Steve Serby Interviews Kevin Mawae

by John B on Feb 13, 2011 12:00 PM EST

Steve Serby of the NY Post has an interview with former Jets center and NFLPA President Kevin Mawae. It discusses the current labor situation and some very interested tidbits about his time with Gang Green.

Q: As of now, you're scheduled to be meeting each Tuesday and Wednesday with the owners from next week until March 4. But there doesn't appear to be much trust between the sides.

A: You're telling me you're losing money but you won't show me how much you're losing. You're telling me it costs too much but you're not willing to show me the cost. . . . I was at the Super Bowl -- I saw Daniel Snyder's plane on the runway. He wasn't flying first class on American Airlines. It's a business deduction and you're writing it off and you're saying it's a cost the players should incur because you choose to fly that way. I'm being facetious . . .

The one thing I wish Serby had asked was about Mawae's contention last year that he was being blackballed by the league. He seemed to feel the reason no team signed him was his role with the players in the impending labor strife.

I have been pretty quiet, but it is very difficult for me to do anything other than side with the players based on what I have read. Almost everything I hear from fans talk about how the NFL has the perfect business model. The owners are looking to upset the status quo and get more of the pie from the players who make them money by putting their health on the line each week (see Ray Lucas). These owners are looking for more because they have built new stadiums recently, often with taxpayer assistance. They don't have a problem reaping the benefits of luxury box sales and ripping fans off through PSL's and higher ticket prices.

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He also took a shot at Cromartie

Get busy winning or get busy losing.

by GangGreenMag on Feb 13, 2011 12:10 PM EST reply actions

I agree JB.

If the owners want to opt out of the deal due to rising costs, the least they should do is open the books to the union to prove that costs are in fact rising. The owners don’t seem to be negotiating in good faith right now. It seems like they’re trying to strong-arm the players into into a more favorable deal for themselves without any tangible justification.

by Crackback on Feb 13, 2011 12:22 PM EST reply actions

It appears that corporate greed has pervaded into just about everything in our society.

While everything else points otherwise, these guys are saying they’re losing money. I’d like to see how they explain this one…if they ever actually do.

by PowerBar on Feb 13, 2011 12:40 PM EST up reply actions

Couldn't agree more with you PowerBar

Seriously, greed is just rearing it’s head everywhere in our society and it’s sad. Plus, it’s the players people care about not the owners. The players are making the sport successful, the players are making the owners richer (though most were probably silver-spooned from birth) the players make us care. To me owners are not above the team, but they act like it. I’m completely on the side of the players (even though they too are spoiled) but at least they are putting something big on the line (their health) for us.

If you work for a living, why do you kill yourself working?

by JaviLouis on Feb 13, 2011 4:33 PM EST up reply actions

I think fans and players should revolt like Egypt, and have our voices heard

The owners might hold all the money, but the players can get the fans

Get busy winning or get busy losing.

by GangGreenMag on Feb 13, 2011 12:33 PM EST reply actions

Agree, it's time to stand up against this needless greed.

I’m sure the owners are doing just fine as it is.

If you work for a living, why do you kill yourself working?

by JaviLouis on Feb 13, 2011 4:34 PM EST up reply actions

Maybe it's just posturing

but I feel like if there is no football this year it will be the fault of the owners playing chicken for what appears to be greed.

Could Goodell become known as the man ho ruined football?

GGN Moderator, House pessimist, veteran arm chair coach.
www.GangGreenNation.com

by Bro Namath on Feb 13, 2011 1:02 PM EST reply actions

Interesting Freudian Slip

calling Goodell a “man ho” ruined football

by D1andonlyDman on Feb 13, 2011 2:55 PM EST reply actions

Heh

GGN Moderator, House pessimist, veteran arm chair coach.
www.GangGreenNation.com

by Bro Namath on Feb 13, 2011 5:59 PM EST up reply actions

I read the entire interview a

And to me, Mawae comes off as a complete A Hole. Dan Snyder’s plane? Really? Do you think Snyder can afford the plane because of the NFL or because of his business that was successful enough to allow him to buy an NFL franchise? He also takes a shot at Cromarie, and paints Bill Parcells as a dictator that was terrible to his players, yet he would play for him again. Everything Mawae says and does makes him seem like a spoiled prick who will say and do anything to get his way. Do i agree that the owners should open their books? Sure. Do i think the owners should make more than the players? Yes i do.
As far as greed goes…. Greed is never the problem. This is a free, capatilist country. If you think someone makes too much money, don’t buy their product. You think the owners are making too much money? Go play somewhere else. I remember the XFL and i don’t recall any NFL players leaving the NFL for the XFL because they felt the owners were too greedy. I could go on an on. Hopefully this labor situation won’t.

