GB president says talks were valuable use of time - Ingles

The NFL lockout might have lasted 41/2 months, but for Mark Murphy, the Green Bay Packers' president and CEO, the negotiations with the players lasted two years.

Two years and now labor peace for 10 more.

For Murphy, a former player and union member, it was worth the effort.

"It was a valuable use of my time," Murphy said Tuesday after a round of media interviews. "And for the Packers, it was helpful to have a voice at the table. The agreement was crucial to the future of the league and the Packers."

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell put Murphy on the negotiating committee, known formally as the Management Council Executive Committee. Goodell did so because he said Murphy's past as a player and member of the NFL Players Association would benefit the owners.

Murphy served on the committee with a number of key NFL owners, including Robert Kraft of the New England Patriots and Jerry Richardson of the Carolina Panthers. There are 10 members on the committee.

Murphy estimated that, in the past two years, he probably spent half of his time with negotiations, either on conference calls or traveling around the country to meet across the table with owners, players and lawyers.

"On our committee, we kept in constant contact with everybody," he said.

As a former player, Murphy understood the toll a football career can have on a player's body. While he was able to provide that perspective at the bargaining table, he said other owners understood health issues were important to the players moving forward.

"You take a toll for your career," he said. "But it wasn't just health and safety. We wanted to do better for our retirees."

The NFL has tried to improve the benefits for retirees, and the new agreement with players will do that, he said.

"The best thing is the pensions," he said of the new agreement. And players now will get lifetime medical coverage.

The often contentious negotiations were slowed by lawsuits filed by both sides. But Murphy said Kraft was a key player in moving toward an agreement.

"Bob is so respected by both the players and the owners," he said. "He is a smart businessman who is a dealmaker."

Murphy said the breakthrough in the talks might have occurred when both sides realized that preseason games might have to be canceled. If not for the litigation that divided both parties, the talks could have gone faster, he said.

But with the clock ticking and the Hall of Fame game being canceled, both sides found a way to reach agreement.

Some teams already have reached out to fans, thanking them for their patience and hoping to win them back.

In Green Bay, Murphy's job will be a little easier. The Super Bowl champion Packers have the Lombardi Trophy in Green Bay.

Murphy said he was looking forward to the shareholders meeting Thursday at Lambeau Field and, on Aug. 6, Family Night.

"There's nothing in the NFL quite like Family Night," he said. This article was written by Don Walker and appeared in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.