Meetings of Late: Close to CBA Agreement

Could the NFL lockout be coming to an end?  Meetings were held today in Chicago and there has been optimism in the otherwise private meetings between owners and players.

Both sides are hopeful to reach an agreement in the next couple weeks.  Talks broke off last week as owner’s lawyers were reportedly frustrated that talks hadn’t focused on the issues the owners wanted to address in these negotiations.

Revenue sharing is one of the key issues being discussed in these meetings.  The players were hoping for 48% of the league’s income.  Owners reportedly wanted a billion extra dollars to go there way each season.  The league makes about $9 billion a year.

So, far the collective bargaining agreement is proposed to be for ten years.  Free agency can begin for a player after four years.  Improved benefits for retired players is still being discussed.  It doesn’t look like there will be an 18 game season to my dismay, but to the likings of the players.  Incoming players may not like the rookie wage scale and look out Raiders, but there may be an NFL team moving to Los Angeles.

You can tell that the owners and players hope to get a deal done soon.  Both sides will resume talks on the 22nd in Boston.  But make no mistake, the key issue is revenue sharing.  The owners aren’t going to get as much as they wanted and the players will most likely no longer get the 60% of the league’s annual revenue they were getting before.  One thing that may be of interest to fans is more Thursday night football.  We’ll see when this comes to an end, but everyone players, owners, and fans will gain something when this done.