CBA Extended

The NFL Players Association and the owners have agreed on one thing: they will extend the CBA (collective bargaining agreement) one week.  The deal was originally supposed to end at midnight on Thursday March 3rd, but there was a one day extension granted on that day to see if the two sides could work through some of their issues.  The Players Association and owners will now have until Friday March 11 until the current CBA expires.

One of the options the NFLPA was considering was decertification, which would allow the players to go from mitigation to litigation in the courts under Judge David Doty who has ruled in the player’s favor before.  Right now, the owners and players have a mediator named George Cohen who is serving as a go-between.  Today both sides agreed on extending the current CBA one more week in an effort to get something done in the meantime.

DeMaurice Smith and NFL commissioner Roger Goddell both have alot at stake.  This is both of their first negotiations  having to do with the labor agreement.  Talks will resume Monday, and most agree both sides are still quite a ways from settling.  The main points are still the rookie wage scale, an 18 game season, retitred player health benefits, and the dividing of revenue.

Goddell was quoted as saying, “Talking is better than litigating.”  While Smith is optimistic as well saying, “We look forward to a deal coming out of that (the talks next week).”  Hopefully there will be a lot of progress made in the next week, so no one will have to go without football.