The Jets, Revis and the art of public negotiation

Full disclosure, I’ve been a Jets fan since birth.  Dad had season tickets at Shea.  I saw Joe Namath play.  The family went to Miami so Dad could attend the Super Bowl.  It’s been a long “sufferer” since then.  Nuff said.

So obviously, I’m hanging on every word of the very public negotiation between the Jets, owner Woody Johnson and GM Mike Tannenbaum on one side, and cornerback Darrelle Revis, the coach-proclaimed “best defensive player in the NFL.”

The two sides are still miles apart and the very public contract negotiation reach a head this week with Johnson’s public pronouncement that right now he doesn’t see Revis suiting up in the Jets’ kelly green this season.

So it of course got me thinking, are there any PR/public negotiation lessons that can be learned from this public drama?

• If possible make your CEO the public face:  Jets owner Woody Johnson (of Johnson & Johnson) has become the lead spokesperson for the management.  Why not?  After all it’s his money?  Also, as a respected business person he is framing the conversation as the head of a business organization and not a sports team.  Again after all sports teams are businesses, they need to at least break even and too many times the fans in us forget this.
• Paint as realistic (and sobering) picture as possible:  OK, as a fan it would have been nice to hear that the two sides think things can be worked out.  But as I mentioned above, Johnson laid out the worse case scenario has not only a distinct, but as a likely outcome.  In public relations we called this “setting expectations.”  But letting fans know that it is likely that Revis will not play this year at all, we’ll be thrilled with whatever portion of the season he does play.  Brilliant.
• Be open and transparent:  How many organizations not only play out their negotiations with constant media updates given by C-level people like the owner, GM and coach but also include them as a plot in a reality show?  OK, so not every company is the subject of an HBO reality show like “Hard Knocks,” but in last night episode the Jets showed a public view of what is usually a very private process.

My guess is as the two sides get closer, if that happens, the ranks will close and the public portion of the process will become private but many organizations can learn some lessons from the Jets.  This this point they have controlled the conversation, with their leadership showing strength and have done that in an open and transparent way.

Your thoughts?  Everyone except for Giants, Patriots and Dolphins fans that is….