Right now there are more questions than answers regarding the new Collective Bargaining Agreement between the players and the league. But one thing is certain: The season will start on time. And for that alone, Sounders FC union representative Taylor Graham is happy.
“I think everyone is excited to play Thursday,” said Graham. “Knowing that the league and union have come to terms is a big relief.”
Seattle and the expansion Philadelphia Union will meet Thursday in the first match of the MLS season, a match that was put in jeopardy by a possible players strike. However, that threat was averted by an 11th-hour deal signed and announced on Saturday afternoon in Washington, D.C.
James Riley, Seattle’s other elected union representative, concedes the players didn’t get everything they wanted from the new agreement. On a scale of one to 10, he judged that the new agreement lands anywhere between a four and a six-and-a-half.
“Obviously there was some progress, but we were looking for more of a total package deal,” Riley told reporters on Saturday. “For guys to want to agree to it, it had to probably be over a five. But at the same time we knew we weren’t going to get everything in the first go-around. Obviously the big issues of free agency and player movement were huge. I think that we made steps and put parameters in place for future CBA negotiations to continue to have those conversations. It was good to look at the big issues and know that players had a problem with it and make the adjustment.”
Riley, Graham, and captain Kasey Keller flew to Washington on Thursday morning to represent the Sounders players in the marathon negotiations.
While the deal has been announced, the actual details of the new agreement have been slow to emerge. That uncertainty has set off a chain of phone calls and text messages between players and their union representatives across the league as players try to understand what the new deal will mean for them. When he touched down at Sea-Tac airport Saturday night, Riley had more voicemails and text messages waiting for him than he could respond to. Graham, who flew back on Saturday morning, is trying to field all the questions to the best of his abilities.
“Guys are kind of picking and choosing what applies to them and I’m trying to explain to them, ‘I’ve got numbers coming out of my ears right now,’” Graham said. “For the most part, I think everyone is going to be satisfied.”
What is known is that player movement will be increased, guaranteed contracts will be available and compensation will be improved. Exactly how much freedom of movement players will have is just one of the many details of the agreement that have yet to be shared publicly. Riley said the players wanted more from the league, but the owners were unwilling to budge in the area of free agency.
In addition to ensuring the punctual start of the 2010 season, the agreement also goes a long way to mending the contentious relationship between the league and its players.
“I think we made tremendous strides,” Riley said. “I thought the league really came back with a proposal that the players could definitely be happy about. It showed trust in the players. It showed that the league could look at the system and know that there were some inequities and make the proper adjustments so that players -- past, present, and future -- could feel like they could play in a league that they are proud of.”
