NEW ORLEANS—Despite the current major divide between the NFL owners and the players that has resulted in the first work stoppage in the league since the 1987 strike, Green Bay Packers team president Mark Murphy expressed confidence that a new collective bargaining agreement will ultimately be struck.
"Yeah, I think we're going to end up with an agreement," said Murphy, a former Washington Redskins safety who once worked for the NFL Players Association. "It's going to be collectively bargained. The sooner we can get back to the bargaining table, the better. I think we all feel we're going to get this resolved. We're going to have a season."
Murphy acknowledged that this is an atypical owners meetings with the labor dispute having halted free agency due to the owners locking out the players after the players' union decided to decertify after a frustrating round of mediation in Washington, D.C.
Murphy said that the management council executive committee met today prior to the official launch of the meetings Monday morning at the Roosevelt Hotel.
That committee is jointly chaired by Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen and Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson and also includes Murphy, Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown, Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, New York Giants owner John Mara, Pittsburgh Steelers team president Art Rooney II and San Diego Chargers owner Dean Spanos.
Murphy said the meetings will focus on the labor problem, but will also include the traditional discussion of rule change recommendations from the competition committee.
That includes eliminating the wedge on kickoffs and potential suspensions for illegal hits.
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