Don’t panic about there being no football for any length of time next year just yet. The NFLPA and the owners have reportedly agreed to push back the expiration of the current CBA another 7 days, till next Friday. They will apparently take the weekend off before resuming talks on Monday. The fact that they’ve agreed to that kind of extension means, in my estimation, that they’re close on the meat and potatoes of an agreement but there’s a lot of i’s to dot and t’s to cross. That doesn’t mean that talks couldn’t break down or that numerous challenges don’t lie ahead in coming to a resolution, but we have to feel good as fans about the fact that something that looked incredibly bleak now at least shows promise.
Per Adam Schefter of ESPN’s twitter account:
“7 day extension confirmed. Talks through next Friday at 5 pm. Mediation likely to continue Monday.”
“And no roster moves will be permitted during the deadline extension to next Friday at 5 pm. Extension only to try to negotiate a new CBA.”
The fact that they are still talking has to be very encouraging, because I can’t imagine there’s any way either side would agree to push a deadline back 8 days unless they felt A. things were close and B. they were desperate to make sure a deal gets done. Now we just have to hope 7 more days will be enough time to lock in a new CBA so we can focus on more fun things like the NFL draft and free agency.
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