The NFL owners after a meeting of their own in Chicago went to Boston Wednesday and hammered out their agenda with the Players reps. The latest word is that a deal should be done within 2 weeks, and that apparently there are no more major hiccups to worry about.
What changed? Well for starters the 1 Billion dollar expense credit the NFL owners were asking for has been taken off the board. Why? Because the league revenue is about to increase dramatically bringing in more money for both parties involved. There would also be no more “designated revenues” from which the players would share, instead the players get their percentage from the whole pie.
One person who declined to be identified because he is not authorized to speak on anyones behalf said the players share would approach the 50% the NFLPA has said it received throughout the last decade. The ‘pie’ will grow significantly over the course of the new CBA which should be about 6-10 years. So if players are taking 48 Percent or more of a much higher revenue stream, without the NFL deduction for operating expenses (The $1 Billion)- the players would still receive far more money than they got under the previous agreement.
The higher revenue is said to come from a Thursday night game every week soon, and more than likely, from the addition of two more regular season games added to the Fox/ ESPN/ CBS/ NBC contracts.
Both sides are now optimistic about reaching an agreement after owners were briefed on the many details of the new CBA, and they did not even have to carry their meeting into a second day in Chicago like they feared. The lockout started March 12th, and training camps for NFL teams are scheduled to open end of July, with each team scheduling a different day.
The Baltimore Ravens however became the first team to change their Camp Plans; they will hold their camp at their facility near Baltimore rather than take the trip to McDaniel College in Winchester, MD. This means more teams may not take the trip to further locations for camp like they used to. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers used to train in Orlando, but now train here in Tampa at their own facility.
Source- AP Pro Football writer Barry Wilner/ Associated Press; Sports
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