Here’s What Was on the Agenda for the N.F.L. Owners’ Meeting on Wednesday
In a city where nothing seems to be getting done, I’m amazed at how much the N.F.L. owners’ meeting got done. I sat through it yesterday on my way to the Super Bowl, and it was good to see some issues being talked about and some things actually getting done.
The one thing everybody knows about the league—it’s corrupt. When the owners met for their annual meeting on Wednesday afternoon, it was the first we’ve had to see in a year from which we could glean the most about how the league will move forward over the next four years.
I can think of at least 20 issues which have been raised at the meeting that’ll need to be addressed over the next four years, and many of them were things which were touched upon or were merely mentioned. The owners did not go in with an agenda, and that’s by design. There isn’t a need for one because everything is on the table, including the many issues that weren’t addressed at all, such as those related to the draft and the rookie salary structure, the issue of the CBA, and the NFLPA’s refusal to allow the league to unionize.
The owners put together a plan on how to address the long-term health of the league, which is what made me go to the meeting in the first place. Ownership is always working on a comprehensive plan for the future, and that’s the best way to look at why the owners got together in the first place and, in the process, made some decisions that will have a lasting effect on the N.F.L. The plan to deal with the long-term issues includes:
A new governance structure: The owners have decided that the best way to address the long-term issues is to change the governance structure of the owners, and they’re setting up rules that make it clear whose views will have the final say at meetings. In the case of the owners’ meetings, for instance, the owners will now have a quorum consisting of 50 percent plus one; the CFA will have a quorum of the owners’ chosen representatives (all four, by the way); the NFL will have a quorum of the owners’ representatives; and the NFLPA will have a qu