Foxman
Don't read th
Take it for what it is....rumor or humor, who knows.
TAGS TO STEP DOWN IN JULY
Profootballtalk.com has learned Steelers chairman Dan Rooney has alerted the 32 NFL teams that Commissioner Paul Tagliabue will step down as Commissioner at the end of July 2006.
In an e-mail sent to all teams, Rooney says that a search process will be conducted, and that after the new Commish is hired, Tagliabue will serve in a "senior executive and advisory role" through the expiration of his contract in May 2008.
Not long after the owners and the NFLPA secured a new CBA earlier this month, ESPN's Chris Mortensen first raised the "R" word regarding Tagliabue. But the Commish denied the report, saying on March 10 that "t's not on my radar."
Well, if it wasn't, it sure as hell showed up at some point over the past ten days.
With labor peace secure -- albeit possibly for only two years -- Tagliabue no longer has anything to accomplish. So if he has a term in his deal that lets him step into a high-pay, low-work role, why not invoke it? He deserves to a break, in our view, especially after spending much of his time over the past few months trying to get a gaggle of gazillionaires to act in their collective best interests.
But let's not forget that the new CBA, while serving as the catalyst for a resolution of the revenue-sharing conundrum, contains multiple non-economic terms that are very favorable to the NFLPA. This could set the stage for a nasty fight come 2008, and possibly a work stoppage after 2009.
By then, it'll be too late for anyone to hang blame on Tagliabue, who despite the recent Band-Aid CBA has presided over the most prosperous era in NFL history.
POSTED 12:34 p.m. EST, March 20, 2006
TAGS TO STEP DOWN IN JULY
Profootballtalk.com has learned Steelers chairman Dan Rooney has alerted the 32 NFL teams that Commissioner Paul Tagliabue will step down as Commissioner at the end of July 2006.
In an e-mail sent to all teams, Rooney says that a search process will be conducted, and that after the new Commish is hired, Tagliabue will serve in a "senior executive and advisory role" through the expiration of his contract in May 2008.
Not long after the owners and the NFLPA secured a new CBA earlier this month, ESPN's Chris Mortensen first raised the "R" word regarding Tagliabue. But the Commish denied the report, saying on March 10 that "t's not on my radar."
Well, if it wasn't, it sure as hell showed up at some point over the past ten days.
With labor peace secure -- albeit possibly for only two years -- Tagliabue no longer has anything to accomplish. So if he has a term in his deal that lets him step into a high-pay, low-work role, why not invoke it? He deserves to a break, in our view, especially after spending much of his time over the past few months trying to get a gaggle of gazillionaires to act in their collective best interests.
But let's not forget that the new CBA, while serving as the catalyst for a resolution of the revenue-sharing conundrum, contains multiple non-economic terms that are very favorable to the NFLPA. This could set the stage for a nasty fight come 2008, and possibly a work stoppage after 2009.
By then, it'll be too late for anyone to hang blame on Tagliabue, who despite the recent Band-Aid CBA has presided over the most prosperous era in NFL history.
POSTED 12:34 p.m. EST, March 20, 2006
