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Updated: July 21, 2011, 11:20 AM ET
NFL sides still talking before meeting
ESPN.com news services
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell maintained contact with NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith throughout Wednesday evening and Thursday morning in one-on-one phone conversations to iron out remaining issues in the bargaining process, a league source told ESPN's Sal Paolantonio.
Both sides are hoping to vote on a new collective bargaining agreement sometime Thursday.
At least 24 of 32 owners would need to OK the deal. If it's passed by both sides, team executives would be schooled later Thursday and Friday in Atlanta, where they are meeting, on the deal's guidelines and how to apply them. Clarification would be needed on the 2011 NFL calendar, rookie salary system and new free-agency rules.
Even after all acceptable terms are established, a deal would lead to a collective bargaining agreement only if NFLPA team representatives recommend re-establishing the group as a union, which must be approved by a majority vote of the 1,900 players. Those votes probably would be done by conference call.
Goodell joined the NFL's management council executive committee when it began meeting at 8 a.m. ET in Atlanta, while still staying in contact with Smith via phone.
The committee was joined by the full ownership group at 10:15 a.m. ET.
Players had been expected to vote Wednesday on a full proposal to settle the labor dispute, but they did not.
Player representatives gave Smith and the NFLPA executive committee a "vote of confidence" to finish the remaining deal points in the proposed collective bargaining agreement, a source told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen on Wednesday.
Part of the holdup in taking a vote on the proposed CBA, the source said, was that the player reps did not have a final document to review.
"I know everyone wants to be an expert and say they know exactly what's going on behind closed doors and when this is going to happen," Smith told ESPN Wednesday night. "Both sides know where they stand. Both sides continue to work very intensively, as we have for several weeks. I'm not into the prediction business and I'm not about to get into details, but their side knows what our deal is and, again, we know where they stand."
ESPN national correspondent Sal Paolantonio and ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen contributed to this report. Information from The Associated Press also was used
NFL sides still talking before meeting
ESPN.com news services
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell maintained contact with NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith throughout Wednesday evening and Thursday morning in one-on-one phone conversations to iron out remaining issues in the bargaining process, a league source told ESPN's Sal Paolantonio.
Both sides are hoping to vote on a new collective bargaining agreement sometime Thursday.
At least 24 of 32 owners would need to OK the deal. If it's passed by both sides, team executives would be schooled later Thursday and Friday in Atlanta, where they are meeting, on the deal's guidelines and how to apply them. Clarification would be needed on the 2011 NFL calendar, rookie salary system and new free-agency rules.
Even after all acceptable terms are established, a deal would lead to a collective bargaining agreement only if NFLPA team representatives recommend re-establishing the group as a union, which must be approved by a majority vote of the 1,900 players. Those votes probably would be done by conference call.
Goodell joined the NFL's management council executive committee when it began meeting at 8 a.m. ET in Atlanta, while still staying in contact with Smith via phone.
The committee was joined by the full ownership group at 10:15 a.m. ET.
Players had been expected to vote Wednesday on a full proposal to settle the labor dispute, but they did not.
Player representatives gave Smith and the NFLPA executive committee a "vote of confidence" to finish the remaining deal points in the proposed collective bargaining agreement, a source told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen on Wednesday.
Part of the holdup in taking a vote on the proposed CBA, the source said, was that the player reps did not have a final document to review.
"I know everyone wants to be an expert and say they know exactly what's going on behind closed doors and when this is going to happen," Smith told ESPN Wednesday night. "Both sides know where they stand. Both sides continue to work very intensively, as we have for several weeks. I'm not into the prediction business and I'm not about to get into details, but their side knows what our deal is and, again, we know where they stand."
ESPN national correspondent Sal Paolantonio and ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen contributed to this report. Information from The Associated Press also was used