NFL owners confident labor deal will be reached; players less so

And if you're a fan of the NFL, that's not a good sign.

It's the players, after all, who will be asked to give up some of the 60 percent of all revenue they took home the last two years. It's not the owners who are being asked to forfeit some of the almighty dollar; it's the players.

And, when you put it in perspective, the owners' optimism isn't all too surprising. It's not like they can be openly critical of the ongoing labor battles. Hoping for the best doesn't hurt anyone, and you'd think it probably inspires confidence among the hundreds of people under the employ of all the NFL owners out there.

Here's some thoughts from a couple owners, courtesy of USA Today:

"The feeling on both sides is that we're going to get a deal at some point here," said Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen, co-chairman of the management council's executive committee "and we're going to move forward without any (labor) interruptions."

...

Said New York Giants co-owner John Mara:

"I think a deal will get done. There's too much at stake. Both sides realize that."

There's a lot at stake for the owners, to be sure. As everyone does in this whole conflict, they want more money. Why do they say they need it? Well, the recent economic downturn and rising player salaries have put a hurting on their bank accounts -- even though they refuse to open up their financial books to prove just how bad it truly is.

The owners also believe that they deserve a bigger share of the pie because of the risk they deal with in every phase of their business -- new stadiums, ticket prices, contracting vendors, etc.

Here's what the players think:

“I wish I can say that with all confidence, but I’m a little more confident now that we need to prepare for a work stoppage – not that that’s what we want," [NFL Players Association president Kevin] Mawae said during an interview with ESPN Chicago's radio affiliate, via SportsRadioInterviews.com. "We’re trying to avoid that at all costs, but it would be foolish for us not to make sure our players are prepared for the worst case scenario... As a player rep for the players, we are cautioning our guys for the worst case scenario.

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Players are taking the long view. At meetings last week, union officials said players should start putting away up to 25 percent of salaries in case of a lockout.

Bengals safety Chris Crocker said most players he knows see a stoppage as inevitable.

"Honestly, I feel like there will be one," he said.

We're more than 300 days away from any final decision on a labor stoppage, but this apparent discord has to be disconcerting for the football-crazed swath of America.

But, hey, then again, some optimism is better than none, right?