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Updated: July 20, 2011, 6:20 PM ET
Source: NFLPA vote held up
By Chris Mortensen
ESPN
NFL Players Association player representatives gave DeMaurice Smith and the executive committee a "vote of confidence" to finish the remaining deal points in the proposed collective bargaining agreement, a source told ESPN's Chris Mortensen, adding the committee will work tonight to try to resolve issues.
Part of the holdup in taking a vote, the source said, was that the player reps did not have a final document to review. The vote could take place by conference call or remote communication, very possibly tomorrow, according to the source, who seemed upbeat.
There were still roughly 20 player representatives in the NFLPA headquarters in Washington D.C. as of 5:30 p.m. ET.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told ESPN's Sal Paolantonio that owners will meet as scheduled Thursday, regardless of whether the players vote, and decide then on the next course of action.
The NFL's Management Council Executive Committee, meanwhile, wrapped their meetings shortly after 6:00 p.m. ET at an Atlanta airport hotel. The meetings, an advance of Thursday's 32-owner session, lasted for roughly five hours. A source told Paolantonio that items on the agenda included discussion of the still-unfinished CBA, transition rules and a calendar for the start of the 2011 season.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft, a member of the 10-person committee, was absent due to the death of his wife, Myra, and according to Paolantonio, his son, Jonathan Kraft, will attend Thursday's meetings in his place. Jonathan Kraft is the president of the Patriots.
Both owners and players have agreed to add three additional provisions the new CBA, a league source told Paolantonio.
• Enhanced injury protection benefit -- In addition to a player's salary in the season he is injured, the player would get up to $1 million for the first year after the injury, and up to $500,000 in the second year.
• Players get to stay in the league-sponsored player medical plan for life, if they so choose.
• An annual increase in minimum salaries for players -- 10 percent increase for rookies, 12 percent for second-year players and the increases will continue throughout the life of the proposed 10-year CBA. That would mean a 10 percent increase in rookie salary for 2011 over the 2010 salary and then a 10 percent increase for rookies in 2012 salary over 2011 salary. Approximately 1,000 of the 1,890 NFL players in 2010 were minimum-salary players, according to the league.
Earlier Wednesday, NFLPA president Kevin Mawae said that the players won't be pressured into agreeing to a deal.
"We're not tied to a timeline of July 21 (when the owners are scheduled to meet in Atlanta). Our timeline is to get a deal that's best for the players -- today, tomorrow or whatever it might be," Mawae said.
One thing that shouldn't hold up a possible deal is special considerations to the 10 named plaintiffs in the Brady antitrust lawsuit against the NFL. The NFLPA decided the best course of action was to forgo special compensation for those 10 players as part of a settlement, sources confirmed to Schefter.
Mawae referenced this in his comments to reporters Wednesday.
"The deal we're working on is the one that's best for all the players in the NFL and not just four guys," he said.
It will take a majority vote of the players to ratify the deal. The owners would vote on the proposed CBA on Thursday if the players OK the deal Wednesday. Twenty-four of the 32 owners must cast "yes" votes for the CBA to be ratified.
The NFLPA's decision to not recommend special considerations for the named plaintiffs was first reported by the Boston Herald.
Meanwhile, organizers for the NFL's season-ending event, the Super Bowl, said Wednesday they will likely cancel a second weekend of bookings if the new CBA is agreed to in time.
Super Bowl host committee chairman Mark Miles said he plans to inform local hoteliers that they can begin booking customers for the weekend of Feb. 12 soon after the NFL's owners and players agree to a new collective bargaining agreement. The Super Bowl is scheduled for Feb. 5, but league officials had asked the city to keep two weekends open during the bid process in case the date had to be moved.
Source: NFLPA vote held up
By Chris Mortensen
ESPN
NFL Players Association player representatives gave DeMaurice Smith and the executive committee a "vote of confidence" to finish the remaining deal points in the proposed collective bargaining agreement, a source told ESPN's Chris Mortensen, adding the committee will work tonight to try to resolve issues.
Part of the holdup in taking a vote, the source said, was that the player reps did not have a final document to review. The vote could take place by conference call or remote communication, very possibly tomorrow, according to the source, who seemed upbeat.
There were still roughly 20 player representatives in the NFLPA headquarters in Washington D.C. as of 5:30 p.m. ET.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told ESPN's Sal Paolantonio that owners will meet as scheduled Thursday, regardless of whether the players vote, and decide then on the next course of action.
The NFL's Management Council Executive Committee, meanwhile, wrapped their meetings shortly after 6:00 p.m. ET at an Atlanta airport hotel. The meetings, an advance of Thursday's 32-owner session, lasted for roughly five hours. A source told Paolantonio that items on the agenda included discussion of the still-unfinished CBA, transition rules and a calendar for the start of the 2011 season.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft, a member of the 10-person committee, was absent due to the death of his wife, Myra, and according to Paolantonio, his son, Jonathan Kraft, will attend Thursday's meetings in his place. Jonathan Kraft is the president of the Patriots.
Both owners and players have agreed to add three additional provisions the new CBA, a league source told Paolantonio.
• Enhanced injury protection benefit -- In addition to a player's salary in the season he is injured, the player would get up to $1 million for the first year after the injury, and up to $500,000 in the second year.
• Players get to stay in the league-sponsored player medical plan for life, if they so choose.
• An annual increase in minimum salaries for players -- 10 percent increase for rookies, 12 percent for second-year players and the increases will continue throughout the life of the proposed 10-year CBA. That would mean a 10 percent increase in rookie salary for 2011 over the 2010 salary and then a 10 percent increase for rookies in 2012 salary over 2011 salary. Approximately 1,000 of the 1,890 NFL players in 2010 were minimum-salary players, according to the league.
Earlier Wednesday, NFLPA president Kevin Mawae said that the players won't be pressured into agreeing to a deal.
"We're not tied to a timeline of July 21 (when the owners are scheduled to meet in Atlanta). Our timeline is to get a deal that's best for the players -- today, tomorrow or whatever it might be," Mawae said.
One thing that shouldn't hold up a possible deal is special considerations to the 10 named plaintiffs in the Brady antitrust lawsuit against the NFL. The NFLPA decided the best course of action was to forgo special compensation for those 10 players as part of a settlement, sources confirmed to Schefter.
Mawae referenced this in his comments to reporters Wednesday.
"The deal we're working on is the one that's best for all the players in the NFL and not just four guys," he said.
It will take a majority vote of the players to ratify the deal. The owners would vote on the proposed CBA on Thursday if the players OK the deal Wednesday. Twenty-four of the 32 owners must cast "yes" votes for the CBA to be ratified.
The NFLPA's decision to not recommend special considerations for the named plaintiffs was first reported by the Boston Herald.
Meanwhile, organizers for the NFL's season-ending event, the Super Bowl, said Wednesday they will likely cancel a second weekend of bookings if the new CBA is agreed to in time.
Super Bowl host committee chairman Mark Miles said he plans to inform local hoteliers that they can begin booking customers for the weekend of Feb. 12 soon after the NFL's owners and players agree to a new collective bargaining agreement. The Super Bowl is scheduled for Feb. 5, but league officials had asked the city to keep two weekends open during the bid process in case the date had to be moved.
