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                <p>WASHINGTON – Players' union leader DeMaurice Smith has left the 14th day of mediated talks with the NFL, saying he has not received enough financial information from the league.</p>
                <p>Smith says Wednesday that what the NFL has provided "would be meaningless in determining whether to write an $800 million check" annually to the owners. The league has been seeking an additional $1 billion off the top of revenues to the $1 billion it received under the collective bargaining agreement that will expire Friday night without a new deal.</p>
                <p>The $800 million figure, which Smith says the owners have requested be paid each year, is less than the $1 billion previously requested, which could indicate movement on the most contentious issue — how to split revenues in a $9 billion business.</p>
                <p>THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.</p>
                <p>WASHINGTON (AP) — The financial information the NFL has offered to turn over during labor negotiations doesn't include the data requested nearly two years ago by the players' union.</p>
                <p>In a letter dated May 18, 2009 — a copy of which was obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press — NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith asked Commissioner Roger Goodell to "provide audited financial statements concerning the operations of the 32 clubs and the league."</p>
                <p>Smith attached a list of 10 categories of information he sought, including:</p>
                <p>• total operating income;</p>
                <p>• total operating expenses, such as player costs, team expenses, sales and marketing expenses, game expenses, salaries/payments to owners;</p>
                <p>• profit from operations;</p>
                <p>• net income;</p>
                <p>• cash and investment assets.</p>
                <p>In the letter, Smith noted the owners' push to expand the regular season from 16 games to 18 as one reason "this information is critical in understanding the fair 'cost/compensation' model for players and teams."</p>
                <p>The NFL proposed this week to provide new financial data, but the union said it wasn't enough to satisfy the players' call for full disclosure.</p>
                <p>On his way into Wednesday's mediation session, NFL general counsel Jeff Pash said the issue of financial transparency — a key sticking point in labor talks this week — "really should be behind us."</p>
                <p>"We've made more information available in the course of this negotiation than has ever been made available in decades of collective bargaining with the NFLPA," Pash said. "Far more information. And we've offered to make even more information (available), including information that we do not disclose to our own clubs."</p>
                <p>Pash didn't reveal any specifics of the league's offer and wouldn't comment on the union's response. But a person familiar with the negotiations told the AP that the NFL offered to turn over five years of league-wide profitability data to the union — and that the offer was rejected.</p>
                <p>The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the mediator overseeing the labor talks has told participants not to publicly discuss details.
</p><p>
According to the person who spoke to the AP, the NFL's proposal to the union included:
</p><p>
_audited league-wide profitability data with dollar figures from 2005-09 that wouldn't show information on a club-by-club basis;
</p><p>
_the number of teams that have seen a shift in profitability in that span;
</p><p>
_an independent auditor to examine the data.
</p><p>
Another person familiar with the negotiations — also speaking on condition of anonymity — told the AP the NFLPA rejected the league's offer because an investment bank retained by the union advised that the proposal was inadequate.
</p><p>
The NFLPA long has demanded that the league give it full access to financial data — including team-by-team information — and made that a central issue in contract talks.
</p><p>
"As you know, the NFLPA does not have access to a wide range of information that is directly relevant to the contention that the current CBA fails to address the owners' concerns," Smith wrote to Goodell in 2009.
</p><p>
"For example," the letter continued, "the NFL and the teams do not provide the NFLPA with their audited financial statements detailing the profit (loss) information for the teams. We also lack the information to discern the profits (losses) per regular season games, the profit per team per playoff game and other fixed financial non-player costs."
</p><p>
The current collective bargaining agreement dates back to 2006, but owners exercised an opt-out clause in 2008. The deal was set to expire last week, but two extensions now have pushed the cutoff to the end of Friday.
</p><p>
Wednesday's meeting with a federal mediator is the 14th since Feb. 18.
</p><p>
Commissioner Roger Goodell was joined by three members of the owners' 10-person labor committee: Art Rooney II of the Pittsburgh Steelers, John Mara of the New York Giants, and Clark Hunt of the Kansas City Chiefs. More owners are expected to attend on Thursday.
</p><p>
No active players were seen entering the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service on Wednesday, a departure from past sessions. Smith generally has been accompanied by four or more current players each day.
</p><p>
Another person who hasn't attended mediation this week: top NFLPA outside lawyer Jeffrey Kessler, who has been working at the union's headquarters about three blocks away.
</p><p>
With various issues under discussion, the crux of the labor dispute is how to split more than $9 billion in annual revenues. NFLPA executive committee member Scott Fujita, a linebacker for the Cleveland Browns, said Tuesday that what the NFL has turned over to the union so far "hasn't been sufficient."
</p><p>
One key question is what cut team owners should get up front to help cover costs such as stadium construction and improvement. Under the old deal, owners received more than $1 billion off the top. They entered these negotiations seeking to add another $1 billion to that amount, before other revenues are divided with players.
</p><p>
"We've got a long ways to go, but as long as we stay at it, we've got a chance of getting an agreement done," Pash said before Wednesday's mediation.
</p><p>
If a deal isn't reached by Friday, the sides could agree to another extension. Or talks could break off, leading to, possibly, a lockout by owners or antitrust lawsuits by players.
</p><p>
"The commissioner said 'talking is better than litigating.' Talking is better than, you know, going to DEFCON 3 or whatever term I've heard thrown around," Pash said. "So let's keep at it."</p>
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