NFLPA

National Football League Players Association
Founded	1956
Country	United States
Key people	Troy Vincent, President; Gene Upshaw, Director
Office location	Washington, D.C.
Website	www.nflpa.org

The National Football League Players Association, or NFLPA, is the labor union of players in football's National Football League. It was founded in 1956, but only achieved recognition and a collective bargaining agreement several years later. After a lost strike in 1987, the union was formally decertified, converting into a professional association in order to pursue antitrust litigation designed to win free agency for its members. When that tactic worked it reformed as a union and resumed collective bargaining with the league in 1993. The president is currently Troy Vincent, former player with the Washington Redskins, and the executive director is Gene Upshaw, formerly of the Raiders. 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Troy Darnell Vincent (born June 8, 1969 in Trenton, New Jersey) is an American football player who currently plays free safety for the Buffalo Bills of the NFL. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins out of the University of Wisconsin with the seventh pick in the first round of... Eugene Thurman Upshaw Jr. ... Nickname: DC, The District Motto: Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All) Location of Washington, D.C., in relation to the states Maryland and Virginia Coordinates: Country United States Federal District District of Columbia Government  - Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D)  - City Council Chairperson: Vincent C. Gray (D) Ward 1: Jim Graham (D... A union (labor union in American English; trade union, sometimes trades union, in British English; either labour union or trade union in Canadian English) is a legal entity consisting of employees or workers having a common interest, such as all the assembly workers for one employer, or all the workers... United States simply as football, is a competitive team sport that is both fast-paced and strategic. ... The National Football League (NFL) is the largest professional American football league, consisting of thirty-two teams from American cities and regions. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is the contract between the NHL and the NHLPA that defines the structure of procedural, financial, and disciplinary relationships between the NHL, its teams, and its players. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The National Labor Relations Board, an agency within the United States government, was created in 1935 as part of the National Labor Relations Act. ... This article is about anti-competitive business behavior. ... Free agency can be: In Latter-day Saint theology, free agency is the name of the human capacity to make choices for themselves and to choose between right and wrong. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... Troy Darnell Vincent (born June 8, 1969 in Trenton, New Jersey) is an American football player who currently plays free safety for the Buffalo Bills of the NFL. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins out of the University of Wisconsin with the seventh pick in the first round of... City Landover, Maryland Other nicknames The Skins Team colors Burgundy and Gold Head Coach Joe Gibbs Owner Dan Snyder Fight song Hail to the Redskins League/Conference affiliations National Football League (1932–present) Eastern Division (1933-1949) American Conference (1950-1952) Eastern Conference (1953-1969) Capitol Division (1967-1969) National... Eugene Thurman Upshaw Jr. ...

Formation and recognition

The union formed in 1956 when football players on the Green Bay Packers and Cleveland Browns formed a union to demand that the clubs provide players with a minimum league-wide salary and per diem pay, uniforms and equipment paid for and maintained at the clubs' expense and continued payment of their salaries while they were injured and unable to play. Don Shula of the Baltimore Colts, Frank Gifford of the New York Giants, and Norm Van Brocklin of the Los Angeles Rams led the organizing drive. After collecting authorization cards from a majority of the players, the association went to the owners' meeting to discuss their demands. The owners never met with them and never responded to any of their proposals. City Green Bay, Wisconsin Team colors Dark Green, Gold, and White Head Coach Mike McCarthy Owner 111,967 stockholders Chairman Bob Harlan General manager Ted Thompson Fight song Go! You Packers! Go! League/Conference affiliations Independent (1919-1920) National Football League (1921–present) Western Division (1933-1949) National Conference (1950... ... Donald Francis Shula (born January 4, 1930 in Grand River, Ohio) is a former professional football coach for the National Football League. ... There have been two unrelated American football teams called the Baltimore Colts based in Baltimore, Maryland. ... Francis Newton Gifford (born August 16, 1930 in Santa Monica, California) was an American football player and one of the better-known American sports commentators in the latter part of the 20th century who made the transition from an athlete to broadcasting. ... City East Rutherford, New Jersey Other nicknames Big Blue Wrecking Crew, Big Blue, G-Men, The Jints, The New York Football Giants Team colors Royal Blue, Red, Gray, and White Head Coach Tom Coughlin Owner John Mara (50%) and Steve Tisch (50%) General manager Jerry Reese League/Conference affiliations National... Norman Mack Norm Van Brocklin (March 15, 1926 – May 2, 1983) was an American football player and coach. ... The St. ...

