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Updated: July 25, 2011, 11:48 AM ET
Source: New timeline starts Tuesday
ESPN.com news services
Free-agent and trade negotiations may begin Tuesday and transactions can be filed with the league office Friday at 6 p.m., according to an updated timeline for league business to begin, sources told ESPN.com's John Clayton.
A source at the highest-level had earlier told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter that those talks might begin as soon as Monday afternoon and the league year would have begun Aug. 2, if the NFL Players Association signed off on it.
NFL Transactions Analysis
The free-agent signings and trades will come fast and furious once the lockout ends. ESPN.com's division bloggers will react to all the big moves throughout this frenzied period. Blog
The updated timeline from league sources:
• Monday: The NFL will announce that teams can go to 90-man rosters and the official free-agent list will be distributed to teams.
• Tuesday: Teams can reach agreements with rookies and undrafted free agents beginning at 10 a.m. ET. Teams can reach agreements with all free agents and signed players are allowed to enter team facilities.
• Wednesday: Players can begin reporting to training camps 15 days before their first preseason games. According to the proposed timeline, 10 teams would report on Wednesday, 10 more on Thursday and 10 additional teams on Friday. The New York Jets and Houston Texans would be the last two teams to report, on Sunday.
• Thursday: Teams can begin to cut players at 4 p.m. ET.
• Friday: Teams can begin filing transactions to the league office at 6 p.m. ET.
• Aug. 4: Deadline for recertification and ratification of the collective bargaining agreement by the players.
The NFLPA executive committee began meeting at 11 a.m. Monday in Washington, D.C., and sources said they will recommend approval of the settlement with the NFL's owners.
Mike and Mike in the Morning
ESPN NFL Insider Chris Mortensen says quarterbacks Matt Hasselbeck, Kyle Orton and Vince Young could all be playing for different teams this year. Plus, Mortensen says QB Brett Favre will not be coming back to football.
More Podcasts »
A high-ranking NFLPA executive told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen that lawyers on both sides are finalizing some of the language on the settlement agreement. Members of the NFLPA executive committee and some of the named plaintiffs are in Washington, D.C., on Monday to review the final deal.
Once the lead plaintiffs in the Tom Brady antitrust lawsuit against the NFL and the NFLPA executive committee are comfortable with the final deal, they will then -- along with NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith -- present the final settlement to the 32 player representatives for a vote.
According to the source, it's not going to be a "rubber stamp" vote but players should vote to approve the settlement.
Smith, who hopes to mend fences with NFL's retired players, has a conference call Monday morning with the former players to share with them the gains that they made in this deal, including the unprecedented "legacy fund."
The final process for negotiating the new collective bargaining agreement will begin after the settlement agreement is passed and the NFLPA recertifies as a union. Benefits and health care, handling of grievances and the substance-abuse policy are all things that players will negotiate after they reform as a union, but the lack of a CBA will not hold up 2011 league business from beginning.
Owners overwhelmingly approved a proposal last week, but some unresolved issues still needed to be figured out to satisfy players; the owners do not need to vote again.
The major economic framework for the deal was worked out more than a week ago.
That included how the more than $9 billion in annual league revenues will be divided (about 53 percent to owners and 47 percent to players over the next decade; the old CBA resulted in nearly a 50-50 split); a per-club cap of about $120 million for salary and bonuses in 2011 -- and at least that in 2012 and 2013 -- plus about $22 million for benefits; a salary system to rein in spending on first-round draft picks; and unrestricted free agency for most players after four seasons.
Source: New timeline starts Tuesday
ESPN.com news services
Free-agent and trade negotiations may begin Tuesday and transactions can be filed with the league office Friday at 6 p.m., according to an updated timeline for league business to begin, sources told ESPN.com's John Clayton.
A source at the highest-level had earlier told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter that those talks might begin as soon as Monday afternoon and the league year would have begun Aug. 2, if the NFL Players Association signed off on it.
NFL Transactions Analysis
The free-agent signings and trades will come fast and furious once the lockout ends. ESPN.com's division bloggers will react to all the big moves throughout this frenzied period. Blog
The updated timeline from league sources:
• Monday: The NFL will announce that teams can go to 90-man rosters and the official free-agent list will be distributed to teams.
• Tuesday: Teams can reach agreements with rookies and undrafted free agents beginning at 10 a.m. ET. Teams can reach agreements with all free agents and signed players are allowed to enter team facilities.
• Wednesday: Players can begin reporting to training camps 15 days before their first preseason games. According to the proposed timeline, 10 teams would report on Wednesday, 10 more on Thursday and 10 additional teams on Friday. The New York Jets and Houston Texans would be the last two teams to report, on Sunday.
• Thursday: Teams can begin to cut players at 4 p.m. ET.
• Friday: Teams can begin filing transactions to the league office at 6 p.m. ET.
• Aug. 4: Deadline for recertification and ratification of the collective bargaining agreement by the players.
The NFLPA executive committee began meeting at 11 a.m. Monday in Washington, D.C., and sources said they will recommend approval of the settlement with the NFL's owners.
Mike and Mike in the Morning
ESPN NFL Insider Chris Mortensen says quarterbacks Matt Hasselbeck, Kyle Orton and Vince Young could all be playing for different teams this year. Plus, Mortensen says QB Brett Favre will not be coming back to football.
More Podcasts »
A high-ranking NFLPA executive told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen that lawyers on both sides are finalizing some of the language on the settlement agreement. Members of the NFLPA executive committee and some of the named plaintiffs are in Washington, D.C., on Monday to review the final deal.
Once the lead plaintiffs in the Tom Brady antitrust lawsuit against the NFL and the NFLPA executive committee are comfortable with the final deal, they will then -- along with NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith -- present the final settlement to the 32 player representatives for a vote.
According to the source, it's not going to be a "rubber stamp" vote but players should vote to approve the settlement.
Smith, who hopes to mend fences with NFL's retired players, has a conference call Monday morning with the former players to share with them the gains that they made in this deal, including the unprecedented "legacy fund."
The final process for negotiating the new collective bargaining agreement will begin after the settlement agreement is passed and the NFLPA recertifies as a union. Benefits and health care, handling of grievances and the substance-abuse policy are all things that players will negotiate after they reform as a union, but the lack of a CBA will not hold up 2011 league business from beginning.
Owners overwhelmingly approved a proposal last week, but some unresolved issues still needed to be figured out to satisfy players; the owners do not need to vote again.
The major economic framework for the deal was worked out more than a week ago.
That included how the more than $9 billion in annual league revenues will be divided (about 53 percent to owners and 47 percent to players over the next decade; the old CBA resulted in nearly a 50-50 split); a per-club cap of about $120 million for salary and bonuses in 2011 -- and at least that in 2012 and 2013 -- plus about $22 million for benefits; a salary system to rein in spending on first-round draft picks; and unrestricted free agency for most players after four seasons.