Texans' McNair ‘disappointed’ by labor negotiations McNair optimistic about deal

Texans owner ‘disappointed’ by negotiations

Recommended Video:

Texans owner Bob McNair will attend the NFL’s annual spring meetings at New Orleans next week confident the owners will eventually work out a new collective bargaining agreement with the players.

“I think we’re going to get it resolved before too much damage is done,” McNair said Friday after returning to Houston from a business trip. “We’re (owners) going to do everything we can to negotiate an agreement.

“At some point in time, I think the players will recognize there’s a way to come to a reasonable resolution and go back to work. I’m confident we will, but I don’t know when.”

There have been no negotiations since the NFL Players Association decertified eight days ago and the owners imposed the lockout. Both sides have been preparing for the April 6 hearing on the injunction that will determine if the lockout continues or if they return to work and let it play out in the courts.

“I’m disappointed that the players’ representatives walked away from the negotiating sessions,” McNair said. “I thought it was a very fair proposal, very generous.

“I’m disappointed they didn’t study the proposal. If they had questions, they could have negotiated or discussed it and really gotten serious about the negotiations because it’s very favorable to the players. We more than met them halfway.”

DeMaurice Smith, who was executive director of the union, members of the players’ negotiating team as well as their executive committee debunked the owners’ last offer.

Unfiltered proposal

Bob McNair, right, believes the owners' labor proposal to the union was very favorable to the players. Bob McNair, right, believes the owners' labor proposal to the union was very favorable to the players. Photo: Karen Warren, Chronicle Photo: Karen Warren, Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Texans' McNair ‘disappointed’ by labor negotiations 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Commissioner Roger Goodell went public with each part of the owners’ offer by sending a copy to agents and asking them to show it to their clients.

“I thought that was the wise thing to do,” McNair said. “I think the players need to know exactly what the proposal was and not have the information filtered through their representatives.

“I want them to know exactly what we put on the table. I think when they see it and read it maybe their attitudes will change.

“I think Roger has worked hard. I think he’s done a good job. He’s open and listening. All our people are trying to make a deal. I’d like to see that level of cooperation on the other side of the table toward reaching a settlement, but it hasn’t been forthcoming right now.”

Litigate or negotiate?

Owners have been going on the offensive since the union decertified and the lockout began. Most owners have done interviews or put out statements giving their opinions on the current situation.

“I think once reality sets in and people understand what we’ve offered — if they’ll just read and study it — they’ll realize it’s a very good proposal,” McNair said. “Veterans pay doesn’t go down. There are increased benefits and money for retired players, among other things. I’d think a reasonable person would look at it and think that’s a reasonable proposal.”

Even though the NFLPA is now a trade association rather than a union, it can resume negotiations.

“They’ve given every indication they’d rather litigate than negotiate,” McNair said. “We want to negotiate and not litigate. We want to sit across the table from each other and work through the issues.

“Each month that this thing is delayed, we (owners) lose money. The players lose money, too. We’re not absorbing 100 percent of it (financial losses). Sixty perfect of that revenue would have been going to the players. It’s going to be lost, and it’s not going to be recaptured.”

john.mcclain@chron.com