WASHINGTON A member of the players negotiating team says the union and the NFL have agreed to a 24-hour extension in labor talks.

Just hours before the end of the NFLs collective bargaining agreement, due to expire at midnight on Thursday, NFLPA executive committee member Jeff Saturday said the two sides opted to continue discussions aimed at maintaining the labor peace that the NFL has enjoyed since 1987.


The league and players union were meeting for a 10th day with mediator George Cohen.


Without a new CBA, the most popular sports league in America could lock out its players. The union also could decertify and have the players take their labor fight with the league to court.


The NFL has said in recent weeks it would not rule out pushing back the deadline if the parties were making progress in negotiations. Just before the Super Bowl, NFL lead negotiator Jeff Pash said: If youre making progress, you can stop the clock. Its not a Thelma & Louise-type situation, where you just go over the cliff.


Even President Barack Obama weighed in on the NFLs labor situation Thursday, when asked if he would intervene in the dispute.


Im a big football fan, Obama said, but I also think that for an industry thats making $9 billion a year in revenue, they can figure out how to divide it up in a sensible way and be true to their fans, who are the ones who obviously allow for all the money that theyre making. So my expectation and hope is that they will resolve it without me intervening, because it turns out Ive got a lot of other stuff to do.


With the clock ticking down, commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFLs negotiating team arrived at a federal mediators headquarters about 45 minutes ahead of NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith and his group.


Were working hard, Goodell said.


Also on hand for the NFL were Pash, outside counsel Bob Batterman, Green Bay Packers president Mark Murphy, New York Giants owner John Mara, Washington Redskins general manager Bruce Allen and several other league executives. Mara and Murphy are members of the leagues labor committee, which has the authority to call for a lockout if a new agreement isnt reached by midnight.

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Well stay at it as long as it takes, Pash said.

The sides no longer have months or weeks or days to reach a new CBA. If they dont get it done now, the league could see its 2011 season jeopardized, the first time in nearly a quarter-century that games could be lost to a labor dispute.

Since the 1987 players strike that shortened the season to 15 games with three of those games featuring nonunion replacement players there has been labor peace in the NFL. The foundation of the current CBA was reached in 1993 by then-commissioner Paul Tagliabue and union chief Gene Upshaw. It has been extended five times as revenues soared, the league expanded to 32 profitable teams, and new stadiums were built across America to house them.

The contract extension reached in 2006 was the final major act for Tagliabue, who then retired, succeeded by Goodell. An opt-out clause for each side was included in that deal, and the owners exercised it in May 2008 three months before Upshaw died.

Smith replaced Upshaw in March 2009.

Joining Smith at the mediation session Thursday were union president Kevin Mawae, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees and about a dozen others, including current and former players.

The biggest sticking point all along has been how to divide the leagues revenues, including what cut team owners should get up front to help cover certain costs, such as stadium construction. Under the old deal, owners received about $1 billion off the top. They entered these negotiations seeking to add another $1 billion to that.

Among the other significant topics: a rookie wage scale; the owners push to expand the regular season from 16 games to 18 while reducing the preseason by two games; and benefits for retired players.

Rep. Jon Runyan, R-N.J., a former offensive lineman for the Philadelphia Eagles, said he was optimistic the two sides could reach an agreement without a stop in play.

I dont think either of them benefit from having a true lockout. And quite frankly, that business doesnt hit the ground running until August anyway, so they have a long time to figure it out, Runyan said.

Asked about the midnight deadline, he predicted, Theyll probably push it back.

Well stay at it as long as it takes, Pash said.


The sides no longer have months or weeks or days to reach a new CBA. If they dont get it done now, the league could see its 2011 season jeopardized, the first time in nearly a quarter-century that games could be lost to a labor dispute.


Since the 1987 players strike that shortened the season to 15 games with three of those games featuring nonunion replacement players there has been labor peace in the NFL. The foundation of the current CBA was reached in 1993 by then-commissioner Paul Tagliabue and union chief Gene Upshaw. It has been extended five times as revenues soared, the league expanded to 32 profitable teams, and new stadiums were built across America to house them.


The contract extension reached in 2006 was the final major act for Tagliabue, who then retired, succeeded by Goodell. An opt-out clause for each side was included in that deal, and the owners exercised it in May 2008 three months before Upshaw died.


Smith replaced Upshaw in March 2009.


Joining Smith at the mediation session Thursday were union president Kevin Mawae, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees and about a dozen others, including current and former players.


The biggest sticking point all along has been how to divide the leagues revenues, including what cut team owners should get up front to help cover certain costs, such as stadium construction. Under the old deal, owners received about $1 billion off the top. They entered these negotiations seeking to add another $1 billion to that.


