Gene Upshaw Quotations

Unless something is going on ... that I've not seen in the last day or two, we're just not there yet. I'm not putting a lot of faith in that we're going to reach agreement in the next couple of days.

We're farther apart now than we were when we got started. If we get to the uncapped year, we won't come back, or else we'll do what we have to do.

We're further apart now than when we started. For anyone to believe that we're close is just not reality.

We're not asking them to play him, we can't force them to do that. But if they're not going to let him come back to practice and do all the other things associated with that, then we want them to cut him, let him become a free agent now.

We're not asking them to play him, we can't force them to do that,

We're running out of time. I'm at my bottom line. I have nowhere else to go. I've said for years that the only thing that would prevent us from getting a deal was if one side gets greedy. Well, they've gotten greedy.

We have to give them a chance to have their meeting and vote on our package. They can vote yes or no.

We are taking the position that's additional punishment. It's not fair to a player not to have an additional chance.

The price of poker will go up. We can not stay in the place where we are now.

The price of poker will go up. We cannot settle and will not agree to stay in the same place we are.

Many of those players would have been cut anyway.

I wouldn't want to see that. I wouldn't recommend players doing their own deals. You're sitting across the table from a general manager that's negotiated thousands of contracts.

If we go to an uncapped year, we won't come back.

But it's still early. Look at what's happening in Jacksonville. The market was there early. They sold a lot of tickets. But they haven't sustained it. Now they're roping off seats in order to avoid blackouts.

If we are having a difficult time reaching an agreement now, I don't want to imagine what it could be like in 2006 and 2007. If they don't like our proposal now, they really won't like it then.

If the arbitrator ruled he was a free agent, he could have gone anywhere. This was the Eagles assuring that he came to them.

He meant as much to us off the field as on it. He had his name on the lawsuit (for free agency) and didn't get one penny. That's the type of guy he is. His character, his integrity was everything any NFL player should aspire to be.

He meant as much to us off the field as much as on it. He had his name on the lawsuit and he didn't get one penny. That's just the type of guy he was. His character, his integrity was everything any NFL player should aspire to be.

He meant as much to us off the field as much as on it, ... He had his name on the lawsuit and he didn't get one penny. That's just the type of guy he was. His character, his integrity was everything any NFL player should aspire to be.

Whatever happens in this game won't matter after Week 17. If the site was switched in Week 16 or Week 17, I'd have a problem with it. But this is so early in the season, it won't be important.

Whatever happens in this game will not matter after Week 17. If the site was switched late in the season, I'd have a problem with it. But this is early in the season.

There is no chance free agency will be delayed.

I think both sides better get prepared where there is no deal, ... I told our staff Monday that's what we have to communicate to the players -- what direction we're going -- and right now it looks like an uncapped year. We can't accept what they have on the table.

Paul brought up comments that John made after the game. I guarantee you, that's not helping my case.

Our number has to start with a six.

March 3 will be the beginning of a new league year and we are just not there yet. I'm taking the position now that it won't get done.

I won't do it, though, without revenue sharing.

I won't come down. The players know that. Only the owners can make a proposal.

That was all in place with this kid, ... There was nothing anyone could have done that wasn't done. In a matter of minutes, he had the proper medical attention and was at the hospital.

We jointly agreed to move the deadline because we owe it to the people we represent. There are no promises from either side.

Wellington Mara would be both pleased and proud today.

Wellington Mara was a true pioneer who understood what it took to make the National Football League great. History will show that his vision, integrity and willingness to share with small-market clubs paved the way for economic success.

We're deadlocked. There's nowhere to go. There's no reason to continue meeting. We're too far apart on our economics, and too far apart on revenue sharing, and we'll go to the uncapped year. There won't be an extension.

We're deadlocked. There's nowhere to go. There's no reason to continue meeting.

We have a group of high-revenue clubs and they're making a lot of money off this system. It's also held down their payroll. If you're not sharing your fair share with the players, I have a problem with it.

We are pleased that this process has finally concluded with an agreement. This agreement is not about one side winning and losing. Ultimately, it is about what is best for the players, the owners and the fans.

We were almost in arbitration a couple of times, but everyone thought that it was in everybody's interest to reach a settlement. If you leave it up to an arbitrator, you have no control of the situation. We have a duty to represent the player, and that's what we did.

We want to have a higher percentage. We want more dollars to come into the system.

What we're trying to do is encourage people to participate. You can not win unless you get in the game. You've got to get into the game and you've got to put your name out there. What Herman was saying is everyone that's asked should play the game.

We don't want to leave it with them, ... They've taken the position that revenue sharing is none of our business. The hell it isn't.

We're not negotiating this in the atmosphere the NHL was in, with teams going out of business. We know what the revenue growth is.

We've demonstrated we are not afraid to decertify. We understand the laws and what's available to us.

The players have worked very hard to make this game the best in the world. The players are committed to ensuring that the game of football remains on the field and not in the courtroom.

We're taking the position it will not get resolved. We're just not there yet. Today, we might as well head to an uncapped year.

