Extra Points: Conduct Policy, L.A., Playoffs
The NFL owners approved a new conduct policy earlier today, but there are still plenty of question marks surrounding the guidelines. As Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com explains, many players and owners are questioning the specifics of the “paid-leave” protocol.
Most players have incentive bonuses/escalators built into their contracts, but that portion of money would be impossible to earn if a player is suspended. As Florio writes, many of these bonuses are based on playing time or compiled stats, and a player won’t be able to reach any of those milestones if he’s sitting at home.
Meanwhile, Fox Sports’ Mike Garafolo tweets that there’s also concern from the owner’s side, as the check-writers don’t want to be paying money for zero production. Furthermore, the teams currently get no cap relief for their suspended player, which is an added concern of the owners.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello briefly spoke about the issue with Florio:
“That is the type of issue we would be prepared to discuss with the union if the union were interested in engaging in discussions. They had no interest in discussing anything at the last meeting.”
Let’s check out some more notes from around the league as we wrap up this Wednesday night…
- Garafolo tweets a remark from commissioner Roger Goodell, who says there’s been “progress” on a Los Angeles franchise, but nothing’s “imminent.” “We continue to work to see if there’s a solution,” Goodell said.
- The owners will not discuss playoff expansion during this week’s meeting, but PFT’s Michael David Smith writes that Goodell plans on addressing the subject during March’s gathering. The league is reportedly interested in adding a seventh team from each conference.
NFL Owners Approve New Conduct Policy
1:33pm: The NFLPA has released a statement on the newly-approved policy, and the union predictably doesn’t sound happy about the league’s announcement. Here’s the statement, in full:
“Our union has not been offered the professional courtesy of seeing the NFL’s new personal conduct policy before it hit the presses. Their unilateral decision and conduct today is the only thing that has been consistent over the past few months.”
12:59pm: The league has issued a formal press release, touches on a few new details of the policy, and laying out how the investigative and disciplinary processes will play out in the event of a potential violation of the conduct policy.
For the initial discipline, the NFL will appoint “a highly qualified league office executive with a criminal justice background.” Goodell will handle appeals of suspensions. Additionally, a committee headed by Cardinals owner Michael Bidwil will review the conduct policy annually and recommend appropriate changes, with the help of outside experts.
12:29pm: After announcing earlier this season that he wanted to have a new personal conduct policy in place before the Super Bowl, commissioner Roger Goodell has beaten his self-imposed deadline by more than a month and a half. Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal and Albert Breer of the NFL Network (Twitter links) report that NFL owners voted today in Dallas on a new policy, approving the proposal. According to Breer (via Twitter), the proposed conduct policy was voted through unanimously.
As we noted this morning, the NFL Players Association was upset at not having been more involved in the creation of the new personal conduct policy, and the two sides had not reached common ground on a number of issues, so it will be interesting to see what the approved proposal looks like.
Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links) have some early details, writing that some of the points of emphasis in the policy include prompt reporting of incidents, paid leave for those facing charges, and independent investigations of incidents (rather than relying on police investigations). Garafalo adds (via Twitter) that Goodell’s role under the new policy will be as an appeals officer only — a newly-created special counsel will oversee initial disciplinary rulings.
While some of those aspects of the policy should be good news for the NFLPA, the union intends to immediately study the new policy in search of provisions and topics that would be mandatory subjects of collective bargaining, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wrote earlier today. According to Florio, if there are terms in the policy that require collective bargaining, the NFLPA will file a “system arbitration” proceeding under the labor deal or initiate an action with the National Labor Relations Board, or both.
In other words, while the league’s owners may have unanimously approved the league’s proposal, the issue likely won’t be put to rest immediately. We’ll await further details on the intricacies of the policy and the union’s reaction.
Latest On NFL Personal Conduct Policy
The latest round of NFL owner meetings are set to take place today in Dallas, and one of the main topics on the agenda will be the creation and implementation of a new personal conduct policy for the league. While some reports have suggested that the NFL won’t be ready to vote on the proposal quite yet, Peter King of TheMMQB.com (Twitter link) hears that the league could push for the adoption of the new policy today.
The league appears to be moving forward with the new policy despite objections from the NFL Players Association. NFLPA president Eric Winston called recent meetings between the two sides a “farce,” claiming that the league had already finalized its policy before meeting with the union, according to Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports.
