Football Players Labor Relations

A federal judge gave preliminary approval Friday to the out-of-court settlement that opens the way for NFL free agency on Monday. David Doty, who presided over the lawsuits that led to the NFL labor settlement, said the agreement settles the cases pending in federal and state courts, including the class-action suit filed by Reggie White of the Philadelphia Eagles. Doty gave all sides until April 2 to file objections.

A look at the labor structure of three major professional team sports. Gene Upshaw Executive director, players' union NFL * SALARY CAP: If player costs reach 67% of designated NFL gross revenue, a cap will be triggered and unrestricted free agency will begin for players after four years. * DRAFT: It will be reduced from 12 to seven rounds, plus one round for teams that lose free agents. $2 million per club for 1993 draft choices.

One strange thing about life in this country--the world's shining democracy--is that, every so often, inalienable rights have to be fought for. The Americans who produced the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights two centuries ago made everything easy, ostensibly. But it isn't easy. Thus the American employers who, years ago, forced men, women and children to work 10, 12 and more hours a day didn't simply relent when asked to relent.

After a long fight, they have made peace in the NFL. The league's players and club have a new, seven-year agreement, they announced Wednesday in a joint statement. Ending five years of acrimony, they have stopped arguing and started fraternizing and living under the terms of a complex, historic working agreement that is about to make many of the NFL's five-year veterans free agents. Settlement terms disclosed Wednesday specify that on Feb.

The lawyers who argued for and against free agency for NFL players in a Minneapolis courtroom last summer without deciding anything are at it again this week. They are back in Minneapolis, telling the same judge, David Doty, the same old things. And by late Tuesday, Doty had had enough. Delivering an ultimatum, he said he will announce his settlement decision later today if a peace agreement hasn't been reached by then.

Al Davis, president of the partnership group that controls the Raiders, is the "management person who stalled the peace movement" in the NFL this week at New York, a players' association source said Thursday. An owners' source agreed that if Davis had stayed out of the negotiations in recent months, and particularly this week, the sides would by now have come to a new collective bargaining agreement establishing most veterans as free agents.

The NFL's players and club owners, who have been at odds for more than five years, promised 10 days ago that they would make peace this week, but peace isn't here yet. And in New York late Wednesday night, representatives of the players said the proposed agreement is off. Gene Upshaw, executive director of the NFL Players Assn., telephoned the Associated Press at midnight New York time and said: "When it came time to face the reality of free agency, (the owners) backed out of the deal."

It began with a controversial announcement: Elvis has left the team. It ended with a controversial pronouncement: Marcus is leaving the team. And there were plenty of problems in between. This season's Raiders featured a volatile mix of conflict, confrontation and controversy. And that was before they took the field. Owner Al Davis surveyed the happy locker room after Saturday's season-ending 21-20 upset of the Washington Redskins and said, "This is the way it should have been all year."