Sources: Eagles' Banner involved in developing rookie wage-scale plan

Posted: March 10, 2011

Eagles president Joe Banner is one of several NFL club executives and owners participating in the labor negotiations this week in Washington.

According to league sources, Banner is among those involved in developing a rookie wage-scale proposal.

Yahoo reported that the sides have agreed on a compromise, with contracts for first-round picks limited to 4 years and contracts for players selected after the first round limited to 3 years. It is unknown what the financial terms are, but limits are expected to be set on guaranteed money and signing bonuses.

The bigger issue remains how to split the league's $9.3 billion revenue pie.

Banner's financial expertise could come in handy there as well. The owners have continually claimed that the current revenue split, which gives the owners $1 billion off the top for costs such as stadium construction and upkeep and 50 percent of the rest of the revenue, is an unsustainable business model. The players have asked the owners to prove that by opening their books and showing them team-by-team financial data. The owners have been reluctant to do that.

The two sides agreed last Friday to a 7-day extension in the expiring collective bargaining agreement while they continued to negotiate. If there is no significant progress by tomorrow afternoon, the union could decertify, which would leave the league open to an antitrust suit.

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