The proposal for the new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the NFL and the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) has moved past another hurdle. Members of the NFLPA executive committee, including San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman, met for hours on Tuesday with NFL owners in Indianapolis, and the majority approved a measure to pass the proposal on to the nearly 2,000 union players across the league.
The vote to pass the proposal on to players was 17 for and 14 against with one member abstaining, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
A few notes on NFLPA reps voting overnight to pass along proposed CBA to all players:
- Vote was 17-14 (1 abstained)
- Owners agreed to remove $250K cap on 17th game check for existing contracts, but rejected proposal to shorten offseason
- Timing of final vote to ratify TBD
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 26, 2020
A majority vote is needed from the NFL players for the new CBA proposal to pass, which is expected to happen. It is not yet known when that vote will take place, but the NFL hopes to have a new deal in place for the start of the new league year on March 18.
— NFLPA (@NFLPA) February 26, 2020
The terms of the new proposed CBA were already agreed to by NFL owners during a negotiation session last week in New York. In includes the option to increase the regular season by one game per team, creating a 17-game schedule, which many among the NFLPA executive committee opposed.
RELATED Breakdown of the proposed NFL-NFLPA CBA terms
NFLPA representatives asked for the removal of the schedule modification, which NFL owners denied, per Pelissero. They did, however, approve the removal of the $250,000 cap on game 17 paychecks for any player whose deal was negotiated prior to a 17-game schedule implementation.
Sherman said earlier this month that players would remain against an increase to the current 16-game regular-season format, and the NFL pushing the issue would only delay a new agreement.
"I don't think it's something that players are interested in, honestly," Sherman said earlier this month, "and if that's the point they are negotiating on, I think these negotiations are going to go a lot longer than anticipated."
The idea that this might be the best proposal the players will receive, mostly because it will maximize revenue by allowing early negotiations for future television rights and, therefore, money for players and preventing a future player lockout, was reportedly pushed by the NFLPA.
The NFL locked out players for several months during the 2011 offseason before the current CBA was finally agreed to on July 25, 2011.
H/t to Patrick Tulini for the find.