Billionaires arguing with millionaires.
That's the way some have categorized the NFL's labor dispute, which reached the point of no return when the NFLPA decertified Friday.
"I cringe every time I hear it," said Eagles center Mike McGlynn, one of the team's union representatives. "I just want to jump through the TV screen and say, 'I'm not a millionaire!' "
Of course, the majority of the NFL owners aren't billionaires, either, although Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie is worth $1 billion, according to Forbes.
The union's decision to decertify came as no surprise despite minor movement toward a collective bargaining agreement before it was set to expire at midnight Friday. The players voted for it during the season, and union rep Winston Justice said Eagles players unanimously affirmed their votes recently.
"We stand together," Justice said.
The NFLPA, technically no longer a union, filed an antitrust suit in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis seeking to block the owners from locking them out at midnight. A decision wasn't expected until Monday.
Since NFL Network sources said there is a lockout, the players won't be able to have contact with their coaches or be permitted to use team facilities. Justice said that new offensive line coach Howard Mudd gave him a DVD to watch in the case of a lockout.
The Eagles tackle is currently in Florida rehabbing from arthroscopic knee surgery. Justice said that he recently got off crutches. Because his injury occurred during the season, Justice said his rehabilitation is covered by worker's compensation.
Several injured Eagles, though, will have to find alternative means for rehab.
There are other implications should a lockout drag on for months. In the case of quarterback Kevin Kolb, a work stoppage that extends past April's draft could affect whether he is traded. Kolb has said he wants to start, whether it's for the Eagles or another team.
The Eagles signed Michael Vick to a one-year deal as their starting quarterback last week, though. "Laying low," Kolb texted to a request for comment.
Kolb is under contract for next season, as is McGlynn, who started most of last season.
A fourth-round draft pick in 2008, McGlynn said he made $295,000 in salary in his second season, $366,000 in his third, and stands to make slightly more than that next season.
Those figures do not include McGlynn's signing bonus and are slightly less than published figures of his contact. But he makes significantly less than the league average salary of $1.8 million, according to the Washington Post. That figure, however, is weighted toward a small number of very expensive deals.
McGlynn said that he is financially secure enough to withstand a work stoppage should it drag into the season and take away paychecks.
Decertification could prevent any games being lost to CBA negotiations, though. McGlynn, like Justice, said the players "just want to play football."
Contact staff writer Jeff McLane at 215-854-4745 or jmclane@phillynews.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Jeff_McLane.
