Jags Owner Supports Wilson

[Kelly the Dog]

With all do respect, half the owners in the league probably don't understand the CBA.  A TV commentator and a U.S. senator, no matter how smart they are, are not going to get to know the ins-and-outs of a labor agreement that complex with just a few days of preperation--even if they could somehow get their hands on this highly confidential agreement.

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Not implying they do understand the entire thing. What I am implying, is that I would believe they learned all they could about the 1/100th of the thing that concerned qualifiers and what Ralph was worried about. And I wouldn't doubt at all if that came from the Bills lawyers, who were very likely the ones that alerted Ralph to the inconsistencies on arbitrary language of the thing that caused his alarm in the first place. And if the Bills thought that Schumer and Russert could help them in the meeting, which I guarantee they did, I'd bet Schumer and/or his aides were thoroughly briefed on the 4-5 sticky points before that meeting. And said to Tagliabue, what about this, this, that and the other thing in very specific language.

[Orton's Arm]

But basically everything Ralph complained about was unfounded. At least so far.

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You've been pretty consistent in giving the benefit of the doubt to Tagliabue etc. instead of to Ralph. I find this hard to understand. Look at the generous deals given to teams like the Rams and the old Cleveland Browns to relocate. You have to believe Ralph could have cashed in himself, had he been willing to move the team to a different city. The fact that he walked away from all that extra money is rock-solid evidence he cares about keeping the Bills in Buffalo.

 

How deeply does Tagliabue care about keeping the Bills in Buffalo? How deeply do owners of teams like the Cowboys or Redskins care? Who knows? Your statements about the benign intentions of such people are pure conjecture. On the other hand, we know Ralph cares, because the team is still here.

 

We want what Ralph wants--to keep the Bills in Buffalo. The others involved in this debate have their own agendas; agendas which may or may not involve keeping the Bills here. Given the complexity of the agreement, its still-unresolved state, and its secret nature, we're not in a position to go directly to the source for our information. We have to take someone's word for what's going on. I say we take the word of the man whose interests are most like our own. We have to stand with Ralph.

[Kelly the Dog]

You've been pretty consistent in giving the benefit of the doubt to Tagliabue etc. instead of to Ralph.  I find this hard to understand.  Look at the generous deals given to teams like the Rams and the old Cleveland Browns to relocate.  You have to believe Ralph could have cashed in himself, had he been willing to move the team to a different city.  The fact that he walked away from all that extra money is rock-solid evidence he cares about keeping the Bills in Buffalo.

 

How deeply does Tagliabue care about keeping the Bills in Buffalo?  How deeply do owners of teams like the Cowboys or Redskins care?  Who knows?  Your statements about the benign intentions of such people are pure conjecture.  On the other hand, we know Ralph cares, because the team is still here. 

 

We want what Ralph wants--to keep the Bills in Buffalo.  The others involved in this debate have their own agendas; agendas which may or may not involve keeping the Bills here.  Given the complexity of the agreement, its still-unresolved state, and its secret nature, we're not in a position to go directly to the source for our information.  We have to take someone's word for what's going on.  I say we take the word of the man whose interests are most like our own.  We have to stand with Ralph.

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I could look it up and show it if you want. I don't have time now. Ralph basically complained about three specific elements about the CBA, concerning how the small market teams like Buffalo would not be covered and may be disqualified. I believe that Tagliabue specifically said that's not true, the Bills will indeed be covered, and in one case it was the opposite of what Ralph had said. It wasn't a brush off or a "Don't worry about it." It was more like "no, that's not what it happening, the teams will be taken individually and the Bills will not be adversely affected." If that doesn't come true Tagliabue will be a bold face liar and that ain't gonna happen. If he was pulling wool over people's eyes he would never say anything so distinctively specific. The guy is a politician, and a very shrewd one.

 

And just because Ralph clearly wants the Bills to stay in Buffalo and is doing all he can to make that happen, and I love the dude for it, that doesn't mean that Tagliabue or the NFL doesn't want that to happen, too. Nor does it mean that Ralph's worries are well founded. In fact, right now it looks like all evidence points elsewhere. I also have been very consistent in praising Ralph for doing what he is doing.

 

Wilson spoke with Schumer, New York's senior Democratic senator, after the meeting and said he was told that the rules to qualify for more revenue sharing would be based on individual markets' economic situations and not league averages.

 

He said Schumer was also given assurances by Tagliabue that the portion of future revenue from digital media slated to go to high-revenue teams would in fact be used to help fund the new revenue pool for low-revenue teams. The NFL recently signed a five-year, $600 million deal with Sprint.

 

Tagliabue said he believed that once the specifics of the collective bargaining agreement were finalized, the fears of small-market owners would be alleviated.