Upshaw Dares NFL Owners to Opt Out of Contract, Says Union Read for Anything

[Omaha Steve]

http://sports.excite.com/news/01312008/v9915.html

Jan 31, 5:57 PM (ET)

By DAVE GOLDBERG

PHOENIX (AP) - A defiant Gene Upshaw said that if the NFL's owners opt out of the current labor agreement later this year, the players' union is ready for a strike or the decertification tactics it used to get free agency after the 1987 walkout.

"If they want to get out of the deal, there's nothing we can do about it," the executive director of the NFL Players Association said Thursday before the union's annual Super Bowl news conference. "But we'll be prepared."

The labor agreement reached after tough bargaining in March of 2006 gave both sides the right to opt out in November. That would lead to 2010 being an uncapped year before the contract expires in 2011.

Several owners, including Denver's Pat Bowlen, have suggested that the current agreement is leaving some teams cash-strapped and making it likely that the owners will opt out next year.

Upshaw said that he's heard the complaints and is ready for any outcome.

"At our meeting in March, our priorities for discussion are four options: strike, lockout, decertification or extension," he said.

FULL story at link.

[Bluzmann57]

1. Upshaw should be very careful about this

The NFLPA is the weakest sports Union out of the so called "Big Three", and people in this country love the NFL. A lot of people will watch it regardless of who is wearing the uniforms.