An interesting point came up during our appearance earlier this morning with Boomer Esiason and Craig Carton on WFAN, even though it was yours truly who forced it into the discussion.

What does the owners’ unanimous decision to bail on the CBA mean to former Commissioner Paul Tagliabue’s shot at the Hall of Fame?

In our view, Tagliabue’s bid for enshrinement has, at best, been delayed indefinitely.  After all, it was Tagliabue who foisted onto the owners a proposal that, less than 27 months later, they have all rejected.

Part of the problem is that the league’s obsession with the financial aspects of the 2006 CBA extension caused the powers-that-be to accept without negotiation the union’s one-sided proposals relating to noneconomic issues like the recoupment of bonus money and the ability to send a problematic player home with pay.  Ultimately, it was Tagliabue’s responsibility to notice that the owners were agreeing to all of the noneconomic terms without any counterproposal.

On the surface, some might be inclined to applaud Tagliabue and point a finger at current Commissioner Roger Goodell, if Tuesday’s vote results in three seasons of uncertainty and culminates in a work stoppage.  After all, Tagliabue didn’t have a single work stoppage during his entire time on the job. 

But the fact that the strife would occur on Goodell’s watch doesn’t mean that it’s his fault.  The seeds for this potential beanstalk were planted by the union during Tagliabue’s tenure.