The NFL owners met in Chicago on Tuesday to discuss labor issues. It was also the opportunity to voice concerns and get everyone on the same page as to where negotiations are headed. As a result, some information came out that give us a sneak peak into what the new CBA will include when the players and owners come to an agreement and end the current lockout that is closing in on four months in length.
Here are the key components:
- The revenue share will be 48 percent of all revenues for the players, minus any miscellaneous agreed upon credits for things like stadium building. The percentage, though will not go below 46.5. The owners will no longer take a billion off the top before splitting.
- Players not under contract after three seasons will be restricted free agents and unrestricted after four, as it was before the uncapped 2010 season.
- The salary floor will, at least to start, will be very close to the salary cap (approximately 90 percent).
- The 18-game schedule will be something that will be negotiated in the future and cannot be mandated by the league.
- Starting in 2012, there will be a 16-week Thursday night TV game.
- There will be some sort of rookie wage scale.
It seems that the owners are united on this front and, while there was no vote for the proposal to move forward, it appears that things are moving the way they should. There is tempered optimism as the commissioner Roger Goodell has said "there is still much to do" and league counsel Jeff Pash believes that it will take "a significant amount of time with the players" to get a deal done, but they are willing to do what it takes.
For more coverage on the NFL lockout, visit SB Nation and Revenge of the Birds, where also you can everything related to the Arizona Cardinals.