- Messages
- 5,432
- Reaction score
- 0
Source: Sides moving toward settlement
NEW YORK -- A source with knowledge of the NFL talks told ESPN's Sal Paolantonio on Thursday night that the negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement are headed toward a settlement.
Sources told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter earlier Thursday evening that the sides had agreed in principle to a rookie wage system and since that is no longer an impediment to a deal, the source told Paolantonio, "both sides are intent on working through each issue line by line to get this deal done."
NFL Labor Negotiations and Lockout
NFL The NFL lockout began on March 11, with no obvious end in sight. ESPN.com Topics keeps you up to date on all of the latest on the labor situation. More »
Another source said that since the rookie wage system was overcome, the progress has been significant with almost unforeseen momentum, surprising even the participants.
The work to be done could still scuttle a deal, but that is unlikely, the source said. Players and owners plan to work late into Thursday night and Friday, and could stay through the weekend, the source said.
It is now unclear whether the talks will shift to Minneapolis on Monday. Judge Arthur Boylan, the court-ordered mediator who is on vacation in Ireland, has ordered both sides to meet in Minneapolis on Tuesday July 19th. But if the deal is completed, or close to completion, the negotiators may stay in New York at the Manhattan law firm where the complex work is slowly coming to a close.
The rookie wage system had been a key part of that complex work in recent weeks. Exact language of the rookie wage system is being worked out by both side's lawyer, sources told Mortensen, but a management negotiator agreed that the rookie system was "done."
High-level sources had told ESPN.com senior NFL writer John Clayton that all first rounders will get four-year deals, plus the option year, under the current proposal. That option could be executed by the team after the third or fourth year of the contract and sources told Schefter that the option will become fully guaranteed if it is exercised after the third year.
A large holdup in the talks regarding the rookie pay system had been how to structure that fifth-year option for the contracts of first-round picks. Sources told ESPN on Thursday that the sides agreed to pay the players selected with the top 10 overall picks a salary based off an average of the 10 highest-paid players at their position.
The salary in the option year for the players selected with the 11th through the 32nd overall pick will be based off an average of the third to the 25th highest salaries at each respective position, according to sources.
Sources told Mortensen that the sides still need to work on issues including workman's compensation, extra right-of-first-refusals on this year's free agent class, settlement on the television damages and the antitrust lawsuit and issues relating to commercial sponsorships.
The players currently are unwilling to grant NFL teams extra right-of-first-refusals on this year's free agent class because many of them were restricted under last year's uncapped system. Owners have asked for the right to designate three free agents that would give teams the ability to match any contract the three players signed with another team.
Additionally, the sources said owners want the NFL Players Association to recertify as a union and settle all grievances through arbitration without judicial oversight.
In exchange for NFLPA surrendering judicial oversight of the pending agreement, an overhaul of the NFL-NFLPA arbitration system is in the works, sources told Mortensen. It would include a panel of former judges to serve as arbitrators. Commissioner discipline and drug suspensions will be subject to review under the proposed system.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and eight of the 10 members of the owners' labor committee were present at Thursday's session, including Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys and John Mara of the New York Giants. Two new participants Thursday were Green Bay Packers CEO Mark Murphy and San Diego Chargers owner Dean Spanos.
NFL Players Association chief DeMaurice Smith and a half-dozen current or former players also were there, including Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday, Baltimore Ravens defensive back Domonique Foxworth and Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora. Umenyiora is one of 10 player plaintiffs in a federal antitrust lawsuit against the league.
Sources told ESPN's Mortensen that Atlanta Falcons offensive lineman Tyson Clabo, a pending free agent, also is in attendance.
After Wednesday's lengthy session, a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations told Paolantonio a lot of "hard work" remains before a new collective bargaining agreement can be struck. The source also wouldn't characterize a deal as being "close."
Asked whether he thought the owners would be presented with an agreement during the July 21 league meetings in Atlanta, the source hedged, saying, "I just don't know."
With deadlines coming up next week to get training camps and the preseason started, one owner told Paolantonio the owners are trying to figure out how to get the league operational in time "so that we don't lose a week of preseason and we don't lose $200 million."
The Hall of Fame game that opens the exhibition season is scheduled for Aug. 7 between the St. Louis Rams and Chicago Bears, who hope to be able to start training camp at the end of next week. Yet camps will not open without a new CBA in place.
Talks gained steam in May, overseen by a court-appointed mediator, U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan, who is on vacation this week. Boylan ordered both sides to meet with him in Minneapolis next week, and the owners have a special meeting set for July 21, where they potentially could ratify a new deal -- if one is reached by then.
Even once an agreement in principle on the core economic issues is drawn up, there will be more work to be done. That's because there are certain issues that won't be addressed in full until after the NFLPA re-establishes itself as a union -- a process that might take a couple of days -- and can then serve once again as a collective bargaining unit for the players.
Items that could fall under that umbrella include the league's drug-testing program, health insurance, retired players' pensions and other benefits, none of which is likely to be resolved completely while the union is still dissolved.
There's also a chance the players could pursue a lockout injunction for rookies and free agents after an appeals court ruled last week that the work stoppage could continue.
Disruptions to the planned preseason schedule would decrease the overall revenue pie. While the parameters for how to divide the more than $9 billion in annual league revenues have been sketched out, there are other sticking points still under discussion, including a rookie salary system and free agency guidelines.
The owners want longer rookie contracts and have been seeking more right-of-first-refusal tags for unrestricted free agents. The players want to get back to free agency rules similar to 2009, when a four-year veteran whose contract expired was unrestricted. That minimum shifted to six years in 2010, when there was no salary cap because owners already had declared they were opting out of the old CBA.
