Those sacred Sunday services, the National Football League games, were canceled this week by a players' strike and are scheduled to resume next Sunday in a heathen form. Desperate dreamers have been running barricades of picketing stars to get to a field where only the best have ever belonged. Players' negotiator Gene Upshaw charged, "Management is trying to bust the union." His opposite number, Jack Donlan, foresaw "six to eight weeks of hard bargaining." Meanwhile, the N.F.L. planned to count any makeshift games in the standings (in order to ensure at least an adjusted TV contract); the advertisers figured to count the audience to determine their own rebates, and the losses all around may be counted in the tens of millions.
Though the usual matters of salaries and pensions are involved, the paramount issue seems to be free agency, professional sport's current conundrum. The football players' latest crusade for easier passage from team to team coincides with an arbitrator's decree: baseball players, he proclaimed, have been the victims of an owners' conspiracy to flout a free- agent agreement long in place. Unlike major league baseball teams, N.F.L. clubs reserve a right of first refusal on the services of any player whose contract has expired. Should he sign with another of the league's 28 teams, steep compensation in the coin of draft choices is stipulated. Contending that , a pro football player's life expectancy is below four seasons, the union wants all four-year men to be unfettered by compensation clauses. Observing that the average salary is up from $90,000 to $230,000 since 1982 (thanks largely to a zestful war with the now defunct United States Football League), management is adamant about maintaining its system of competitive balance.
Five years ago, when pro football players walked out for 57 days in a bid for a larger percentage of television spoils, the atmosphere was quite different. No substitutes walked in. Last week the flotsam and jetsam from past N.F.L. camps, the U.S.F.L. and summer Arena Football were bused past jeering and egg-throwing picketers and delivered into the hesitant custody of shell-shocked coaches. At first inspection, Ray Perkins of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers judged, "A few are in poor shape; a couple are in no shape at all." The Washington Redskins' Joe Gibbs said, "It's one-two-three again. We're starting right with the basics: the huddle."
A number of celebrated strikebreakers were available for instruction, including San Francisco Linebackers Tom Cousineau and Keith Browner. Cleaving to guaranteed contracts, Quarterbacks Gary Hogeboom of the Indianapolis Colts and Marc Wilson of the Los Angeles Raiders said their hearts were with the union, but they just couldn't afford the sentiment. ("Who's going to pay to see Joe Blow from Idaho quarterback the Raiders?" Defensive End Howie Long had chortled before he knew the situation.) Mark Gastineau of the New York Jets, the famed pass rusher and sack dancer, cited his affection for Owner Leon Hess as the reason he crossed the line. Cowboys Veteran Lineman Randy White mentioned that his earning days are winding down. "He's going to make the All-Pro list this year," Teammate Tony Dorsett predicted with vinegar. "The All-Pro scab list."