Category: NFL (Page 118 of 1282)

After talks nearly broke down during the day, NFL Network’s Albert Breer reports that the owners and players made major strides on the revenue split late into Thursday night and early Friday morning.

From Rotoworld.com:

Talks didn’t wrap up until after midnight after they came close to breaking down earlier in the day. Mediator Arthur Boylan has “optimism building a bit,” and it now looks like the revenue split “might not be a major stumbling block” when talks resume next week. Boylan orchestrated a “huge rebound,” writes Breer. That sentiment coincides with a cryptic tweet from CBSSports.com’s Mike Freeman, who suggested football fans should be thanking Boylan as the July 4 holiday weekend begins.

CBS’ Mike Freeman reported Friday morning that the owners had “suddenly reversed course” and were offering “models that had been previously rejected by the players” in terms of the all-important revenue split. But it sounds like Boylan has saved the day and maybe more heartache (I use that term very loosely) for the fans.

As John Paulsen wrote this morning, now isn’t the time for the owners to be reneging on compromises that have already been made. Now isn’t the time to be greedy when so much progress has been made over the last couple of weeks (and so much time has been wasted fighting in court).

While the situation remains as fluid as ever, it still appears as though they’re getting close to signing a new CBA. This is just a hunch on my part, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a deal is completed within the next 2-3 weeks and free agency begins sometime this month. Then things will really get interesting as general managers scramble to fill roster holes and coaches try to get rookies and new players up to speed. Teams with new coaching staffs will certainly have their work cut out for them.

Over the last few weeks, the majority of fans have been under the assumption that the NFL was on the verge of signing a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. That’s because most of the reports on the labor dispute have been positive lately.

Until now, that is.

According to a FOX Sports report, NFLPA head DeMaurice Smith met with a group of players on Tuesday to inform them that the NFL is not nearly as close to signing a new CBA as many say.

Rotoworld.com does a nice job summing up FOX Sports’ findings:

Smith did express optimism in the “under-the-radar” conference call, but told a group of 50 players that recent reports of a close or even done deal are “way off.” According to FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer, problem points include years of service for free agency and money allocated for retirees. “And (those problems are) even before we start talking about splitting the revenue,” one player on the call told Glazer. It sounds like speculation of a CBA just after July 4 has been misinformed. The owners are desperate to get all four preseason games in, however, so we’d still expect a deal before August.

I still think a deal will get done sometime in July. I’m no expert on the situation but it’s my understanding that the framework for a new CBA is already done. Now all the sides have to do is iron out the details (which I understand could take a few more weeks) and put a bow on things.

That said, I don’t blame Smith for managing the players’ expectations. There’s no sense in assuming anything at this point, especially when you consider how fluid these talks have been over the last couple of months. Things could break down rather quickly, so it’s smart of Smith to keep everyone focused until things are official.

At this point, I don’t view FOX’s report as a positive or negative thing. It’s understandable that the two sides still have plenty to work on, but there’s no reason to believe that the situation is as dire as it was a month ago. Again, I’m willing to bet that the CBA will be signed sometime in July and free agency can begin.