There has been a whole lot of talk about the NFL and NFLPA negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement and trying to get it done as soon as possible. There have also been a lot of rumors about what will change in the next CBA. Let’s take a look at what has been rumored and focus on the most realistic changes that could come in the CBA.
17 game schedule
Maybe not today, and maybe not tomorrow, but at some point the owners were going to get their wish and extend the season an extra game. The truth is that there is too much money to be had and the NFL needs to figure out a way to get to its $25 billion revenue goal. Adding a game creates the opportunity for the league to carve out a few games for a specialty package that they can peddle to television and streaming partners. The 17 game schedule is happening, but it’s probably not happening right away. Players will want to push off the extra game for as long as possible because they will want to make sure their contracts reflect the extra added regular-season game. It most likely won’t take effect until 2021 or 2022.
Adding an extra playoff spot in each conference
Here’s the other easiest way for the NFL to create extra revenue. Create an extra playoff game. Distribution partners will have to pay for the said playoff game. Poof! The NFL has created revenue out of thin air. There was some debate as to whether this will water down the playoffs. Check out the teams that would have made the playoffs under the potential new structure here.
The rookie fifth-year option
The fifth-year option may not be going anywhere, but it could be experiencing a change according to one report. This rule change takes some of its inspiration from the Rose Rule in the NBA. First-round picks may get paid more, but they are also penalized if they perform well because teams have fifth-year options they can pick up. Those players are forced to play under their market value while players selected in later rounds are already on to their second contract. This was happening in the NBA with their rookie wage scale and the answer was simple: if a player reaches certain accolades they should be able to cash in on those accolades. In the NFL’s version, a rookie who has hit certain escalators may be eligible for franchise tag money in their fifth-year option. Not a bad deal since the owners aren’t going to simply give up the fifth-year option and often times rookies are the last thought of active union members.
Marijuana penalty
No change in the marijuana rules was going to save Greg Robinson, but with the legality of marijuana use changing around the country, it’s time for the NFL to change its ways as well. There was a report that marijuana testing would be limited to a shorter window, the punishment would be lessened and the NFL simply wouldn’t be as strict when it came to issues with the devil’s lettuce. It’s about time.
The fully-funded rule
The fully-funded rule used to make sense. Players that had certain guarantees paid out over the course of their contract wanted to make sure they would get their money. The NFLPA basically forced owners to hold that money into an escrow account. That way if something happened to the owner, the business, the team, or the league, the player would still get their compensation. The fully-funded rule isn’t needed anymore. Team’s print money. Plus owners were using it as an excuse in contract negotiations since the cash was stuck in escrow. They can get rid of this rule in the new CBA.
Commissioner’s discipline power
No one should expect this rule to change, but the players could try and push for more arbitration. It’s probably not happening though.
Football related revenue split
Currently, the revenue split is somewhere between 47-53 and 48-52 depending on who is giving out the information. The players should want to push to make this closer. The easiest way to actually do this is through stadium credits. If the players say that they actually want to flip the ratio and make it 53-47 players but also allow owners to take three percent for stadium funding then it will be interesting to see where the owners stand.
The owners actually ran out of stadium funding money this last go-round. A ton of teams wants to either improve their stadiums or build a new one with all the bells and whistles they can get. The players should be trying to use this as leverage. Of course, owners could say that stadium improvements lead to more football-related income which leads to a higher salary cap. We’ll see where it goes.