Unable to win their attention by organizing, the association threatened to bring an antitrust lawsuit against the league. That threat became much more credible when the United States Supreme Court ruled in Radovich v. National Football League, 352 U.S. 445 (1957), that the NFL did not enjoy the same antitrust immunity that Major League Baseball did. Rather than face another lawsuit, the owners granted most of the players' demands, but did not enter into a collective bargaining agreement with the association or formally recognize it as their exclusive bargaining representative. This article is about anti-competitive business behavior. ... The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

The players continued to use the threat of antitrust litigation over the next few years as a lever to win better benefits, including a pension and health insurance plan, and payment for exhibition games. The league did not formally recognize the NFLPA as the players' exclusive representative or enter into a contract with it, however, until 1968, after an abortive organizing drive led by Bernie Parrish of the Cleveland Browns backed by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and a short lockout and strike. That contract was a weak one, largely due to the fact that the union representing members of the former American Football League, which had just merged with the NFL, had accepted these terms. 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday. ... The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, commonly known as the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) or simply the Teamsters, is one of the largest labor unions in the United States. ... A lockout is a work stoppage in which an employer prevents employees from working. ... AFL logo The American Football League (AFL) was a professional league of American football that operated from 1960 to 1969. ...

Merger and progress

The NFLPA had chilly relations, at best, with its counterpart that represented AFL players. The NFLPA had attempted to block the merger of the two leagues in 1966, believing that the existence of a rival league gave individual players more bargaining power. After the two leagues merged, the two unions remained separate until 1970, when the AFL players, led by Jack Kemp of the Buffalo Bills, agreed to merge under the leadership of John Mackey of the Baltimore Colts. The employers continued, however, to treat the union lightly in negotiations, prompting the NFLPA to formally petition the National Labor Relations Board for union certification. 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Jack French Kemp Jr. ... City Orchard Park, New York Team colors Navy blue, light blue, Red, light Red, White, Royal, and Nickel Head Coach Dick Jauron Owner Ralph Wilson General manager Marv Levy Mascot Billy Buffalo League/Conference affiliations American Football League (1960-1969) Eastern Division (1960-1969) National Football League (1970–present) American... John Mackey (born September 24, 1941, New York, New York) is a former American Football tight end who played for the Baltimore Colts and the San Diego Chargers. ... The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent agency of the United States Government charged with conducting elections for union representation and with investigating and remedying unfair labor practices. ...

The newly merged union found itself in just as weak a position as it had been in before. While it won the right for players to bargain through their own agents with the clubs, improvements in pensions and impartial arbitration for injury grievances, it was unable to make much progress on its economic demands. The Association therefore returned to the tactic that it had used in the past: an antitrust lawsuit challenging the "Rozelle Rule", which barred players from moving to another team after their contracts expired. Arbitration is a legal technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts, wherein the parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons (the arbitrators or arbitral tribunal), by whose decision (the award) they agree to be bound. ... Alvin Ray Pete Rozelle (March 1, 1926–December 6, 1996) was the commissioner of the National Football League (NFL) from January 1960 to November 1989, when he retired from office. ...

While that litigation proved successful, the union found that making progress in bargaining was harder to achieve. It eliminated the Rozelle Rule in bargaining in 1977 and obtained improved benefits and grievance procedures, but had not achieved free agency or reached its goal of winning 55 percent of league revenues for players. For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ...

1982 strike

The 1982 NFL strike began on September 19, 1982 and lasted 57 days until November 16, 1982. During this time, no NFL games were played. September 19 is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years). ... The 1982 NFL season was the 63th regular season of the National Football League. ... November 16 is the 320th day of the year (321st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 45 days remaining. ...

