Panthers Owner 'Not as Optimistic' About Labor Progress

Filed under: NFL Playoffs, NFL Analysis, NFL Labor Negotiations

As 12 NFL teams begin preparing for the playoffs and the other 20 begin preparing for the offseason, talk around and about the league increasingly turns to the burgeoning labor conflict and the threat of a lockout that could force cancellation of games in 2011. And as that happens, some folks on the owners' side are starting to act a little weird. Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, one of the leading figures in past CBA negotiations with the players' union, drew some battle lines Tuesday in a rare news conference that mainly addressed issues relating to his team but also touched on the current negotiations.

"I am personally not as optimistic as some that we are making a lot of progress," Richardson said. "When I meet with the union lawyers, they say, 'Mr. Richardson, we want more money, we want more benefits and we want to work less.' Then they say, 'Let's begin the negotiations.'"

Source: http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2011/01/04/jerry-richardson-panthers-owner-not-as-optimistic-about-labo/

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