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SPORTS Thursday 27 February 2020
NFL, players move closer to new CBA, but deal not done yet

By DAVE CAMPBELL new round of broadcast until a new CBA is ratified.
AP Pro Football Writer rights. When talks stalled That's important because
The NFL and its players during the previous itera- of certain, unique rules for
have moved closer to a tion of CBA discussions, the the final year of the CBA,
new collective bargaining league wound up initiating including how teams can
agreement and the next a lockout at the start of the use franchise and transi-
decade of labor peace 2011 league year. Players tion tags on players whose
that would come with it. disbanded the union in or- contracts have expired.
If the process is at first-and- der to sue the NFL in federal The window for tagging will
goal now, though, there's court, before the two sides open Thursday, two days
still work to be done to get ultimately came together later than originally sched-
into the end zone. that summer and struck the uled, and close the week
With a late-night vote, on deal for the current CBA before free agency begins
the slim majority approval without any games lost and March 18. If a new CBA is
of the 32 team represen- just a slight delay for the enacted before then, the
tatives, the NFL Players As- opening of training camps. new rules would supersede
sociation was preparing According to a person with the old ones. In this Dec. 8, 2019, file photo, Seattle Seahawks quarterback
Wednesday to send the knowledge of the nego- "If there's a CBA done, we Russell Wilson speaks during a news conference after an NFL
current CBA proposal to tiations, speaking on condi- can do certain things, and football game against the Los Angeles Rams in Los Angeles.
the full union membership tion of anonymity because if there's not, we're going to Associated Press
for potential ratification. of their confidential nature, play under these rules and always look at. We put po- you know, the negotiating
"There will be white smoke the NFL and the NFLPA we can do these things," tential guys that we might period is a couple weeks
when there is white smoke," agreed Wednesday to Detroit Lions general man- go after, put them in both away, so we'll kind of see
NFLPA president Eric Win- operate the offseason for ager Bob Quinn said at the buckets and kind of see what the market is on some
ston told reporters in In- now under the provisions combine. "So we have kind how they kind of shape up of these positions we'll go
dianapolis during the NFL of the current agreement of two scenarios that we in terms of contracts. But as after."q
scouting combine.
"The one thing we're not
doing is rushing though
this thing. Every 'I' will be
dotted, every 'T' will be
crossed, and when that
happens, that happens."
The NFLPA's 11-member ex-
ecutive board initially vot-
ed down the proposal last
week by a slim majority, an
indication of mixed feelings
within the ranks that count
more than 2,000 players.
Though a simple majority
of votes cast among the
membership is the only re-
quirement for ratification,
plenty of players have spo-
ken in opposition to the
current proposal.
"We should not rush the next
10 years for today's satis-
faction," Seattle Seahawks
quarterback Russell Wilson
said Wednesday on Twitter
as he declared he'd vote
no and, in a familiar re-
frain from NFL players over
the years, referenced the
benefits and protections
of NBA and MLB players as
benchmarks for the NFLPA
to aim for.
The owners, however,
have so far indicated dis-
interest in reopening ne-
gotiations. The current
CBA expires after the 2020
season, but getting a deal
done so far ahead of time
would give the league
better leverage with the
various television networks
and media platforms in
negotiating deals for a