The essential cause of the strike was over a dispute over the percentage of gross revenues that the league gave to its players. The NFLPA wanted the percentage increased to 55 percent.^[1] For the tax agency in the UK of the same name , see HM Revenue and Customs. ...

During this time, the NFLPA promoted two "all-star games." One was held at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. on October 17, 1982 between two teams billed as "National East" and "American East." On the following day, October 18, another game was played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum between players from the "American West" and the "National West." Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, informally known as RFK Stadium (or just RFK), is a professional sports stadium in the United States. ... Nickname: DC, The District Motto: Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All) Location of Washington, D.C., in relation to the states Maryland and Virginia Coordinates: Country United States Federal District District of Columbia Government  - Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D)  - City Council Chairperson: Vincent C. Gray (D) Ward 1: Jim Graham (D... October 17 is the 290th day of the year (291st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... October 18 is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years). ... For other uses, see Memorial Coliseum (disambiguation) and Coliseum. ...

Both teams wore generic uniforms, with the home teams wearing red and the visiting teams wearing white. The NFLPA had hoped that the league's biggest stars would show up for the game, but few of them did. Perhaps the biggest reason for this was that the players on strike had no health insurance and therefore were totally responsible for any injuries suffered on the field. Health insurance is a type of insurance whereby the insurer pays the medical costs of the insured if the insured becomes sick due to covered causes, or due to accidents. ...

Neither game drew more than 20,000 spectators and the TV ratings (the games were syndicated by Turner Network Television) were abysmal in both cases. Although more all-star games had been scheduled by the NFLPA, none of them were ever played. When TV viewers or entertainment professionals in the United States mention ratings they are often referring to Nielsen Ratings, a system developed by Nielsen Media Research to determine the audience size and composition of television programming. ... Turner Network Television, usually referred to as TNT, is a cable TV network created by media mogul Ted Turner and currently owned by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner. ...

TV networks scrambled to make adjustments to their schedules. NBC added more Major League Baseball games and some Canadian Football League contests were also telecast. (Some of the CFL games featured the Edmonton Eskimos and their eventual Hall of Fame quarterback, Warren Moon.) CBS aired a rebroadcast of Super Bowl XVI the week after the strike began, then added editions of the CBS Sports Spectacular. ABC replaced Monday Night Football with movies. NBC (an acronym for National Broadcasting Company) is an American television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Lions Stampeders Eskimos Roughriders Blue Bombers Tiger-Cats Argonauts Alouettes The Canadian Football League (CFL), also known by its French name, Ligue canadienne de football (LCF), is a professional sports league located in Canada that plays Canadian football, and is the second most popular sports league in Canada. ... The Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian Football League team based in Edmonton, Alberta. ... The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the National Football Leagues Hall of Fame. ... Harold Warren Moon (born November 18, 1956 in Los Angeles, California) is a former American football quarterback who played for the Canadian Football Leagues Edmonton Eskimos and the National Football Leagues Houston Oilers, Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs. ... CBS is one of the largest radio and television networks in the United States. ... Date January 24, 1982 Stadium Pontiac Silverdome City Pontiac, Michigan MVP Joe Montana, Quarterback Favorite 49ers by 1 National anthem Diana Ross Coin toss Bobby Layne Referee Pat Haggerty Halftime show Up with People presents Salute to the 1960s and Motown Attendance 81,270 TV in the United States Network... The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) operates television and radio networks in the United States and is also shown on basic cable in Canada. ... Monday Night Football (MNF) is a live television broadcast of the National Football League. ...

