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NFL owners and players wrapped up two days of face-to-face talks Thursday afternoon at a resort in Hull, Mass., which is 18 miles south of Boston.
Face-to-face negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement are expected to resume next week, sources told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen. However, the sides have continued to work on issues outside their formal meetings, and that is expected to remain the protocol.
A source told ESPN's Sal Paolantonio that Wednesday's talks were "very fruitful" and the expectation is that discussions will continue until a deal is reached.
"We are headed in the right direction," the source said. "There is a desire on both sides to reach an agreement sooner rather than later."
The talks took place at the Nantasket Beach Resort, which released a statement Thursday saying "they had a great stay with us and hopefully had a productive series of meetings at the resort."
The two sides have exchanged proposals on a variety of issues after meetings over the last three weeks. The main topic has been how to divide revenues -- $9.3 billion last year -- and league owners were briefed this week on a plan that would give the players 48 percent of total income. An off-the-top expense credit of about $1 billion that went to the owners would be eliminated.
Players believe they can justify a 48 percent take because of the projected revenue growth, as well as built-in mechanisms that require teams to spend close to 100 percent of the salary cap, a source told ESPN.com's John Clayton. The mandatory minimum spending increase is an element that concerns lower-revenue clubs, sources say.
For example, if the 2011 salary cap is determined to be $120 million, a team would have to have a cash payroll of close to that amount. In the previous collective bargaining agreement, the team payroll floor was less than 90 percent of the salary cap and was only in cap figures, not cash.
Among the topics that have not been on the front burner but are now being discussed are a rookie wage scale and a more specific breakdown of benefits for retired players.
Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay has become the point person for the NFL in discussions with the NFLPA on how the two sides should structure rookie salaries.
In Wednesday's negotiations, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and his negotiating team were able to share some of the feedback from Tuesday's Chicago owners' meetings with NFLPA leader DeMaurice Smith and his team -- specifically the owners' response to the framework of a new deal presented by Goodell.
Smith scheduled a noon ET conference call with team player representatives to update them on where the talks stand, one of the player reps told ESPN. It is not known yet what message Smith delivered to the players.
If and when an agreement is reached, all players whose contracts have expired and have four or more years of experience are expected to be unrestricted free agents, sources familiar with the talks told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. Certain tags will be retained, but that still is being discussed.
Thursday is Day 100 of the lockout, which is the NFL's first work stoppage since 1987 and the longest in league history.
NFL owners and players wrapped up two days of face-to-face talks Thursday afternoon at a resort in Hull, Mass., which is 18 miles south of Boston.
Face-to-face negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement are expected to resume next week, sources told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen. However, the sides have continued to work on issues outside their formal meetings, and that is expected to remain the protocol.
A source told ESPN's Sal Paolantonio that Wednesday's talks were "very fruitful" and the expectation is that discussions will continue until a deal is reached.
"We are headed in the right direction," the source said. "There is a desire on both sides to reach an agreement sooner rather than later."
The talks took place at the Nantasket Beach Resort, which released a statement Thursday saying "they had a great stay with us and hopefully had a productive series of meetings at the resort."
The two sides have exchanged proposals on a variety of issues after meetings over the last three weeks. The main topic has been how to divide revenues -- $9.3 billion last year -- and league owners were briefed this week on a plan that would give the players 48 percent of total income. An off-the-top expense credit of about $1 billion that went to the owners would be eliminated.
Players believe they can justify a 48 percent take because of the projected revenue growth, as well as built-in mechanisms that require teams to spend close to 100 percent of the salary cap, a source told ESPN.com's John Clayton. The mandatory minimum spending increase is an element that concerns lower-revenue clubs, sources say.
For example, if the 2011 salary cap is determined to be $120 million, a team would have to have a cash payroll of close to that amount. In the previous collective bargaining agreement, the team payroll floor was less than 90 percent of the salary cap and was only in cap figures, not cash.
Among the topics that have not been on the front burner but are now being discussed are a rookie wage scale and a more specific breakdown of benefits for retired players.
Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay has become the point person for the NFL in discussions with the NFLPA on how the two sides should structure rookie salaries.
In Wednesday's negotiations, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and his negotiating team were able to share some of the feedback from Tuesday's Chicago owners' meetings with NFLPA leader DeMaurice Smith and his team -- specifically the owners' response to the framework of a new deal presented by Goodell.
Smith scheduled a noon ET conference call with team player representatives to update them on where the talks stand, one of the player reps told ESPN. It is not known yet what message Smith delivered to the players.
If and when an agreement is reached, all players whose contracts have expired and have four or more years of experience are expected to be unrestricted free agents, sources familiar with the talks told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. Certain tags will be retained, but that still is being discussed.
Thursday is Day 100 of the lockout, which is the NFL's first work stoppage since 1987 and the longest in league history.