We don't think we need to stiffen our penalties,

We have done everything medically we could do. We have doctors trained in emergency medicine, in heart problems and other specialties standing by at every game. It's not just internists. It's people who know what to do in every emergency. It just wasn't enough.

As they say, the clock is ticking and at least they realize that. Basically, though, we're at the same point.

And we're running out of time. There's no progress, there's nothing to report. The positions are still the same.

I've been to 32 teams, and all the players understand where we are. They're saying, 'Bring on the uncapped year.

It would be just like baseball. It would have been very easy for him to say, 'I have the largest market and I don't want to share.' Which is what we have going on right now. We do have a group who believes the reason they have success is they're so much smarter than everyone else. I'm not begrudging them for having that thought, but they have to understand where it all came from and why.

Things like this are about the integrity of the game and our sport and we have to make sure it is dealt with sufficiently.

San Antonio has expressed interest in getting an NFL team, going back to '93 or '95,

Additional thanks go to my old boss, Al Davis, for being the first to rise, as he did in 1993, in support of Paul (Tagliabue) and an agreement.

Once we get to the league year, I don't see us getting a deal done any time soon. We're taking the position we're not going to get this resolved, so you should go ahead and do contracts based on that.

This is beyond where Terrell Owens is. This affects all our players. It's why we have an issue with the language in these contracts. Things we're able to gain in collective bargaining, some clubs are finding a way to undermine them. That's also what this is all about,

this is a way for us to guarantee that what they take is what's on the label.

The way the NFL is set up, an owner really has to work at it to lose money.

This agreement is not about one side winning or losing. Ultimately, it is about what is best for the players, the owners and the fans of the National Football League . . . This new agreement gives us the opportunity to continue our unprecedented success and growth.

This agreement is not about one side winning or losing.

They gave us a new proposal, which was worse than their prior offer. Quite naturally, we rejected that proposal and saw no need to continue meeting.

They gave me a proposal that is actually less than what we're getting. All we want is our share that we've been getting.

There obviously will not be a cap beyond 2006. So if anyone expects me to make a deal to sell the players on making less money, I'm not going to do that.

It's absolutely crazy. We're like the gang that can't shoot straight. I would never have agreed to move the deadline unless they acceded to my financial conditions. I want to go to bed, too. But once they agreed to take our proposal to the owners, I had no choice.

It's actually our model that they have been holding up as the way to go.

The NFL negotiators called us tonight to indicate that they will take our complete package to the owners for an approval vote on Tuesday. We have therefore agreed to extend the free agent deadline until midnight Wednesday in order to provide time for that vote to be accomplished. It was the NFL's previous rejection of our proposal earlier this evening that caused the talks to break down.

Everyone is really concerned we're getting down to that final deadline. We will do whatever it takes to protect the rights of the players.

It's beginning to sound like that movie 'Groundhog Day.' They give us the same thing over and over and over. Their last proposal to us was totally unacceptable. You see what happened to hockey. Now basketball is moving in the same direction. I don't see us as being too far off the pace from those two. For some reason, the owners have not moved the ball at all.

Nothing has changed that would change (the situation) by March 3.

They've taken the concept of designated gross revenue and changed it to total football revenue and basically come up with the same amount they're paying the players now, ... They have not made a proposal to us since we started this whole process. All they say is, 'We reject whatever you want.' Then they say what we want is too much. . . . Once we get to March 2006, when the league calendar starts, as far as we're concerned there's no need to make a deal. If that's what they want, we'll go there too.

The revenue sharing piece is what's keeping this piece from getting done.

On behalf of the players, the NFLPA staff and the negotiating team, we are pleased that this process has finally concluded with an agreement. This agreement is not about one side winning or losing. Ultimately, it is about what is best for the players, the owners and the fans of the National Football League.

I'm going to tell the agents to do deals as if there is no salary cap in 2007 if we don't have a deal by Friday. But under no circumstance will I move back the start of free agency.

I know they expect us to appeal and we will appeal,

I need a number that starts with a 6. I said it at the beginning and I've said it all the way through.

I guess we could meet if they want to. All I know is they got up and said they had to have a conference and the meeting was ended.

It has to be total football revenue this time around.

He said that I had to stay on this. He was very adamant about his position on it. We're all going to be at the services, but we cannot forget the principles and integrity and what he stood for. He did it and now it's what every other league is trying to do.

If he's suspended, we'll take it as far as we can. But I don't know how far that is.

I don't see us getting a deal done anytime soon.

I am not going to accept a deal just for the sake of having labor peace. . . . The deal has got to be fair.

I continue to believe that the problem lies with the high revenue clubs and the revenue sharing issue. Their refusal to share more revenues is making it worse for everybody -- players, owners, and fans.

He piled on. He went beyond what we have in the agreement. When I have an arbitrator go beyond the agreement, I have no choice. Clearly, when you look at this case, his decision even went beyond what the Eagles said in their legal briefs.

He piled on, ... He went beyond what we have in the agreement. When I have an arbitrator go beyond the agreement, I have no choice. Clearly, when you look at this case, his decision even went beyond what the Eagles said in their legal briefs.

The longer we talked, the further apart we got. Nothing happened for us to make a deal today.