FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- A subdued NFL commissioner Roger Goodell insisted that the owners do not want a lockout in 2011 and will make every effort to reach an agreement with the NFL Players Association before the contract expires.

"The idea that ownership would be anxious for a work stoppage is absolutely false," Goodell said Friday during his annual state of the league news conference. "You don't make money by shutting down your business. It's a bad scenario for everybody.

"I can assure you the ownership and I believe the players -- in talking to individual players -- want to get an agreement and want to work to do that."

Goodell, in contrast to the evangelical news conference held by NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith, was low-key when asked to respond to Smith's claims that the owners are asking the players to take an 18-percent cut from the current 60 percent they currently receive under the contract that runs through March 2011.

"It's difficult to negotiate these things in these kinds of forums," said Goodell, who all but confirmed the union's claim by saying, "We've asked for very clearly 18 percent cost recognition so that when investments are made to grow the game and generate revenue, they're given recognition.

"If we sit at the table, I think we can recognize that with a proper system that recognizes the investment it takes, that ultimately we can get to a system that will allow all the benefits to be shared by the players and by the owners and the fans."

Goodell said the NFL is still opposed to opening its books, unlike the NHL and NBA, which did in their last negotiations.

"Unfortunately opening books is not the Holy Grail," Goodell said. "Both those leagues went into lockouts and extended lockouts. Our players have a tremendous amount of the economic data. We have shared that data with them and will continue to share.

Goodell said of the crucial figures since the current collective bargaining agreement was reached in 2006: "We have generated $3.6 billion in incremental revenue, additional revenue, [and] $2.6 billion of that has gone to the players. The owners are actually $200 million worse off than they were in 2006. The costs have risen dramatically, not only in player costs but also outside of that, and the economics really aren't working."

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