Kenny Stills has never been shy about voicing his opinions. With a vote on the new collective bargaining agreement looming from players, he isn't about to start being passive now.
Friday, Stills took to Instagram to urge players to vote against the new CBA proposal.
"Players, we've gotta vote no on this deal. I know that younger players and guys that haven't signed big deals are a little bit nervous about a work stoppage, but we've got a fund put together just in case we were to have a work stoppage and we can work on other ways of getting loans or getting money set aside so that we can negotiate a deal that's player-friendly. There's so many things that we want and that we continue to ask for and they should be non-negotiables. And when we have power and we have leverage by saying that we won't play for a season or saying that we have enough money to sit out for a full season, we can bring the owners to the table and negotiate a deal that's friendly for us. It's gonna take some work...it's not gonna be easy...we're gonna have to poke our chest out a little bit, and show some solidarity and be together in this thing. We've got active players and veterans that are willing to give their own money, me included, to make sure that guys are taken care of if we have to go through a stoppage."
Last week, NFLPA player representatives passed the new CBA so it could go to the full union for a vote, but only garnered 17 of 32 votes so it was far from unanimous. Green Bay Packers' quarterback Aaron Rodgers is among those that have since spoken out against the proposed CBA. As Andrew Brandt of Sports Illustrated noted, beyond some players being altogether opposed to adding a 17th game under any circumstances, they are unhappy that the proposed CBA wouldn't include a 50/50 revenue split and that this proposal would lock players into such arrangement for 11 season without a chance to renegotiate.
As Stills noted, though, one of the biggest issues unions face in any sort of collective bargaining is that workers always have more to lose than employers. NFL owners certainly don't want to lose the revenue from part or all of a season, but at least a third of the league is owned by billionaires. Even if the NFL were to lose the entire 2021 season because of a work stoppage, none of the owners will struggle to afford their homes, cars, etc. Additionally, owners aren't capped in the amount of years they can maximize their earnings the way players are because of the violent nature of playing in the NFL. So some players, especially those who are in their first contract in the league, simply can't afford a work stoppage, or fear that they can't, which has the potential to compromise the solidarity of NFLPA members.
Stills, a seven-year NFL veteran, says that beyond some players hinting they will come together to take care of all players during a potential work stoppage, they have leverage because there are only a finite amount of humans capable of playing at an NFL caliber.
"We run the show, we run this league, you've seen all the other leagues that have tried to come up that have failed - there is no league without the players. So, we've got to stand up for ourselves...we've got to exert some power...we've got to go out and get the things that we say that we want and need and this is our opportunity. Please vote no on this deal, and let's get some people outside of the NFL's web to negotiate a real deal for us...something that we're proud of...something that will set up the next generation...and that will change up the landscape of the NFL forever."
Again, though, there are some players that appear willing to move forward with this new CBA, which would go into effect for the 2021 season. Miami Dolphins' quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick said Friday that he's done a deep dive on the pros and cons of the new CBA, and while he doesn't view this as a perfect deal, he thinks a change to the league's Marijuana policy, increased roster spots and an improvement on percentage of revenue players will get from the last CBA are among the aspects that make him inclined to vote for the deal:
NFLPA members were first given the new CBA in its entirety Thursday morning at 9 a.m. ET. 50 percent plus one will need to vote for the CBA for it to become ratified. ESPN's Dan Graziano says that players will have seven days to weigh whether to accept the deal or not. It's unclear how NFL owners would proceed if players vote down the deal.
LISTEN NOW on the RADIO.COM App
Follow RADIO.COM Sports
Twitter | Facebook I Instagram