The NFL fired back by listing several objections to the NFLPA’s proposed policy, and many of those points of contention center around whether or not players should be punished in certain scenarios. Those scenarios include: after acquittal or when charges are dropped; when players are accused or convicted of misdemeanors (rather than felonies); and when the legal process is still playing out.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links), the issue of paid leave when a player has been charged with a felony is still up for discussion. Additionally, commissioner Roger Goodell is willing to remove himself from the initial discipline process, creating a new special council for investigations and conduct. Despite that concession, the NFLPA is unlikely to be happy if a new policy is approved by owners today without any collective bargaining, so we’ll have to wait and see whether a vote actually takes place.
Latest On NFL Personal Conduct Policy
After dealing with high-profile off-field incidents involving running backs Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson this year, commissioner Roger Goodell indicated earlier in the season that the league intended to have a new personal conduct policy in place by the Super Bowl. However, a league source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com that a new policy isn’t as close to being finalized as had been hoped, and that the new policy may not be adopted until the new league year begins in March.
The NFL’s owners are meeting this Wednesday, and there was a belief that a new personal conduct policy would be reviewed and potentially voted on at that point. That’s what the NFL Players Association is expecting, according to union executive George Atallah, though he points out that there hasn’t been any collective bargaining since the NFLPA last met with the league in November about the issue (Twitter links). The NFLPA submitted a proposal to the NFL last month, but there’s been no indication of how seriously the league will weigh the union’s suggestions.
According to Albert Breer of NFL.com (via Twitter), the league at least has the outline of a new personal conduct policy ready to present to owners in Dallas this week. However, in a second tweet, Breer cautions that a vote won’t necessarily happen this week, and the proposal could still be reworked.
Among the points of contention for a new policy are Goodell’s role in the disciplinary process and how players will be disciplined during the legal process when they’ve been charged but not necessarily convicted.
Extra Points: Peterson, Rice, Bears, Cowboys
As of this morning, the NFL had not offered a settlement proposal to embattled Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today, who also confirms Peter King of Sports Illustrated’s earlier report that a ruling in Peterson’s appeal case could come next week. Arbitrator Harold Henderson has encouraged the two parties to reach an agreement that would preclude the need for him to issue a formal decision, but it sounds like that hasn’t happened yet. Here’s more from around the league…
- More from Pelissero, who tweets the league and the union are working to schedule the grievance hearing between Ray Rice and the Ravens. Rice, of course, already won his reinstatement to the NFL after appealing his suspension. Succeeding against the Ravens would entitle him to roughly $3.5MM in lost salary.
- After suffering a 41-28 loss at the hands of the Cowboys on Thursday night, Bears head coach Marc Trestman told reporters, including Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com, that the club won’t make any coaching changes at this time. Trestman mad a similar declaration in November after the Bears were dominated by the Packers. Defensive coordinator Mel Tucker is taking the brunt of the criticism in Chicago, as his defense ranks dead last in point per game allowed and 27th in DVOA.
- The Cowboys will be up against the cap again in 2015 — currently, they have just over $1.2MM available in cap space for next season. As Rick Gosselin of the the Dallas Morning News writes, the club has several decisions to make regarding its offensive stars — namely Dez Bryant and DeMarco Murray — but it will need cap relief in order to fix its defense. Dallas’ only impact defender, per Gosselin, is linebacker Rolando McClain, also a free agent this offseason. I would guess that Jerry Jones & Co. will attempt to restructure Tony Romo‘s contract in order to create the cap room needed to retain at least a few free agents.
- Amid reports of turmoil along the Jets’ coaching staff, Rex Ryan denied that he considered firing offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg, according to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. As Smith writes, the point is probably moot, as Ryan and the rest of the coaching staff will likely be let go at the end of the season.
Extra Points: NFLPA, Peterson, Pasztor, Eagles
The NFL plans to unveil a new personal conduct policy in the near future, but it doesn’t seem as though the NFLPA is entirely on board. According to Tom Pelissero of USA Today, the union is refusing to enter negotiations regarding the revised protocol unless the talks occur under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement. Despite that assertion, Pelissero writes that the two parties have met at least four times to discuss the policy. Furthering the disagreement, a source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, is the fact that the league wants commissioner Roger Goodell to retain total control over the disciplinary process — the NFLPA, meanwhile, prefers a neutral third party to handle such issues. Here’s more from around the league…
- Appearing during halftime of Monday Night Football, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported that Adrian Peterson‘s appeal of his suspension could end up in federal court (Twitter link via Mortensen’s colleague, Kevin Seifert). If the NFLPA decides that the hearing officer isn’t entirely nonpartisan, it could attempt to push the Viking running back’s case to a more high-profile arena. While such a move would appear drastic given that there are just four games remaining in the regular season, one of Peterson’s aims would surely be to recoup the $4MM+ base salary he’s set to lose.
