In a brief conference call with reporters on Tuesday, Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy addressed the owners' unanimous decision to opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement with the players' union.
Murphy emphasized that the opt-out provision guarantees that NFL football will continue uninterrupted for the next three seasons, even if no new CBA is reached in the meantime. The goal, as stated earlier Tuesday by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, will be to reach a new agreement within the next two years to avoid playing the 2010 season without a salary cap.
"I'm still optimistic we can work something out," Murphy said. "But there's going to have to be a lot of negotiating. It will be a give-and-take process between the union and Roger and (the owners)."
While the Packers' financial picture remains solid and the club has been ranked in the top half of the league in revenues since the completion of the Lambeau Field renovation, the team still sided with many owners who feel the current CBA is not working well in Tuesday's unanimous vote.
Because of their revenue ranking, the Packers have been a contributor to the league's revenue sharing plan the last few years, but the club was a recipient of those types of shared revenues previously and wants to continue supporting the league as a whole.
"The Packers have always been very supportive of the league," Murphy said. "As you look back over our history, we've benefited greatly from the league's policies on revenue sharing and from recent collective bargaining agreements. We want to be supportive of the process.
"I'd love to see a fair agreement reached that works for the owners, the players, and keeps football on the field."
