NFL shows referees it means business

Angered by the unanimous rejection of its latest proposal, the NFL has turned up the heat on its locked-out regular game officials by lowering its offer back to one originally made in mid-June, the latest indication that the league is content for now with replacements.

Tom Condon, the general counsel and chief negotiator for the NFL Referees Association, said he was informed on Friday that the offer rejected by his constituents on Thursday morning is now rescinded. Condon said he "finds it incredible" the league would "dig in its heels this way" and "go backward when we`re trying move ahead."

Essentially, the offer now on the table calls for graduated increases of between 20 percent and 75 percent over the five years of the proposal. The most recent proposal, made Tuesday to the regular officials, would have provided a 60 percent increase this year, escalating to a 120 percent jump by 2005.

"We made an extraordinary offer to avoid a work stoppage, and now that the offer has been rejected, and we have the alternate officials on the field, there no longer is any basis for keeping that offer on the table," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Saturday.

The league had warned the officials` union that such a move would happen after the NFL twice upgraded its Aug. 13 offer.

The league earlier in the week rejected a proposal by Condon that would have immediately returned the regular officials to the field. Under the scenario, talks would have continued during the season and, if the year concluded without a new accord, the sides would then go to binding arbitration to settle the dispute.

Aiello termed the Tuesday proposal the "best offer" the league would make, and there have been rumblings that some hard-line owners were strongly urging commissioner Paul Tagliabue to retrench once that deal was turned down.

"You never want to go back to Square One in any (negotiation), but it looks like that`s what the league wants to do," Condon said.

The latest move came as an inexperienced group of replacement officials began arriving in cities that will host Sunday games. The replacements were expected to have extensive preparatory sessions throughout the day Saturday, although some were scheduled to work college games and will not arrive for their NFL duties until Sunday morning.

It also comes amid rumors that some regular officials were upset that the latest proposal by the NFL was not voted on by the entire 119-man membership. The offer was rejected instead by the 10-man executive committee. Several officials contacted by ESPN.com denied there are cracks in membership and said they remain united.

Because the officials are locked out, not on strike, dissenting members could not return to the field even if they so desired.

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Author: 6 ABC - Action News