As if fans didn’t know it already, the league’s recent lockout of NFL players demonstrated once again who the leaders in pro football are—the quarterbacks. As plaintiffs in an antitrust suit filed in March against the NFL, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees have become the first players to step out from behind the lawyers and say what every fan has been thinking for weeks.

 

“It is time to get this deal done,” the trio announced in a July 13^th press release. “This is the time of year we as players turn our attention to the game on the field. We hope the owners feel the same way.”

 

That’s leadership. Both on and off the field, these three command attention and respect. And their call for action comes none too soon. According to NFL spokesman Greg Aiello, the NFL could suffer up to $800 million in losses if the lockout extends into the four weeks of preseason exhibition games. It is money that helps fund the league’s salary cap as well as players’ regular-season game checks.

 

Will key franchise owners like Robert Kraft of the Patriots, John Mara of the New York Giants and Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys listen to the quarterbacks and “git’er done?” The next few negotiating sessions will tell. But it is certain that whatever former Super Bowl MVPs Brady, Manning and Brees say, the press, the fans and their fellow players will be hanging on every word.

 

Last year, New England’s QB Brady threw 36 touchdowns with a 65 percent completion rate. He finished the season with 3,900 yards, a 111 passer rating and a stunning 9/1 touchdown-to-interception ratio.  In February, he was named the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press—an accolade confirmed in July by a vote of his peers. At the pinnacle of his career, Brady wants to play, not negotiate.

 

The same can be said for Manning, whom Brady himself has called “the greatest of all time.” The Colts’ QB is just one passing touchdown shy of 400 for his career and only 21 behind Dan Marino for the number two spot all time (Brett Favre has 508). For Manning, 2011 should be the year he cements his legacy and makes up for January’s hasty departure from the playoffs, losing to the Jets at home 17-16.

 

Brees, of course, wants another opportunity to march his Saints into the Super Bowl. January’s 41-36 playoff loss to the Seahawks still leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. But nobody can suit up and take the field until the lockout ends. If there is going to be a meaningful 2011 NFL season, owners must heed their quarterbacks: “It is time to get this deal done.”

 

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