NFL owners approved a proposed 10-year labor agreement with the NFL Players Association on Thursday, leaving the potential end to the league's lockout in the hands of the players' vote Friday.
Owners voted 31-0 to accept the proposed collective bargaining agreement, with the Oakland Raiders abstaining, after a full day of meetings at an Atlanta-area hotel.
Highlights Of Proposed CBA
Details of the proposed collective bargaining agreement approved by the owners and needing ratification by NFL players:
• Ten-year deal, through the 2020 season
• New league year would begin on Wednesday
• Players receive 48 percent of revenue in first portion of deal
• $120 million salary cap; team minimum 89 percent ($106.8M) as long as league spends 99 percent ($3.8 billion)
• Veterans earn free agency after fourth season
• Four-year rookie contracts, with team option for fifth year
• Lower rookie salaries, with cap on team spending for rookies
• Later training camps, no more full-contact, two-a-day practices
• Offseason team activities (OTAs) reduced from 14 to nine
Revised July Dates In Proposed CBA
Saturday
• Voluntary training, conditioning and classroom instruction permitted until first day of clubs' preseason camps.
• Pre-2011 league year period commences. 2011 free agency list to be issued and will become effective on the first day of the 2011 league year (July 27).
• Clubs/players may begin to renegotiate contracts. Clubs may begin to sign drafted rookies and their own UFAs, RFAs, exclusive rights players and franchise players.
• Waivers begin for the 2011 league year.
• Starting at 2 p.m. ET, clubs may negotiate with, but not sign, undrafted rookie free agents, free agents, and other clubs' UFAs, RFAs, and franchise players.
Sunday
• Starting at 2 p.m ET, clubs may begin to sign undrafted rookie free agents.
Wednesday
• 2011 league year commences at 2 p.m. ET, provided NFLPA has ratified CBA.
• Free agency signing period begins. Clubs may sign free agents and other clubs' UFAs.
• Clubs may sign offer sheets.
• Trading period begins.
• All clubs must be under the salary cap.
• Top 51 rule applies.
• Rosters expanded to 90-man limit.
• Training camps open for all clubs, provided NFLPA has ratified CBA. Day 1 activities limited to physicals, meetings, and conditioning. No pads permitted on Day 2 or Day 3.
The NFLPA executive committee and NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith saw the details approved by the NFL owners late Thursday night, and told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen they expect to have a player vote Friday.
A conference call Thursday between Smith, the executive committee and team representatives wrapped up without a vote on the owners' proposal being taken, a source told ESPN.com's John Clayton.
"This has been a long and tenuous process," Carolina Panthers kicker John Kasay said in an email obtained by ESPN. "... We all have to be patient and make sure that we get the right deal for us."
In their proposal, the owners told players that they must re-establish their union quickly for the proposed CBA to stand. The NFL also said it wanted evidence by Tuesday that a majority of players have signed union authorization cards.
"Hopefully, we can all work quickly, expeditiously, to get this agreement done," commissioner Roger Goodell said. "It is time to get back to football. That's what everybody here wants to do."
However, Smith wrote in an email to the 32 player representatives shortly after the owners' decision: "Issues that need to be collectively bargained remain open; other issues, such as workers' compensation, economic issues and end of deal terms, remain unresolved. There is no agreement between the NFL and the players at this time."
Under the conditions of the owners' proposal, the players would have Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of next week to try to bargain any changes to the old CBA. Any changes would have to be agreed to by owners in order to be incorporated into the agreement, which would then become final July 30. If the NFL does not agree to the players' proposed changes, the old CBA terms on issues such as benefits, discipline and safety will remain unchanged for another 10 years.
Multiple owners, however, insisted both sides had reached an agreement.
"That's baffling to me," Panthers owner Jerry Richardson told ESPN's Sal Paolantonio. "We believe we have handshake agreement with the players."
"We believe we have an agreement," added New York Giants owner John Mara. "Now it's up to the players."
Shortly after results of the owners' vote was announced, Smith told ESPN that team representatives would examine the agreement. A major issue is how to start the voting process for the 1,900 players who have to decide if they want to vote in a recertified union.
A high-ranking NFLPA executive committee member told Mortensen that the owners' approval "puts the onus on players to make a decision to agree -- paints us into a corner with fans. We'll discuss tonight but the idea of reconstituting as a union has never been a slam dunk as the owners have already assumed."
Said another high-ranking NFLPA official: "We are not happy here. We had to honor to not vote on an agreement that was not final (Wednesday). This is not over. This actually takes away incentives from players to vote yes tonight."
Goodell said team training facilities would open Saturday and the new league year would begin Wednesday, contingent on the NFLPA's recertification. The likely start of training camps is estimated to be Aug. 1, sources said.
The proposed CBA has no opt-out clauses for either side, meaning there would be labor peace until 2021 if the NFLPA ratifies the deal.
Goodell also announced cancellation of the Aug. 7 Hall of Fame preseason game between the St. Louis Rams and Chicago Bears.
"The time was just too tight," Goodell said. "Unfortunately, we're not going to be able to play the game this year."
Smith and Goodell on Thursday were working to impose certain conditions to immediately lift the lockout if the two sides approve a deal tonight, according to sources.
NFL Labor Negotiations and Lockout
The NFL lockout began March 11, but an end appears near. ESPN.com Topics keeps you up to date on all the latest on the labor situation. More »
NFLPA sources say league lawyers Bob Batterman and Gregg Levy were pushing for the condition that the lockout remain in effect until the players recertify as a union. However, there was more dialogue between Goodell and Smith throughout the day to build a trust that in the event the players approve the agreement later Thursday, the lockout could be immediately lifted if the players also agree to recertify as a union.
Smith said the decision to recertify as a union wouldn't be taken lightly, just as the choice to decertify in March was taken seriously "because we were a real union" -- taking a shot at owners' claims that the NFLPA's decertification was a "sham."
"The decision to decertify as a union was a significant one," Smith said. "Every individual person has to make a decision on whether they want to become part of a union. The individual decisions are something that our players take extremely serious."
The players were unable to negotiate a one-time only application of the franchise tag, which is something that was of particular interest to the plaintiffs in the Brady vs. NFL antitrust case.
An NFLPA official said: "Are we happy with that result? No. Is it worth hanging up a deal with 1,900 players? No. The tag has had very few multiple uses and does carry some financial rewards for players. Not allowing more transition tags, via right of first refusal, was a big victory. That would have impact more free agents than franchise tags."
On abstaining from the owners' vote, Raiders CEO Amy Trask told NFL.com: "We had profound philosophical differences of a football and an economic nature," adding, "we voted the way we thought was appropriate."
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