ROGER GOODELL

Letter from Roger Goodell

March 12, 2011 By dolfanjill Leave a Comment

National Football League Roger Goodell - Commissioner

Dear NFL Fan,

When I wrote to you last on behalf of the NFL, we promised you that we would work tirelessly to find a collectively bargained solution to our differences with the players’ union. Subsequent to that letter to you, we agreed that the fastest way to a fair agreement was for everyone to work together through a mediation process. For the last three weeks I have personally attended every session of mediation, which is a process our clubs sincerely believe in.

Unfortunately, I have to tell you that earlier today the players’ union walked away from mediation and collective bargaining and has initiated litigation against the clubs. In an effort to get a fair agreement now, our clubs offered a deal today that was, among other things, designed to have no adverse financial impact on veteran players in the early years, and would have met the players’ financial demands in the latter years of the agreement.

The proposal we made included an offer to narrow the player compensation gap that existed in the negotiations by splitting the difference; guarantee a reallocation of savings from first-round rookies to veterans and retirees without negatively affecting compensation for rounds 2-7; no compensation reduction for veterans; implement new year-round health and safety rules; retain the current 16-4 season format for at least two years with any subsequent changes subject to the approval of the league and union; and establish a new legacy fund for retired players ($82 million contributed by the owners over the next two years).

It was a deal that offered compromise, and would have ensured the well-being of our players and guaranteed the long-term future for the fans of the great game we all love so much. It was a deal where everyone would prosper.

We remain committed to collective bargaining and the federal mediation process until an agreement is reached, and call on the union to return to negotiations immediately. NFL players, clubs, and fans want an agreement. The only place it can be reached is at the bargaining table.

While we are disappointed with the union’s actions, we remain steadfastly committed to reaching an agreement that serves the best interest of NFL players, clubs and fans, and thank you for your continued support of our League. First and foremost it is your passion for the game that drives us all, and we will not lose sight of this as we continue to work for a deal that works for everyone.

Yours,
Roger Goodell

Filed Under: Featured, Lockout, NFL Tagged With: letter from roger goodell, NFL, NFL GAME HISTORY, NFL Lockout, NFLPA, nflpa decertification, ROGER GOODELL

Game Day 2011?

December 14, 2010 By dolfanjill 1 Comment

It’s finally here, it’s Sunday and you are ready for football to start. You have waited all off season in anticipation for week 1 and the ritualistic game day experience that has been turning in your loins.

New jersey? Check.

Fantasy football rosters set? Check.

BBQ grill, hamburgers, hot dogs, wings, chips, and cold beer? Check.

As you ride to the stadium you reminisce on the glory of the football experience remembering the voltage of power and the pop of lights. The glow of the football field and that addictive smell of fresh cut Bahamian hybrid grass. Those freshly painted yard markers just waiting to be trampled and the quiet silence in the stadium, like the calm before a storm.

You take the same route to the stadium that you drove with your now much older children and the same roads when you worked your first job in the concession stands. Glancing in your review mirror you admire that smile stuck on your face, your brand new jersey and that crisp unbent ticket sitting in your breast pocket. Then you make that last left to your beloved stadium and that grin sinks, your heart drops and you slam on the breaks. You look around in confusion and feel rather lost until you realize that even though today’s date is the same date on your ticket there will be no game.

*Players and fans want to see America’s favorite sport, so please sign the petition to block the lockout!

http://www.nfllockout.com/2010/11/01/198/

Filed Under: Lockout Tagged With: 18 games, cab, dolfanjill, game day 2011, health benefits, LOCKOUT, nfl alumnus, NFL PLAYERS, NFLPA, ROGER GOODELL, sign the petition

Goodell: You’re Breaking My Football Heart

December 4, 2010 By dolfanjill 4 Comments

Goodell you disappoint me, you disappoint footballs most loyal fans, you’ve

dishearten our children and you failed footballs past!

I grew up on a cul-de-sac in a neighborhood full of all boys, and even though I was picked last they always let me play. I was that little blonde tomboy running with “the boys”, on that make shift field outlined by scattered clothes. Shirts marked the sidelines, shoes bordered the end zones, and hole ridden socks distinguished the hash marks on our heavily trafficked dead grass lawns. That gridiron was the place where everyone in our neighborhood pretended to be footballs greatest icons: Walter Payton, Lawrence Taylor, Reggie White, Joe Montana, Dan Marino or my then favorite Brian Cox. It never mattered if it was rain or shine, that field was our game time and our second home.

I know my generation didn’t have the same players as my uncles, my father and even grandfather, however we all dreamed the same dreams and loved the same game. Now you, Roger Goodell, NFL board members, and franchise owners are sucking the sole of tradition away.

Football has held a place in my life, inside my heart and I thought it could never disappoint me. This game has been there for me, it’s the place I go on Sunday’s, and the teams are the friends I meet. So to witness the threat to my ritual and weekly happiness is downright shameful and had become a personal fight to me.

There have been changes to the game and we fans have all seen the game evolve. Except with these changes it is not still our game Mr. Roger Goodell it has become yours.

Goodell, you know more than many what it’s like to work inside those historic walls, and for someone who has witness 2 strikes and now a possible lockout you will be responsible for tearing them down.

The NFL is a nonprofit organization, and I do believe our congress approved this application with the promise “to better our community”. The community you are threatening is not just the NFPLA, it’s the entire United States and the global community. The world enjoys football, and I am sure you’re well aware of your stage. So I am forewarning you this charade of greed will be detrimental in too many ways.

Today, it’s my turn to call my son home at sundown and pull him of that field. However, what I find so heart breaking is trying to explain to him how the tradition of American football is slowly slipping away.