Contract dispute puts National Lacrosse League season in jeopardy

A contract dispute is threatening to derail the start of the National Lacrosse League season.

Friday's Saskatchewan Rush preseason game has already been cancelled and training camps are weeks behind schedule.

The Professional Lacrosse Players' Association (PLPA) and NLL owners are locked in negotiations that have yet to result in an agreement.

Last week the PLPA said they were continuing to negotiate with the league, but players have pledged not to attend training camps until an agreement was reached and ratified.  

In a tweet, the PLPA wrote a major obstacle was the league's "unwillingness" to tie Average Team Revenue growth to the players' salaries.

Evan Schemenauer, a writer and podcaster with Laxallstars.com, one of the largest media lacrosse websites in the world, says the whole season could be jeopardy.

"At this stage we don't know if we have a season or not," Schemenauer said.

In 2013 the PLPA and owners signed a seven-year deal with an option that either side could opt-out after the fifth year.

In January the players decided to opt-out.

On Monday the Saskatchewan Rush announced their preseason game scheduled for Friday at SaskTel Centre had been cancelled due to the dispute.

"And Dec. 1 [The Rush's first regular season game] is definitely not a certainty because training camps are now almost three weeks behind," Schemenauer said.

"We are 18 days to the season and we're really no closer to solving the main issues than the two sides were back in January."

Schemenauer said the players made an offer last week for just the coming year, but that was rejected by the owners.

The NLL issued a statement saying the offer they have given to the PLPA is fair and will allow the sport to continue to grow.

"Our goal as it has been throughout this negotiation is to find the most fair and equitable arrangement to keep the NLL moving forward," the statement said. "We feel that the offer we are putting forward, which includes a very solid and fair offer and, importantly is one for the players and League to continue to build a strong, competitive and exciting business."

The Rush has seen phenomenal success on the turf and in the stands since they moved the franchise from Edmonton three years ago. They have won two league championships in three years and average around 15,000 fans per game.

Other NLL teams with solid attendance include the Colorado Mammoth, Calgary Roughnecks and Buffalo Bandits.

The league added two expansion teams this season, the Philadelphia Wings and the San Diego Seals, but some existing NLL franchises in the now 11-team league have struggled at the gate. 

"Saskatchewan is kind of the anomaly in the league," Schemenauer said. "There are a lot of teams that are struggling to get attendance.

"If you ever watch a game in Georgia, there's maybe 1,000 people in the stands."

Schemenauer said the two sides have not had meetings since the owners rejected PLPA's offer last Thursday.

"And there is no plans of any future talks at this stage," he said.

"The players said they are prepared to not play this season if it means risking getting what it is they need."

A PLPA representative could not be reached for comment.