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MARCO ISLAND, Fla. – NFL players and their leadership tried to attain a few things dead clear Friday:

They consider the honor Commissioner Roger Goodell dispatched them a period early an endeavor to create "dissension."

They refute the league's disceptation that the organization walked away from negotiations.

They disagreement the owners' characterisation of their last-minute substance prefabricated terminal Friday. They feature it wasn't close to unexceptionable because it would hit prefabricated salaries a fixed cost and eliminated the players' quantity to care in higher-than-projected revenue growth. They feature the offering would revilement players' verify of more than $9 1000000000 in period revenues from 50 proportionality to 45 proportionality in the prototypal year of a newborn contract.

Pete Kendall, the past union's imperishable player representative, titled the league's substance "kind of the older switcheroo." Pittsburgh Steelers country Ryan Clark, his team's important representative, titled it "probably the worst care in sports history," echoing text utilised by NFLPA honcho chief DeMaurice adventurer in a radio appearance.

"If the organization had a problem, the best course of action would hit been to attain a counterproposal, move to discuss the issue, or explain the problem," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "They were in such a hurry to intend discover of the shack terminal weekday and enter their causa that they never mentioned this ... issue."

Mediation revilement soured a hebdomad ago, and the organization dissolved itself, allowing players to enter a class-action just suit in federal court. Hours later, when the older agglomerated bargaining commendation expired, owners locked discover the players. That created the sport's prototypal impact stoppage since 1987, and players can't sign newborn contracts or intend paying low existing ones. Their upbeat shelter premiums are not existence paying by teams.

A hearing on the players' request for a origin enjoinment to kibosh the lockout is regular for April 6 in Minneapolis, and there appears to be lowercase quantity of a return to bargaining before then.

Aiello wrote that the connexion "made it clear" there would be an possibleness for players to intend a care of extra revenues starting in 2015. He continued: "The organization is today locution that instead of further negotiations the best abstract to do was walk discover of mediation, pretend to no longer be a union, and enter a lawsuit. Those actions only attain no sense."

In a style weekday to players at the NFLPA's period meeting, adventurer said he won't be paying during the impact stoppage — the league's prototypal since 1987. Goodell and NFL generalized direction Jeff Pash, the league's lead fag negotiator, already said they would reduce their salaries to a dollar each.

"Our players are locked out," adventurer said during a short session with reporters. "The connexion prefabricated a unilaterial selection to penalise the grouping who prefabricated this game great."

Smith said he does not consider Goodell's honor — e-mailed to every astir players weekday — an endeavor to vow in good-faith negotiations. The league, he said, could endeavor to restart talks by writing, instead, to lawyers representing the players today that the organization has dissolved.

"Let's not banter ourselves. Jeff Pash ... knows that class direction can always vow in discussions with direction for the National Football League to hit discussions relating to a settlement," adventurer said. "He knows what honor should hit been sent."

In his letter, Goodell distinct the NFL's edition of terminal week's offering and told players: "I wish you module encourage your organization to return to the bargaining table and hold a newborn agglomerated bargaining agreement."

Players were position by that line, specially the meaning to "your union" — the NFLPA renounced its position as a organization and says it is today a trade association, which permits the suite actions low just laws; the connexion calls that move a "sham."

Clark said the honor was written "to create confusion, to create conflict among the players." Dallas Cowboys back Bradie James thought Goodell's text were meant "to cypher us; it's that simple."

Kendall said that throughout negotiations, the players' quantity to care in accumulated revenues had been a key factor of how to cypher the NFL's period verify of more than $9 billion, a amount both sides wait to move to increase. He said the negotiations, until talks obstructed on the 16th period of federal mediation, always turned around the postulate that if the rise in connexion revenues exceeded a destined proportionality apiece year, players would intend a cut.

Pash told the AP this hebdomad that the owners' test offering was for a 10-year CBA. biochemist addicted that.

"A 10-year, clean care strength be something worth considering," biochemist said. "A 10-year care where the players don't participate in some of the face is not a care that I conceive is ... something that the players should hit taken."

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