- Jaguars right tackle Austin Pasztor is expected to miss the remainder of the season after injuring his hamstring in Sunday’s win against the Giants, John Oehser of Jaguars.com writes. Pasztor, a CFL transplant in his second NFL season, missed the first four games of 2014 after breaking his hand. The 24-year-old will be a free agent after the season.
- The Eagles’ forays into free agency were nearly perfect, argues Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Mark Sanchez, signed to a one-year deal worth $2.25MM, could be the top free agent bargain, and safety Malcolm Jenkins has added a veteran presence to a young secondary. Lesser-known additions such as offensive lineman Andrew Gardner and defensive back Chris Maragos have also worked out well, writes McLane, as the pickups have bolstered Philadelphia’s depth.
King’s Latest: Rice, NFLPA, Manziel, RGIII
Within his latest Monday Morning Quarterback column, Peter King takes a look at many of Sunday’s more noteworthy games, and also touches on several other topics of interest. Here are the highlights from King’s newest piece:
- Two NFL general managers who spoke to King had no interest in signing Ray Rice themselves, but predict he’ll be with a team in training camp in 2015. King believes there’s a very slim chance the running back signs anywhere in 2014, calling the Saints a long shot and the Colts a longer one. However, the executives who spoke to King think that the league’s other notable embattled running back, Adrian Peterson, is a much better bet to find work if and when the Vikings let him go, since his play hadn’t fallen off prior to his off-field troubles.
- Although the NFL and NFL Players Association met last week to discuss the personal conduct policy, the league didn’t respond to the NFLPA’s written proposal on the policy, and the union isn’t happy about it. “They just want to meet with the union,” president Eric Winston said, “so they can say they got our input, and then do whatever they want.”
- King would be “very surprised” if Johnny Manziel doesn’t get the chance to start next Sunday for the Browns against Indianapolis, though he views it as an “all-hands-on-deck game,” with Brian Hoyer ready to be called on at any time
- In King’s view, Washington needs to play Robert Griffin III before the end of the season, either to decide whether to keep him or to showcase him for a potential trade. However, Colt McCoy‘s solid play yesterday will keep RGIII on the bench for at least another week..
- King wrote back in June that Janay Rice “made a moving case for leniency” for her husband during Rice’s hearing with the NFL, but in the wake of Friday’s release from Judge Barbara Jones which suggested that wasn’t the case, King has retracted that report.
NFL Issues Memo To Teams Following Rice Ruling
Following Friday’s announcement that Ray Rice‘s indefinite suspension has been overturned, allowing him the freedom to sign with any team, NFL general counsel Jeff Pash issued a memo to the chief executives and presidents of each of the NFL’s 32 teams. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk has obtained a copy of that memo, a portion of which reads as follows:
“Earlier today, retired federal judge Barbara Jones issued her decision in the appeal filed by the NFLPA from the indefinite suspension imposed on Ray Rice. Judge Jones vacated the indefinite suspension, finding that Mr. Rice did not mislead the Commissioner in describing his actions toward Janay Palmer, who was his fiancée. The decision turned on whether Mr. Rice told the Commissioner that he “hit” Miss Palmer (rather than that he “slapped” her) and whether he claimed that she “knocked herself out” by striking her head in the elevator. Judge Jones found that when he met with the Commissioner last June, Mr. Rice sufficiently described his conduct and that his description was not misleading when compared to the later release of the videotape from inside the hotel elevator.
No part of Judge Jones’s decision questions the Commissioner’s honesty or integrity, nor his good faith consideration of the issue when he imposed the indefinite suspension on Mr. Rice. Nor is there any suggestion that the Commissioner had seen the video from inside the elevator before it became public, or knew of the contents of the video.
Judge Jones’s decision ends the disciplinary proceedings relating to Ray Rice. He remains free to sign with a contract and is eligible to participate without restriction upon signing a contract.
The decision has no bearing on the current work on a revised Personal Conduct Policy, nor on the initiatives announced by the Commissioner on August 28 regarding domestic violence and sexual assault. Similarly, the decision is limited to Ray Rice and should have no effect on any other pending or prospective disciplinary matters.”
The memo, which goes on for several more paragraphs, appears designed to alleviate any concerns team owners may have about Roger Goodell‘s role in the disciplinary process for personal conduct violations. The statement portrays Goodell as a victim of semantics rather than a commissioner who deliberately and arbitrarily punished Rice twice for the same violation and attempted to justify the ruling after the fact.
