Two days before Super Bowl XLV, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was confident a new labor deal could be reached in a week if business people were at the forefront of talks.
"In my opinion, we could get a deal done in the next week," Kraft said after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's press conference on February 4. "If business people sat down on both sides, and we tried to get the lawyers in the background."
During the final week of mediated talks, which culminated in the NFLPA decertifying on March 11 and the NFL locking the players out on March 12, Kraft the only member of the NFL Management Council Executive Committee not in attendance in Washington, D.C.
Patriots offensive tackle and player rep Matt Light was disappointed in Kraft's absence, Shalise Manza Young of the Boston Globe reports.
"No doubt, 100 percent. I’m not going to lie to you," Light said from the players meetings in Marco Island, Florida. "We had people in that room that could get a deal done at any point. Do I know how they’re structured within the league? No, I have no clue.
"But I can tell you one thing: (the league's negotiating team) didn’t seem to have the ability to do any of that when they had to leave the room," said Light. "If it was me, I would have every one of my guys in those seats making sure that we had one voice and we could get a deal done."
Kraft was accompanying Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick on a trade mission to Israel and the U.K. that week, but was reportedly in contact with league officials regarding the status of labor talks.
source: Mac's Football Blog
Posted by Brian McIntyre
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