New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is one of the more influential members of the NFL Labor Committee.
And he won’t be present for next week’s collective bargaining agreement negotiations with the players’ union in Washington, D.C.
According to the Boston Globe, Kraft will be traveling to Israel and the United Kingdom next week for a trade mission.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello wrote on Twitter: "There’s phone service in Israel."
According to Yahoo! Sports, Kraft recently got angry at NFL outside counsel Bob Batterman for talking in "legalese platitudes," instead of real talk.
The other nine members of the labor committee are Green Bay Packers president Mark Murphy, San Diego Chargers owner Dean Spanos, Pittsburgh Steelers team president Art Rooney II, Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, New York Giants owner John Mara, Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen.
A league source told me that the two sides remain "miles apart" on several key issues.
