Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports (Brady); John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports (Smith); David J Phillip/AP/Shutterstock (Burrow)
Over the last two weeks, the little twists of the knife have popped up.
On Feb. 12, it was Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill saying that “we can do 17 games and it’s not going to impact the safety and the health of the players.” Six days later, it was a statement from the league, after owners approved a CBA proposal they’d negotiated with the union, that ended with what sounded vaguely like a threat.
“Since the clubs and players need to have a system in place and know the rules that they will operate under by next week, the membership also approved moving forward under the final year of the 2011 CBA if the players decide not to approve the negotiated terms,” the statement said.