Former NFL defensive lineman Sean Gilbert has announced that he is running to be the executive director for the NFL Players Association and he’s put forth some bold proposals to try and win favor with the NFL’s rank and file to help his bid.
.@SeanGilbertNFL, who's running against De Smith for the NFLPA Executive Dir. position, has released his platform. pic.twitter.com/m3oFmzAv86
— Rand Getlin (@Rand_Getlin) August 26, 2014
First among Gilbert’s would-be to-do list is to void the current CBA to bring the owners and players back to the table to negotiate a new deal with the hopes of shifting some power back towards the players when it comes to contract negotiations. Many of Gilbert’s proposals involve granting teams less means of controlling when a player is able to negotiate on the open market. That starts with a proposal to limit all rookie deals to three years but it extends to veterans as well. Gilbert would like to make the franchise tag a one-time deal in a player’s entire career and he is for eliminating the transition tag and compensatory picks system entirely (which Gilbert argues rewards teams for cutting veterans).
In addition, Gilbert wants to raise the veteran minimum salary to $1 million per season. Gilbert argues that this needs to be done as the current wage system “discriminates against older Players while exploiting younger Players.” Increases in the minimum salary would then be tied to league revenue and growth.
Gilbert has also stated that he would want to increase the active roster size in the NFL by four players per team. He would also like a provision in all NFL contracts which states that any team that cuts a player would be required to pay the cut player 10% of the remaining money on his deal.
In order to make all of this happen, Gilbert has argued that eliminating two preseason games per season and increasing the number of regular season games from sixteen to eighteen should help get his proposals past the owners.
He said he would agree to an 18-game regular season in exchange for a lengthy list of player-friendly provisions that would include an increased minimum salary, earlier free agency for players, shorter rookie contracts, two fewer preseason games and a reduction of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s disciplinary powers.
DeMaurice Smith is the current executive director of the NFLPA and he faces re-election in March where Gilbert will oppose him.
The list is an attractive one for players as the balance between the owners and players shifted even more in the owners’ favor following the last CBA, especially when it came to the revenue split.
For Gilbert, he may be biting off more than he can chew at this point (these are election platforms after all) but he’s definitely calling for some dramatic changes and it’ll be interesting to see which ones, if any, stick.