While that stance doesn’t come as a surprise, it’s still likely a disappointment for the Players Association. Rather than Rice’s case representing a turning point for personal conduct issues and the relationship between the league and its players, it appears the NFL will simply try to paint it as an isolated incident, an aberration that doesn’t reflect a larger systemic problem with the league’s disciplinary process.
Latest On NFL Personal Conduct Policy
The NFL Players Association got a win of sorts today when Judge Barbara S. Jones overturned the league’s indefinite suspension of former Ravens running back Ray Rice, but the decision won’t necessarily result in any major changes to the NFL’s disciplinary process. Tom Pelissero of USA Today reports (via Twitter) that the league expects to complete and announce a new personal conduct policy “in the weeks ahead,” and it remains to be seen exactly how much input the union will have on that new policy.
According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the NFLPA fears that the NFL will unilaterally implement a new conduct policy without any collective bargaining – and without accounting for the union’s objecting – following the next ownership meetings, which are scheduled for December 10. While that new policy might be an improvement on the current one, the league and commissioner Roger Goodell may not concede to independent arbitration for disciplinary matters and appeals, in which case we could see more cases like Rice’s, where the disciplinary process is somewhat arbitrary.
For the NFLPA’s part, president Eric Winston says the players just want to be involved in the creation of the new conduct policy, per Pelissero.
“If they want the buy-in of the players, sit down at the table with us and bargain,” Winston said. “If not, then they’re going to unilaterally do this, they’re going to keep messing up the game and we’re going to keep talking about these things, unfortunately, instead of a big matchup on Sunday …. Every player has rights. We’re not against discipline, and we’ve never been against discipline. But that discipline needs to be carried out in the proper fashion, within the rights both sides have negotiated.”
Rice’s suspension is far from the first case in which the NFL has issued a ruling that had no precedent and didn’t match up with the rules in the current conduct policy. Vikings running back Adrian Peterson is embroiled in a similar situation now, having agreed to be placed on the exempt list, believing the time served would help alleviate any additional suspension. His suspension is currently under appeal, with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday. Still, in the case of Rice, a third party (Jones) called out Goodell and the league for an “arbitrary” process, and the NFLPA is hoping the ruling draws attention to what the union sees as a disturbing pattern.
“It’s starting to become a pattern now,” Winston said. “We’re having a lot of this overreaching, lack of due process, and so now (the league says), ‘Let’s make changes. Well, we only want to make the changes we want to make.’
“I’m not happy about this,” Winston said of today’s ruling. “There’s not a winner here. The judge said we were right, but we didn’t win. There’s been way too many of these.“
Adrian Peterson Links: Friday
Vikings running back Adrian Peterson declined the opportunity to meet with Roger Goodell and the NFL last week at a disciplinary hearing to explain his perspective on his violation of the league’s personal conduct policy, but he spoke at length to Tom Pelissero of USA Today this week. Within the interview, Peterson expresses remorse about the way he disciplined his son, promising he “won’t ever use a switch again.”
It’s fair to wonder if the running back’s penalty from the league wouldn’t have been quite so punitive if he’d made these comments to Goodell last week, though perhaps they were made in response to the league’s claim that Peterson didn’t show much remorse for the incident with his son. In any case, Peterson sounds prepared to move on from Minnesota if the Vikings decide to release him before the 2015 season, suggesting that “maybe it’s best for me to get a fresh start somewhere else.”
Here’s more on Peterson:
- Considering Peterson is already preparing for the idea of playing for a new team, Joel Corry of CBSSports.com (Twitter link) wonders if the running back’s next deal could include a number of not likely to be earned incentives. NLTBE incentives are based on the previous year’s performance, and don’t count against the cap unless they’re achieved. So a team could offer Peterson a deal that includes $1MM for 1,000 yards rushing, for instance, and only have it count against the cap if he surpasses that mark.
- Albert Breer of the NFL Network notes (via Twitter) that the only money the Vikings owe Peterson between next January and September is a $250K workout bonus, so the team will have plenty of time to make a decision on whether to keep him. Of course, as Corry points out (via Twitter), the team may not want to sit on his rights, considering he comes with a $15MM+ 2015 cap hit.
- In the wake of the Peterson ruling, there appears to be plenty of dissent between the NFL and the Players Association. NFLPA leaders DeMaurice Smith and Eric Winston spoke to Jenny Vrentas of TheMMQB.com about the union’s frustration with the league’s handling of personal conduct policy issues, and Goodell’s arbitrary enforcement of discipline.