NEW YORK -- A source with knowledge of the NFL talks told ESPN's Sal Paolantonio on Thursday night that the negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement are headed toward a settlement.
Sources told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter earlier Thursday evening that the sides had agreed in principle to a rookie wage system and since that is no longer an impediment to a deal, the source told Paolantonio, "both sides are intent on working through each issue line by line to get this deal done."
NFL Labor Negotiations and Lockout
NFL The NFL lockout began on March 11, with no obvious end in sight. ESPN.com Topics keeps you up to date on all of the latest on the labor situation. More »
Another source said that since the rookie wage system was overcome, the progress has been significant with almost unforeseen momentum, surprising even the participants.
The work to be done could still scuttle a deal, but that is unlikely, the source said. Players and owners plan to work late into Thursday night and Friday, and could stay through the weekend, the source said.
It is now unclear whether the talks will shift to Minneapolis on Monday. Judge Arthur Boylan, the court-ordered mediator who is on vacation in Ireland, has ordered both sides to meet in Minneapolis on Tuesday July 19th. But if the deal is completed, or close to completion, the negotiators may stay in New York at the Manhattan law firm where the complex work is slowly coming to a close.
The rookie wage system had been a key part of that complex work in recent weeks. Exact language of the rookie wage system is being worked out by both side's lawyer, sources told Mortensen, but a management negotiator agreed that the rookie system was "done."
High-level sources had told ESPN.com senior NFL writer John Clayton that all first rounders will get four-year deals, plus the option year, under the current proposal. That option could be executed by the team after the third or fourth year of the contract and sources told Schefter that the option will become fully guaranteed if it is exercised after the third year.
A large holdup in the talks regarding the rookie pay system had been how to structure that fifth-year option for the contracts of first-round picks. Sources told ESPN on Thursday that the sides agreed to pay the players selected with the top 10 overall picks a salary based off an average of the 10 highest-paid players at their position.
The salary in the option year for the players selected with the 11th through the 32nd overall pick will be based off an average of the third to the 25th highest salaries at each respective position, according to sources.
Sources told Mortensen that the sides still need to work on issues including workman's compensation, extra right-of-first-refusals on this year's free agent class, settlement on the television damages and the antitrust lawsuit and issues relating to commercial sponsorships.
The players currently are unwilling to grant NFL teams extra right-of-first-refusals on this year's free agent class because many of them were restricted under last year's uncapped system. Owners have asked for the right to designate three free agents that would give teams the ability to match any contract the three players signed with another team.
Additionally, the sources said owners want the NFL Players Association to recertify as a union and settle all grievances through arbitration without judicial oversight.
In exchange for NFLPA surrendering judicial oversight of the pending agreement, an overhaul of the NFL-NFLPA arbitration system is in the works, sources told Mortensen. It would include a panel of former judges to serve as arbitrators. Commissioner discipline and drug suspensions will be subject to review under the proposed system.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and eight of the 10 members of the owners' labor committee were present at Thursday's session, including Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys and John Mara of the New York Giants. Two new participants Thursday were Green Bay Packers CEO Mark Murphy and San Diego Chargers owner Dean Spanos.
NFL Players Association chief DeMaurice Smith and a half-dozen current or former players also were there, including Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday, Baltimore Ravens defensive back Domonique Foxworth and Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora. Umenyiora is one of 10 player plaintiffs in a federal antitrust lawsuit against the league.
Sources told ESPN's Mortensen that Atlanta Falcons offensive lineman Tyson Clabo, a pending free agent, also is in attendance.
After Wednesday's lengthy session, a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations told Paolantonio a lot of "hard work" remains before a new collective bargaining agreement can be struck. The source also wouldn't characterize a deal as being "close."
Asked whether he thought the owners would be presented with an agreement during the July 21 league meetings in Atlanta, the source hedged, saying, "I just don't know."
With deadlines coming up next week to get training camps and the preseason started, one owner told Paolantonio the owners are trying to figure out how to get the league operational in time "so that we don't lose a week of preseason and we don't lose $200 million."
The Hall of Fame game that opens the exhibition season is scheduled for Aug. 7 between the St. Louis Rams and Chicago Bears, who hope to be able to start training camp at the end of next week. Yet camps will not open without a new CBA in place.
Talks gained steam in May, overseen by a court-appointed mediator, U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan, who is on vacation this week. Boylan ordered both sides to meet with him in Minneapolis next week, and the owners have a special meeting set for July 21, where they potentially could ratify a new deal -- if one is reached by then.
Even once an agreement in principle on the core economic issues is drawn up, there will be more work to be done. That's because there are certain issues that won't be addressed in full until after the NFLPA re-establishes itself as a union -- a process that might take a couple of days -- and can then serve once again as a collective bargaining unit for the players.
Items that could fall under that umbrella include the league's drug-testing program, health insurance, retired players' pensions and other benefits, none of which is likely to be resolved completely while the union is still dissolved.
There's also a chance the players could pursue a lockout injunction for rookies and free agents after an appeals court ruled last week that the work stoppage could continue.
Disruptions to the planned preseason schedule would decrease the overall revenue pie. While the parameters for how to divide the more than $9 billion in annual league revenues have been sketched out, there are other sticking points still under discussion, including a rookie salary system and free agency guidelines.
The owners want longer rookie contracts and have been seeking more right-of-first-refusal tags for unrestricted free agents. The players want to get back to free agency rules similar to 2009, when a four-year veteran whose contract expired was unrestricted. That minimum shifted to six years in 2010, when there was no salary cap because owners already had declared they were opting out of the old CBA.