"Schotty... You Suck!" - Mark Sanchez

by jetsbill on Feb 13, 2011 6:55 PM EST reply actions

not to turn this into a political rant

but if you’re going to say ‘Greed is never the problem", then you’re just turning a blind eye to our recession and its causes in the first place.

It may be a free capitalist country (if you’re educated, you know it’s not 100% free and capitalist), but that doesn’t mean people don’t suffer. And in the end, it’ll be the little people (ie. the fans and the people that aren’t players and owners that work for the NFL) that suffer.

The point is the owners are allegedly asking for drastically more money from their players without compensation and saying its because of a lack of revenue; something in which all signs prove otherwise. So, if your employer just bought another 10 condos and shows you his new high rise and 50" 3D TV, then asks you to take a pay cut because he says he’s not financially doing well, are you going to look for another employer (WHEN HE’S THE ONLY EMPLOYER????)

by PowerBar on Feb 13, 2011 8:35 PM EST up reply actions

That's just it...

And not to get all political on you, but the only way your employer could be the only employer in the market, and the ability for you to enter the market as a self employed competitor would be if your employer was the government. You see, if the players are against the owners “Greed” they can go and join the CFL, or they could even form their own league. I’m sure you remember that the NFL was the only game in town, until the AFL came along. the AFL was looked at as inferior, right up until they beat the NFL. And not to get overly political on you, but the recession wasn’t caused by greed alone. It was caused by government intervention into the banking industry that was forcing banks to lend money to people that had no means to pay back that money. In order to facilitate these transactions (businesses will not lend money when risk of loss is higher than potential for return) the government decided to guarentee loans that were being made based on requirements that were so low that you didn’t need to have the ability to pay your loan in order for the government to guarentee it. Now getting back to your example of an employer buying 10 condos in a high rise and all of his 50" 3D TV’s. When profit is high, competition floods the market. Investors are constantly looking to establish businesses in which the market allows for profits (Look no further than the Solar Industry in NJ).
And no matter what position you are in, you have an inherent risk. When you’re an employee, you risk being fired. When you’re an owner, you risk losing everything. Will NFL owners lose everything? Doubtful. Could they? Definitely.
As far as Greed goes. It all depends on how you view greed. Do you think the owners are greedy for trying to ensure their business model is as profitable as possible? Do you think the players are greedy for trying to get every penny they can for their services? Was Bill Gates greedy for buying DOS, and then leasing the program to IBM in order to make money?
Ask yourself this… What do the players lose if they don’t play? What do the owners lose?

"Schotty... You Suck!" - Mark Sanchez

by jetsbill on Feb 14, 2011 2:56 PM EST up reply actions

it's greedy for owners to claim a lack of revenue when all signs point otherwise

not only is it greedy, its disingenuous. It’s also been reported that the owners are doing this just to make a statement, so in no way are they in the right if there’s a lockout. They’re not trying to ensure the model is profitable, they’re trying to line their wallets with cash.

As for the recession, no matter how you try to paint it, this banking mess was caused by a lack of regulation. And you know what, if the players are against the owners ‘greed’, they can refuse to agree to the terms and refuse to sign a CBA and cause a lockout, which is what is going on right now.

And in the end, this greed whether you call it by the owners or the players, will cause the fans that actually pay these people, and the little people that work for them to suffer the most.

by PowerBar on Feb 14, 2011 8:41 PM EST up reply actions

owners are in it for the money

but the sad truth about the matter is so are the players. we only have to look at the revis holdout in the offseason . most fans won’t earn in a lifetime what revis gets in a month .

how many times have we seen players arrive in the nfl from college and start earning more money than they know what to do with and end up in prison cause the money went to their heads? then you have guys playing 6 or seven years in the league gitting 350k a year while someone like sanchez gets 17m in his 3rd season.
i blame players agents as much as owners for the greed that infests the nfl and until everyone sits down and put people ( players , fans ) before profits this problem will raise its ugly head every few years .

say whay you like about the packers but as far as teams go they have the right model to be a success. their fans own the team and have a say in everything . when you have 1 guy as owner then they don’t care about ffootball its all about the money .
until more teams can be run by their fans then we as the average guys will only be seen as dollar signs in the owners eyes

by tinley24 on Feb 13, 2011 8:30 PM EST reply actions

the difference is

and this is only from the information given to us by the media, is that the players are willing to compromise and the owners are not. The fact that they’re claiming to be losing money while the NFL’s popularity is at an all-time high, paired with articles which say this is about the owners having a grudge and intending to show their dominance over the players, casts a very negative light upon NFL and it’s owners.

by PowerBar on Feb 13, 2011 8:49 PM EST up reply actions