super Bowl is the last game played in 2011. Both sides are about 30 percent from the middle ground coming out of a pre-Super Bowl meeting, says Cramer.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has said he'll cut his salary from $10 million to $1 if there's a lockout. But many players don't believe the owners are negotiating in good faith. In 2008, the owners decided to opt out of the current collective-bargaining agreement, leading players to think the owners were girding for a lockout.
Representing 1,900 players, Smith is entering his first collective-bargaining negotiation and is keen to make his mark. He is rallying players to his cause and trying to convince the public that million-dollar athletes need a fairer shake. The big question is whether Smith will blink before a lockout.
Cramer's prediction: "There's plenty of room to solve this. There's no way there should be a lockout."
