REISTERSTOWN, MARYLAND — As the labor dispute is apparently about to get resolved at some point this week, Baltimore Ravens cornerback and player union representative Chris Carr said there was entirely too much anxiety during the NFL lockout
"I think now everybody has kind of realized that there was a lot of worrying for nothing," Carr said today at Ed Reed’s youth football camp at Franklin High. "I don’t think the season was ever really in jeopardy. It was either the players are going to fold a lot earlier and be in disarray, or it was going to get solved or the owners were going to see that the players were going to stay together united and they were going to negotiate fairly. And that’s what happened. Now, it looks like everything is going to start on time and no games are going to be missed. So everybody should be happy here."
So, why did the lockout last four months?
"If you’re a business and you want to get the best deal possible and you’re the owners there’s no reason why you would negotiate sooner really," Carr said. "You have no incentive to negotiate in April or March or May. What’s the point there? The players, we’re the ones who had all the incentive. We wanted to see free agency before the draft. Players wanted to get their workout bonuses. A lot of players around the league don’t have much money and are on practice squads and can’t afford to miss games at all. They’re going to want to get signed and go to OTA’s, so they can make a a team.
"And it was one of those things the NFLPA talked about for two years that this thing is not going to get done in March and April, they’re going to lock you guys out. It definitely wasn’t a surprise. If you just think about it from a business standpoint and you’re the owners and you want the best deal possible, you might as well not negotiate fairly until later on."
Carr said that he believes both sides will be content with the new collective bargaining agreement.
"I think both sides are happy," Carr said. "Football is so profitable for everybody. I think everybody is going to be happy. I don’t think the owners would agree on a deal they don’t feel comfortable with and we wouldn’t, either. And so it was one of those things where we might want to change some things and give or take here or there and I think that’s what happened. And because players we didn’t want much. We wanted the same thing. We weren’t upset. We didn’t want more money than we already had. I think both sides will be happy with the new deal."
