According to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown is one of two owners who are on the NFL labor committee who are not present at Thursday's negotiation with players in an attempt to bring the lockout to an end.

Mike Brown and Broncos owner Pat Bowlen are the only two owners on the labor committee who aren't present at negotiations. The owners that are in attendance are John Mara (Giants), Jerry Jones (Cowboys), Clark Hunt (Chiefs), Mark Murphy (Packers), Dean Spanos (Chargers), Jerry Richardson (Panthers), Robert Kraft (Patriots) and Art Rooney (Steelers). 

Furthermore, Florio writes that neither Bowlen nor Brown have been directly involved in negotiations lately. 

While Brown may have personal reasons for being uninvolved in the CBA negotiation process lately, we wonder if there is a different reason that Brown isn't involved.

Is it possible that Brown's reputation as a penny pincher and as a staunch businessman convey the wrong impression to the players that the owners are trying to make a deal with? Is it possible that Brown, who was reportedly against the raising of the salary floor, doesn't want to be involved with negotiations?

The eight owners in attendance make up the largest amount present for negotiations in six weeks and it's weird to me that in this stage of negotiations that Brown, being a member of the labor committee, isn't involved. It's likely that his absence means absolutely nothing at all, but it's also possible that it could mean something. We'll probably never know.

What we do know is that the lockout needs to come to an end soon so we can actually write about something real.