Texas A&M
Battalion Sports
November 17, 1982 Page 15
t’s first-and-10
Tentative settlement ends 57
days of strike talks, bickering
llilllllil,
United Press International
■ NEW YORK — It’s first-and-10 for the
National Football League.
I With only formal ratification by both
Hdes yet to come, the 57-day strike, the
Ingest and most expensive in sports his
tory, ended Tuesday night with the 28 NFL
Bayer representatives agreeing to a five-
^ear contract worth nearly $1.6 billion.
Pll | Although some player reps said next
[Tuesday’s vote among the 1,500 players
KHBIHay be a close one, both the NFL Flavors
Association and the NFL Management
iitncil’s executive committees put their
ial of approval on the new contract.
‘The long battle has finally come to a
intative conclusion,” said Ed Garvey, ex-
Jutivedirector for the union. “We demons-
ated solidarity and the players demons-
! ated, once and for all, they are the most
aportant element of the game. Dan
[Rooney (president of the Pittsburgh Steel-
ouRO -ijl'slsaid itbest when he said, ‘Now we’re in a
PPOHmH P' lllners hip.”’
The strike forced the NFL to call off
weekends of games with the loss of
proximately $275 million in revenues.
— Training camps will reopen today and
^ 28 club owners also are scheduled to
^^Ymeet to approve the contrac t.
piBr “It’s pretty much a form;ditv,'' said Jim
^^■■iller, director of information of the NFL
I
Management Council. “As long as the ex
ecutive committee recommends it, the own
ers usually go along.”
The season, which was interrupted Sept.
21, will resume under a new format. The
new schedule, unlike any other proposed
during the negotiations, calls for a nine-
game regular season, including a makeup
game Jan. 2. The Super Bowl will be played,
as scheduled, Jan. 30 at Pasadena, Calif.
There will be no divisional titles and the
14 teams in each conference will vie for
eight spots in a new playoff format. The
post-season will begin Jan. 9 and consist of
three rounds leading to the Super Bowl.
According to Dave Sheridan, a spokes
man for the NFLPA, the following guaran
tees were agreed upon: management will
pay the players a total of $1.17 billion over
the five years, with the remaining portion of
the $1.6 billion total going to players’ con
tracts that expire at the end of the 1982
season.
Also, a $60 million bonus pool will be
S iaid out. In 1983, the agreement calls for
5240 million, with $260 million in 1984,
$290 million in 1985 and $320 in 1986.
A minimum wage scale was established,
calling for $30,000 for a rookie in 1982,
$40,000 in 1983-84 and $50,000 in 1985-86.
A maximum salary also was established at
$200,000 for any player.
In addition, a second-year player will
earn $5,000 severance pay, a third-year
player $20,000, a fourth-year player
$60,000 with increments of $10,000 for
each additional year.
As for next Tuesday’s player vote, Stan
White, a member of the NFLPA Executive
Committee, said: “There’s a very real possi
bility they’ll reject it.”
Kansas City player rep Tom Condon
said: “It may be a close vote. If the players
vote against it, we will have to decide if we
will negotiate while in camp or walk out
again.”
Union president Gene Upshaw an
nounced the settlement at 10:30 p.m. CST
at the Summit Hotel, where on-and-off
negotiations had been taking place since
Oct. 30.
“We have a tentative agreement that
must be ratified by the players,” Upshaw
said in ending the first walkout in the
league’s 63-year history. “We’ll return to
work. If we can get everything done, we’ll
have football on Sunday. We had a will to
win and hopefully this will start a new re
lationship with the NFL.”
One of the key people in working out a
settlement was former NFL player Paul
Martha, who served as an intermediary be
tween the parties.
lit*
'Nriy
excited about Steelers
8$
tilers’ Ed Biles says he’s
xcited about end of strike
United Press International
HOUSTON — Houston Oil
ers coach Ed Biles says he’s ex
cited about the prospect of play
ing Pittsburgh Sunday following
the announcement of a tentative
settlement in the 57-day players
strike.
“It’s going to be fun,” Biles
said late Tuesday. “There’ll be
mistakes and missed assign
ments and probably more
touchdowns scored, but it’ll be
exciting.
“There won’t be any physical
work (today). We’ll just run
some pass patterns and plays. I
imagine Thursday will be more
like a regular practice day.”
Oilers spokesman Bob Hyde
said those team members in
town would be on the practice
field today for conditioning
work and to review films in pre
paration for Sunday’s game in
the Astrodome.
Hyde said Biles and his staff
worked Tuesday preparing for
Pittsburgh as they had worked
throughout the strike.
The Oilers scheduled a news
conference for today, anticipat
ing players acceptance of the
latest negotiated contract.
“We’re optimistic,” Hyde
said. “We’re already full-go for a
game. It appears we are going
to play the Steelers at noon
Sunday.”
The Oilers split their two
games before the strike.
Out for the season
photo by C. Michel Chang
Joey Vrazel (12), the Aggie Ladies’ all-
America transfer from Utah State, will
be out for the remainder of the season
after sustaining a severe knee sprain
the past weekend in the Tennessee In
vitational. Vrazel and Jennifer Giese
(9) have led Texas A&M to a record
of 32-10 and to a No. 13 ranking.
The Aggie Ladies host Houston tonight
at 7:30 in G. Rollie White Coliseum.
ITE
Says
(Elutrlt'gTi
Aunt
E
ORE
BEEF AGGIES
We've Got
The Burning Desire
Have You?
BEAT THE HELL OUTA t.u.
Bonfire: Movember 23, 1982
Game: Movember 25, 1982 1:00 p.m.
Aggies vs. the t-sips
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846-7785
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11/25/82 1:00 p.m.
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