The NFL owners are smart businessmen, so you have to believe that they are envious of how smooth business is going between their NBA counterparts and their own players. While the NBA is flourishing, the NFL has been rumored to heading towards a work stoppage when the CBA expires in the next year or so.
So much so that agents were telling their players to start saving money.
Now according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, both the NFL and NFLPA are expected to intensify negotiations on a new CBA this summer in an effort to get a new deal done by the start of the 2019 season.
The current CBA expires after the 2020 season, but talks about a new one have already begun. Sources say there have been three direct owner/player negotiation sessions so far — one per month in April, May and June — plus regular conversations between staffers for both sides in between those sessions. The sources say more of both types of talks have been planned for this summer, with as many as three or four direct owner/player negotiation sessions scheduled for July alone.
Yes the NFL is America’s favorite sport and pastime, but the league can ill-afford a lengthy work stoppage of any kind, especially anything that involves missing regular seasons games. The early talks are encouraging, but when it comes to NFL owners and the NFLPA, the work is just getting started.
