#labortalks

My Dad has had season tickets to the Patriots since I was 7 years old.  I've been to countless games since I was a kid, including a haul of playoff games, two AFC Championships and even a Superbowl (which we won).  We are among the most loyal of Patriot season ticket holders, as we still remember the days when the team used to suck and when we nearly gave up our seats because we thought the cost wasn't equalling the benefit.  But we just couldn't give them up.  Then they won 3 Super Bowls in 5 years and had a (nearly) perfect season.

I have a lot of respect for the Kraft family and how they have excelled as far as respectability among NFL owners.  Robert Kraft is known as one of the most philanthropic yet down-to-earth owners in a sea of endless income and greed (looking at you, Jerry Jones).  He's seemingly one of the only guys looking to truly compromise on these CBA talks, and it'll damn near kill him that the name of the lawsuit filed by the players union will forever be known as "Brady vs. National Football League" simply by alphabetical order. 

This is why when my dad sent me a copy of the letter the Krafts sent to their season ticket holders concerning the unpredictability of next season, I didn't hear Bob Kraft at all in that letter.  I heard NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.  I finally saw how deceptive and manipulative the NFL management really was throughout these labor talks.  They care about looking innocent and the ones still trying to negotiate; that the players are turning their backs on the sport and sucker punching fans, not the owners.  Trying to paint someone else the victim when they basically bought themselves a $4 billion dollar insurance policy in the case of a lock out.  They wanted this all along, then they put out this letter and try to make it look like this was the players.  This was Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees.

Dear Patriots Season Ticket Holder:

As a Season Ticket Holder, you hold an elite position among Patriots fans, so we wanted to communicate directly with you regarding the recent expiration of the Collective Bargaining Agreement - the contract between the league and the labor union representing the players.

As you may know, for the past three weeks, the NFL and the players' union have been in mediation working to ensure a healthy future for the National Football League. Going into the negotiations, we remained very optimistic that an agreement could be reached if both sides were committed to negotiating.

Last week, the league and the owners presented the players' union with a comprehensive proposal that we believe was fair and benefited both parties. We hoped it would serve as a basis to continue negotiating in good faith toward a final agreement. This proposal gave the players many benefits and off-season scheduling changes that they had been seeking. It also offered a 14% increase in compensation, representing a total of $19-20 billion over the next four seasons. Unfortunately, the players' union walked away from mediation and the ongoing negotiations last Friday, without responding to this proposal. Rather than working collaboratively, they chose to initiate litigation against the clubs.

While disappointed by their action to decertify and file a lawsuit, we remain confident that an agreement will be reached and that the 2011 season will be played. The NFL, the owners and the New England Patriots organization remain committed to collective bargaining and reaching a new agreement with the players' union.

We know that many Season Ticket Holders are feeling frustrated by our inability to finalize a deal with the players' union. We apologize for any role we played in that. Please know that we are working diligently to assure that NFL operations get back to "normal" as soon as possible.

As always, we greatly appreciate your support of the Patriots and will continue to keep you informed of any developments as they arise. We encourage you to stay up-to-date on the progress of these negotiations via www.nfllabor.com. If you have any other questions, please contact the ticket office at 508-543-1776 or e-mail [email protected].

Thank you for your patience and understanding.