As a result of the strike, the season schedule was reduced from 16 games to nine and the playoffs expanded to 16 teams (eight from each conference) for a "Super Bowl tournament." CBS and NBC aired regional telecasts on both days (Saturday and Sunday, January 8 and 9) of first round games. The Washington Redskins won the tournament by capturing Super Bowl XVII. The god Saturn, after whom Saturday is named. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... January 8 is the 8th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... January 9 is the 9th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... City Landover, Maryland Other nicknames The Skins Team colors Burgundy and Gold Head Coach Joe Gibbs Owner Dan Snyder Fight song Hail to the Redskins League/Conference affiliations National Football League (1932–present) Eastern Division (1933-1949) American Conference (1950-1952) Eastern Conference (1953-1969) Capitol Division (1967-1969) National... Date January 30, 1983 Stadium Rose Bowl Stadium City Pasadena, California MVP John Riggins, Running back Favorite Dolphins by 3 National Anthem Leslie Easterbrook Coin toss Elroy Hirsch Halftime show Bob Jani Productions presents KaleidoSUPERscope with the Los Angeles Super Drill Team Attendance 103,667 TV in the United States...

The 1987 strike and decertification

The NFLPA struck for a month in 1987. On this occasion, however, the league chose to present games with replacement players, mostly those who had been cut in preseason, and a few veterans who crossed the picket lines. The television networks showcased these games as if these hastily assembled teams were the same quality as the veterans who were out on strike. Faced with cracks in its members' support and the willingness of the networks to broadcast the games, the union voted to go back to work on October 15, 1987. It filed a new antitrust suit that same day. 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 15 is the 288th day of the year (289th in leap years). ...

The Court of Appeals ultimately rejected that suit on the ground that the labor exemption from antitrust liability protected the employers, even though the union was no longer party to a collective bargaining agreement that would have permitted the practices that the union was challenging. In response, the union formally disclaimed any interest in representing NFL players in collective bargaining and reformed itself as a professional organization in 1989. Having done that, the following year union members, led by Freeman McNeil of the New York Jets, brought a new antitrust action against the NFL challenging its free agency rules as an unlawful restraint of trade. 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Freeman McNeil was a running back for the New York Jets (1981-1992). ... City East Rutherford, New Jersey Other nicknames Gang Green, the Green and White Team colors Green and White Head Coach Eric Mangini Owner Woody Johnson General manager Mike Tannenbaum League/Conference affiliations American Football League (1960-1969) Eastern Division (1960-1969) National Football League (1970–present) American Football Conference (1970...

The players ultimately prevailed, after a jury trial on their claims, in that action. That verdict, the pendency of other antitrust cases and the threat of a class action filed by Reggie White, then with the Philadelphia Eagles, on behalf of all NFL players brought the parties back to the negotiating table. They finally agreed on a formula that permitted free agency in return for salary caps tied to a formula based on players' share of total league revenues. In law, a class action is an equitable procedural device used in litigation for determining the rights of and remedies, if any, for large numbers of people whose cases involve common questions of law and fact. ... Reginald Howard Reggie White (December 19, 1961 – December 26, 2004) was a professional American football player. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Oddly enough, the Redskins, which won the Super Bowl after football resumed in 1982, did so again, this time by winning Super Bowl XXII. What's more, the Redskins had none of their regular players cross the picket lines during the period of replacement games. (The Replacements, a 2000 movie starring Keanu Reeves, is loosely based on the experiences of the Redskins "scabs," which went 3-0 in the regulars' absence.) Date January 31, 1988 Stadium Jack Murphy Stadium City San Diego, California MVP Doug Williams, Quarterback Favorite Broncos by 3 National anthem Herb Alpert Coin toss Don Hutson Referee Bob McElwee Halftime show Chubby Checker and The Rockettes Attendance 73,302 TV in the United States Network ABC Announcers Al... Image:The Replacemen. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Keanu Charles Reeves (first name pronounced ) is a Canadian actor, born September 2, 1964 in Beirut, Lebanon, and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ...

Returning to collective bargaining

That settlement was presented to and approved by the judge who had heard the McNeil antitrust case in 1993. Once the agreement was approved the NFLPA reconstituted itself as a labor union and entered into a new collective bargaining agreement with the league. The NFLPA and the league have extended their 1993 agreement five times, most recently in March 2006 when it was extended through the 2011 season after the NFL owners voted 30-2 to accept the NFLPA's final proposal. 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... March 2006 : ← - January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → Fijian Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase announces that the 2006 Fiji general elections will be held in the second week of May 2006 from the 6th to the 13th. ... 2011 (MMXI) will be a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External references

NFLPA history