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MINNEAPOLIS – The NFL asked a federal determine Wednesday to contain the players' organization effort to release details in a $4 billion TV income dispute, saying aggregation should be kept private because it is commercially sensitive.

Two weeks ago, U.S. District Court Judge king Doty ruled — rejecting a special master's preceding selection — that the NFL illicitly secured the money from TV contracts for 2011, money the players converse was unreal to money a lockout.

A hebdomad ago, the organization requested that every exhibits, evidence and transcripts be unsealed.

The association filed its salutation and included redacted versions of exhibits cited in Doty's selection totaling more than 800 pages. Much of the aggregation was blacked discover to protect aggregation the NFL considers sensitive, harmful to forthcoming negotiations if revealed and harmful to playing relations.

"Unsealing these documents would expose to entities with whom we have, haw have, or essay to hit advertizement relationships our interior thought processes relating to television planning and digital rights," Brian Rolapp, honcho operative tar for NFL Media, wrote in his declaration of support filed with the league's request.

League lawyers, however, debate that the court's preceding forgoing of topical media's letter to unseal every the documents should apply to the union's letter as substantially to satisfy the public's correct to know and to wage context that "will be the foundation for rulings to come."

The NFL's argument cited Doty's suasion in suite to Paul Hannah, an professional representing the St. Paul Pioneer Press and Star Tribune of Minneapolis in the Feb. 24 hearing, that the writing "try to pore on what it is that they are looking for" kinda than making a comprehensive letter for every the information.

The NFL wrote that the complication of mentioning "a whatever lines or even a whatever pages" in suite most the private material "is not a connector to unseal the entire exhibit." The association also cited the intensity of the evidence — whatever 12,000 pages — as added think not to order an across-the-board unsealing.

Included in the redacted exhibits is Dec. 21, 2010, evidence from commissioner Roger Goodell, arguing the NFL had the best interests of the association and the players in mind during the terminal round of negotiations to ensure flourishing levels of income in the long term.

The union, however, contends that the contracts were devised to create a lockout struggle chest. In response, Goodell testified: "We had no such intent. We entered into these arrangements principally to modify and bonded income streams that, in my view, were and move to be needed for the unchangeability and business upbeat of the League."

Goodell also argued that the contract extensions were needed to ready the association discover of danger of feat into debt, which he said would be "enormous leverage" for the players in collective bargaining. The commissioner also said the organization never previously requested conference most TV rights fees and never before objected most not being consulted.

The exhibits allow slides prepared for NFL owners and association officials with statements the organization contends prove the TV deals were renegotiated to money a lockout.

In Oct 2008, a motion labeled "Key Considerations Related to NFL Labor Situation" asks whether it would be better to hit media deals in locate or ease uncertain during CBA negotiations and suggests "Elimination of venture haw embolden NFLPA's $$$ demands."

A whatever months later, in March 2009, added motion prepped for a gathering says newborn TV deals would wage "leverage in negotiations ... no 'hold up' value for union."

Also included in the redacted documents is an NFL selection tree that Doty cited in his decision, a chart-style note that asks: "Should League Move Forward With Deal?"

The arrows exhibit that if the answer is yes, then the discourse "Does CBA Framework Drive Decision?" comes up. According to the chart, if the answer to that is yes, then the solution is to "potentially Hold Until New CBA in Place."

It then cites examples of that scenario, which strength include: stadiums (mentioning Minnesota and San Francisco), Los Angeles (the market in which the association would same to locate a team), and flavour restructuring (presumably the existence of an 18-game lawful season).

The NFL also included a congratulatory letter — dated May 27, 2009 — from NFLPA politico DeMaurice adventurer to Goodell after deals were finished with CBS, Fox and Comcast.

"On behalf of the players I acclaim your efforts. Despite the economy, the programme continues to be constructive regarding the NFL's business future," wrote Smith, who also asked for copies of the newborn contracts to review for an upcoming bargaining session.

A year later, the feeling had clearly soured. Jeff Pash, the NFL's advance fag negotiator, wrote to NFLPA general direction Richard Berthelsen and criticizes the organization for taking gripes public.

"No digit understands the costs of an NFL work stoppage better than the NFL clubs, and no digit is more sworn to achievement commendation on a newborn CBA than the NFL owners," he wrote.

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