Remember the name Jeffrey Kessler, NFLPA legal council

[FSUViking 184]

Been listening to PFT Live this week (ironically, Florio is much better to listen to on the radio than to read on his site) and on Monday he had on Daniel Kaplan from Sports Business Journal and they talked a lot about NFLPA legal eagle, Jeffrey Kessler. This guy wants to basically destroy the NFL as we know it all in the name of "capitalism" and "free enterprise." He wants to abolish the NFL draft, claiming it violates some anti-trust laws. He strongly believes that NFL teams should have to recruit players out of college, OR high school, like universities do now and that there should be no salary cap or floor, so players can come and go when they please for whatever dollar amount they want. Also wants to abolish franchise and transition tags, so 5% of the players in the NFL will be making 95% of the teams payroll. He wants the MLB business model with the anybody can go anywhere they want mentality. Everybody coming out of college or high school is essentially an undrafted FA. And with no revenue sharing or salary cap, Jerry Jones can have a $300M payroll and the Bills can spend $60M.

 

And yesterday, with Rich Eisen on PFT Live, they touched on Kessler again and what's really frightening is that Kessler has tried this tactic before in previous negotiations, but Gene Upshaw would yank his leash and make him heel. And De Smith and the NFLPA* aren't doing that right now. They're not necessarily agreeing with Kessler but they are letting him be more vocal and out front than previous times.

 

Reason 10,492,503 to despise lawyers.

 

Audio link

[SteVo+ 3,702]

What the hell...

 

Fuck this guy.

[Turry 755]

What a fucking boob.

[Tridentdawgpound 1,043]

This guy belongs in the level of Hell for child molesters and people who talk on the phone at the movies.

[funnygunny 521]

I actually think these are excellent, innovative ideas that will improve the present day NFL. Like the removal of the draft and salary cap is a good move IMO.

[funnygunny 521]

LOLJK let's find out where this wanker lives and rip off his testicles.

[AllYouNeedIsLovie 377]

Wow, this guy sucks.

[Shotgun 442]

So this guy wants a system that will turn the NFL into MLB, giving them less fans and revenue. Yeah, makes all kinds of sense.

[AL_Royalty 489]

The MLB model is a model of failure. What was once the national pasttime has been reduced to a sport that people watch because all of the exciting sports aren't on. One of the key things that make the NFL great is that any team-literally any team-can have a good season and make a run at a title.

 

MLB model = GREAT model to follow. What a tool.

[Titanswin472 29]

This guy is just saying this stuff for attention...and I guess he's getting it. Lol what a dumbass

Edited April 8, 2011 by Titanswin472

[FSUViking 184]

This guy is just saying this stuff for attention...and I guess he's getting it. Lol what a dumbass

 

No he's not. He's been pushing for it for years. That's a real stupid assessment of this.

[FSUViking 184]

Looks like Kessler is being brought to heel. So, good on the NFLPA*

 

 

Players file motion to add DeMaurice Smith to legal team

Posted by Mike Florio on April 8, 2011, 2:02 PM EDT

 

When NFLPA* executive director DeMaurice Smith joined PFT Live last month for an extended interview, the conversation touched at one point on whether he’ll be joining the team of lawyers who are handling the Brady antitrust lawsuit.

 

“Are you going to be a member of the class counsel?†a certain Internet hack turned Internet talk-show host asked. “Are you someone who can wear two hats and negotiate as a member of class counsel while still being the NFLPA executive director?â€

 

Said Smith: “Well, obviously you know what my background is and I don’t nearly practice as much law as I used to before I took this job but, look, it’s my job to give guidance and direction and advice as well as getting that advice from the Executive Committee that is an official advisor to the class and the Players Association is also an official advisor to the class so, the advice that I give sometimes falls into the category of legal issues, sometimes it falls into the category of business and regular settlement negotiations, but my job is to get our players back on the field as quickly as possible, serve their interests, and do our best to make sure that our fans enjoy the game that they love.â€

 

Officially, that task includes Smith, who was a partner with the D.C. firm of Patton Boggs before landing his current job, joining the legal team.

 

Jason La Canfora of NFL Network reports that the players have filed a motion to add Smith as a member of the legal team. Motions of this nature routinely are granted, and an obvious purpose in this instance would be to allow Smith to actively be involved in settlement talks without having to worry about the argument that the NFLPA* is still behaving as a union.

 

It also potentially means that Jeffrey Kessler, who as Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal told PFT Live earlier this week believes that the draft and any free-agency restrictions violate antitrust laws, will have diminished authority over the litigation going forward. Indeed, it was Jim Quinn and not Kessler who handled Wednesday’s hearing before Judge Nelson, prompting speculation by some in the media (us included) that Smith recognizes that Kessler can be abrasive and gratuitously combative.

 

Kessler was benched for several days during the final week of mediation in early March. This latest move could be interpreted as proof that Smith and the rest of the NFLPA* leadership realize that, while Kessler has significant value when used properly, there are certain situations in which he need to be reeled in and/or set aside.

 

SOURCE: PFT

[BigBen07 285]

I want to find this guy, shove a red-hot poker up his nose, scramble it about and pull his brains out from his nostrils. What a total fucking retard.

 

He must be a die-hard Yankees fan.