(WGR 550) -- For once, it seems a ruling has gone in the favor of the relatively-little guy.
ESPN's Chris Mortensen is reporting that the NFLPA has won a decision that will keep the supplemental revenue sharing system in shape for the 2010 season. The system benefits eight-to-12 of the smallest clubs in the league.
From Mortensen:
"The NFL Players Association won a decision Monday from Special Master Stephen Burbank that will prevent league owners from dismantling the supplemental revenue sharing (SRS) pool in 2010, as management had planned. The pool was valued at $210 million in 2009 and $220 million for 2010."
"The Special Master basically rejected every single argument that management made and regardless of how the league characterizes the decision, this is a victory for players, for low revenue clubs and the fans," said Jeffrey Kessler, the lead counsel for the union in the case.
The league said it would appeal Burbank's decision to the presiding U.S. District Court Judge, David Doty.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said, "Today's decision involves a small sliver of the NFL's overall commitment to revenue sharing. The NFL for decades has shared more than 80 percent of league and club revenues. In the 2006 Collective Bargaining Agreement that expires in 2011, the NFL clubs also agreed to a small percentage of additional revenue sharing because of the new CBA's significantly increased salary cap. The agreement calls for no salary cap in 2010 and that additional piece of revenue sharing to which the clubs had agreed in 2006 is therefore no longer required in our view. Although the Special Master disagreed with our interpretation on that issue, we are hopeful that Judge Doty, who will look at the issue anew, will see it differently."
Email: nick@wgr550.com
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