Canal Street Chronicles, a New Orleans Saints community

"Ever since Gene Upshaw passed away -- I'm just going to lay it all out there -- the owners saw blood in the water," Brees said

For example, if the owners commit to diverting 10 cents per dollar to stadium costs and other expenses that the parties agree to share, the players probably would be willing to take 45 of the remaining 90 cents, since they would still be splitting the rest of the money on a 50-50 basis with the owners.

The real problem? Guys like Jerry Jones, and his long standing crusade against revenue sharing. Because that's what this whole thing boils down to. Some owners like Jones, Snyder, Kraft, etc keep finding ways to produce bigger and bigger revenue streams that don't have to be shared. The Packers are in the midst of pushing the envelope in this area as well with the massive expansion around Lambeau set to provide a huge new revenue stream for the team that doesn't have to be shared with the rest of the league. That's the way forward in todays NFL. The problem, of course, is that this movement is starting to create a real caste system in the NFL, the Haves and the Have Nots. And rather than sit down and hammer out a way that these new team-specific revenue streams could be transitioned into the revenue-sharing model that turned the NFL into America's year-round obsession, the owners have decided that its much easier to go after the player's piece of the pie.

"I don’t think we’ve got your attention," Jones said, according to several players who spoke anonymously to Trotter. "You clearly don’t understand what we’re saying, and we’re not hearing what you’re saying. So I guess we’re going to have to show you to get your attention." Per Trotter, Jones then tapped his fists together. The players interpreted the gesture as a sign that a lockout was coming. (Maybe he was simply using Friends code for giving the finger.)