Among the other significant topics: a rookie wage scale; the owners push to expand the regular season from 16 games to 18 while reducing the preseason by two games; and benefits for retired players.


Rep. Jon Runyan, R-N.J., a former offensive lineman for the Philadelphia Eagles, said he was optimistic the two sides could reach an agreement without a stop in play.


I dont think either of them benefit from having a true lockout. And quite frankly, that business doesnt hit the ground running until August anyway, so they have a long time to figure it out, Runyan said.


Asked about the midnight deadline, he predicted, Theyll probably push it back.

GBPressGazette wrote:

I hope you're right, Pack. You mentioned a couple days ago that you thought the whole thing might get resolved soon, and at the time I hadn't heard anyone else say that. What happened today suggests that you may be onto something.

I agree that the Doty ruling was more damaging to the owners than has been generally acknowledged. If there's going to be a quick resolution, the balance needed to tip toward the players, at least initially, and that's exactly what has happened.

"Greg C." wrote:

Deadline move to the 11th.. and that will pretty much seal the deal that they will have it knocked out by then.

My guess.. the players need to examine the financial docs that the owners turned over.. and that will lead to a common ground on the money.

No 18 game season.

A rookie cap.

4th year limit on RFA

Franchise tag will survive but be altered some.. guessing no consecutive years tagging a sole player.

Bumped up benefits for the retired players of some sort.. but probably won't satisfy the likes of Ditka.. etc.

"Pack93z" wrote:

WASHINGTON While the NFL Players Association and owners remain far apart on the most critical issue how to split approximately $9 billion in revenues the two sides have reached agreements on a couple of smaller issues.

According to two sources familiar with the negotiations, the league and the union have reached a basic compromise on a rookie wage scale that will replace the current rookie salary cap. The owners backed off the idea of requiring first-round picks to sign five-year deals, instead limiting the contracts to four years before a player could become a free agent. The agreement is also expected to include a stipulation limiting the amount of guaranteed money and signing bonus offered to draft picks.

In addition, the league agreed that all players drafted after the first round would be limited to three-year deals, but teams would be allowed to put restricted free agent tags after the three years. Thats essentially similar to the current process where players can be tagged as restricted free agents after a three-year deal, although the existing rule allows players drafted after the first round to sign four-year pacts.

The key change is for the players in the first round. Currently, the first 16 players taken in the first round can sign for up to six years. The next 16 players taken can sign up to five years.

The reason the union wanted shorter deals is that it allows good players to get to free agency faster. While the owners and players agreed that high picks such as quarterbacks JaMarcus Russell(notes), Matthew Stafford(notes) and Sam Bradford(notes) were paid too much under the old system, it was important to the union that good players who proved themselves got a chance to cash in faster and avoid the risks of injury. Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson and Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley(notes) are among recent late first-rounders or second-round picks who have sought (and in the case of Johnson, was granted) new contracts because they felt they had outperformed their rookie deals.

In the process, the NFL backed off its desire for what would have been potentially onerous contracts. For instance, the leagues first proposal called for the top pick in the draft to get a maximum five-year, $19 million deal. Only $6 million of that would have been guaranteed. The deal would have included no bonuses for play time or achievement, such as making the Pro Bowl.

That would have been in stark contrast to the six-year, $72 million deal that Bradford received last year. That deal included $50 million guaranteed.

We all saw the problem with the current system, but you have to give a guy a chance to get paid if hes a good player, one source said. After three years, you pretty much know if a guy is a good player.

In addition to the rookie wage scale, the NFLPA is also expected to agree on stronger language to allow teams to recoup money from players who get in trouble with the law, such as then-Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick(notes) or Plaxico Burress(notes) with the New York Giants. In the Vick case, he was allowed to keep approximately $20 million in signing-bonus money despite going to prison for dog-fighting and related charges.

In essence, the NFLPA received strong support from other players who said that players such as Vick and Burress should not be allowed to keep money in those situations.

Any movement toward the new CBA is a good thing. Yesterday I was wondering why they don't get some of the easier items finalized and then move on to work on the harder issue. I guess they have been doing that without notifying me. Oh well.

The new rookie caps may well effect QBs the most. In the past teams could draft a QB and let him sit on the bench for a few years. (Like ARod) It has been shown that taking a young QB and throwing him into the starters job on a weak team in many cases has not helped his development.
If the old theory that it takes 3 years to develop a QB is accurate and the QB is selected in the 2nd round. He could be a free agent and looking for a new team and a chance to be a starter before his original team has the opportunity to have him become their full time starting QB.
It will be interesting to see how the new CBA changes things.

"wpr" wrote: