Detroit – Perhaps beating his counterpart to the punch by a day, NFL players union head Gene Upshaw painted an ominous picture for the league Thursday regarding a lack of progress toward a new collective bargaining agreement.
Upshaw said he believes a new extension needs to be agreed upon by March 3, when league business for the 2006 season begins. The current contract expires after the 2007 season, but it calls for uncapped salaries that season. Without a new CBA, negotiations on contracts in the free-agent period starting next month will be difficult to negotiate.
Several teams, including the Broncos, are preparing for free agency with two scenarios – with a new CBA and without. Key free agents such as Denver’s Gerard Warren and tackle Matt Lepsis are receiving preliminary extension proposals. Talks continue with both players.
Upshaw said the problem in negotiations, which have been ongoing for more than year, is a disagreement among owners on revenue sharing. He said if high-revenue teams agree to share their windfalls, an agreement would be possible. Upshaw counts Denver among eight “haves” in a league dominated by “have-nots.”
In the past, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen – a lead negotiator for the NFL in the talks – said if an agreement isn’t made, everyone involved should be shot. Thursday, Upshaw made reference to Bowlen’s quote: “Maybe they should be shot. I don’t think we should be shot.”
NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue is expected to speak about the talks today during his annual state of the league address.
Stones push Motown aside
It was difficult to believe from their standing-room-only news conference that Detroit was not happy about the decision to have the Rolling Stones perform during the Super Bowl halftime show.
The Stones, of course, are from Great Britain. Motown has its own galaxy of stars.
As if.
“Do you mean are we going to do a Marvin Gaye tune?” quipped Stones lead singer Mick Jagger. “The NFL made a mistake, but they were quick to rectify it.”
He was referring to the addition of Motown singers Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin, among others, to the Super Bowl’s pregame entertainment. The Stones will play for 12 minutes. Their musical set is supposed to be secret, although when asked if they would play “Sympathy for the Devil,” guitarist Ron Wood nodded.
Do the Stones understand the magnitude of the Super Bowl?
“I remember Lynn Swann, I remember him playing,” Jagger said. “I remember the levitating leap (in Super Bowl X). But I must say I haven’t been following football in recent years. I’ve been following soccer.”
Footnotes
Former Broncos defensive backs coach David Gibbs will coach the Kansas City Chiefs’ secondary. He spent last season as the defensive coordinator at Auburn after being fired by Denver in November 2004. … Former Broncos tight ends coach Brian Pariani was hired for a similar position at Houston by new head coach Gary Kubiak. Pariani spent last season as Syracuse’s offensive coordinator. The Texans also hired Mike McDaniel as offensive quality control coach. He was a coaching intern with the Broncos last season.
