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As the summer of the lockout progresses so does optimism that a new collective bargaining agreement can be ratified between the NFL Players Association and team owners by July 21 when league meetings are held in Atlanta. Both sides can consider the negotiations at being in the red zone with a score imminent, while a few issues remain to be worked out. To view the entire collective bargaining agreement (CBA) make sure you have Adobe installed and click here.
There are basically three areas of contention in the contract talks that have kept players locked out since March 11, all involve the rookies drafted in April. Still being hammered out are the contract length of first round rookies as well as their salaries. The current plan will give all first round draftees a four-year contract, plus a one-year option that could be acted upon during the third or fourth year. Owners want the fifth year to be for a fixed amount while the players want the salary set at the average of the top 10 players in that position.
The players wanted the player’s agent to be involved in negotiating salaries for the fifth year, if they are optioned, while the owners want no part of agent negotiations for the optioned year. Additionally, there is conflict on when the rookies would become eligible for free agency. Players believe they should attain that status at the end of their fourth year while the owners want it to be five years.
If July 21 ends up being the ratification date for a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), it means that players will be back to work and in training for the season in time for all preseason games to go on as scheduled. There was some concern about the August 7 Hall of Fame game, between Chicago and St. Louis but the game is likely to go on as scheduled. At the start of the lock out NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had cautioned teams that if games are cancelled, they may have to repay some of the money they received for television rights for any cancelled games.
Most of the major issues, mostly concerning divvying up the revenue and the fleeting thought of extending the season to 18 games have been resolved and in recent days attorneys for both sides have been meeting to structure the language for any new contract.
Should a collective bargaining agreement be ratified as predicted, teams will be under the gun to get several things accomplished in a short period of time. Hopefully, the teams’ front offices have a lot of paperwork in place as there will be little time after the contract is signed, especially when it comes to signing their free agents to new contacts.
Perhaps even more important for the teams will be to have their newly drafted players sign their contracts. Both sides appear to agree that August 23 would be the deadline for new players to sign their contracts to eliminate hold outs. Fewer injuries and better understanding of game plans are expected to be the result of having all of the new players under contract before training camp begins.
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