Seahawks LB Bobby Wagner Speaks Out Against New CBA Once Again

After months of negotiating, the NFL and a majority of the player's association agreed upon a new 10-year collective bargaining agreement last month.

While striking a deal will provide the league with 10 years of labor peace, not all players were on board with this new agreement. Specifically, Seahawks stars Bobby Wagner and Russell Wilson were both heavily against this new deal throughout the entire process and made their thoughts public.

The @NBA & @MLB are doing it right.
Players come first.

ALL @NFL players deserve the same.

WE should not rush the next 10 YEARS for Today’s satisfaction.

I VOTE NO.
— Russell Wilson (@DangeRussWilson) February 26, 2020

On Wednesday, Wagner joined Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman on “First Take” to discuss a range of topics, including his continuing stance against the new CBA.

“I just felt honestly felt like there was a rush. The way some of the guys got the information, there’s not a lot of guys who read 465 pages, let alone a whole CBA,” Wagner detailed. “So I felt like the process was rushed, I felt like the guys didn’t have all the information that they needed to make a vote. A lot of the guys that I spoke with voted before even reading it or talking to someone.”

Based on these recent comments from Wagner, it appears that he won’t be changing his stance on how this process was handled anytime soon. The six-time Pro Bowler also made a similar statement last month at an event in New York.

While promoting author Zack O’Malley’s latest novel, Wagner sat down with CNBC and expressed his concerns about the lack of time that players had to read through the entire agreement.

“The document is like 465 pages long, and I don’t think that is enough time for guys to read it,” Wagner discussed. “To read something that important that is going to affect your life – and this deal is 10 years long — I want guys to educate themselves on what they’re signing. I feel like we have a lot more power than guys realize.”

Along with requiring additional time to become more educated about the CBA, Wagner also suggested that increasing the regular season to 17 games in 2021 would likely add even more strain on players’ bodies.

“You have guys suffering from 16 games, and you’re going to add more games? It’s already tough on our bodies,” Wagner explained. “I think if you’re going to play 17 games, I do feel like the quality of life, healthcare, and player safety — all that needs to be addressed a little bit more than it does in this deal.”

Before the new CBA passed, Wagner was reportedly one of many star players in the league who voiced their concerns to the Players Association through a conference call on February 24.

According to Dan Graziano of ESPN, the 29-year old linebacker challenged the five members of the players’ union executive council about what positives they saw in the new deal and why they voted for it.

From @DanGrazianoESPN on the latest with the CBA talks, including on what Aaron Rodgers had to say: https://t.co/WCsdZvqTwz pic.twitter.com/MhzOeNpyzh
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) February 25, 2020

Along with Wagner, the majority of the league’s top players were demanding a revenue split closer to 50-50 between the owners and the players. In addition, they were also asking for an increase in guaranteed contracts, similar to what exists in the MLB and NBA, and a larger chunk of the eventual new television and digital contracts as well.

While these are all valid concerns, the group of players who voted to pass the new CBA are the ones who’ll largely benefit from the increased pay for players on minimum-salary deals and practice roster contracts. Understandably, many of those players have shorter careers, so taking the deal now made sense from their perspective.

Unfortunately for Wagner and all of the players who continue to voice displeasure in regard to the new CBA, nothing can be done now. With the agreement ratified, there won't be any major labor changes again until 2030.