The NFL owners are meeting today at 10 a.m. ET in Atlanta and are expected to vote on the new collective bargaining agreement. Today’s meeting follows a five hour meeting of the league’s labor committee on Wednesday.
NFL Executive Vice President Jeff Pash said in a press conference that he expects both sides to vote today on the agreement. When asked about the impact of the players not voting yesterday, he explained that either side could ratify the agreement first, “Ratification is an independent process by each side, just as they could ratify something if we haven’t voted.”
Pash went on to explain that communication has continued between both sides as they work towards a final agreement, “I think we’re making progress, I think we’ve worked well together over the past several weeks. The staffs and the attorneys have been making a lot of progress on the documentation and the language issues. It’s obviously a complicated agreement, but I think both sides are at the point where they can close, they should close and we should be in a position to take votes.”
Today’s meeting comes on the heels of yesterday’s meeting of the NFL Players Association’s Executive Committee and Board of Directors, where the players were briefed on the state of negotiations.
Players discussed and debated the various deal points for a settlement, and the players provided a “vote of confidence” to the Executive Committee and to class counsel to continue working to resolve remaining issues. Late Wednesday afternoon, players took a conditional vote to move forward with the settlement process, but a few outstanding issues remained.
Active and former players remain dedicated to work toward a long-term agreement benefiting players, owners and fans.
The status of the Hall of Fame game, the first preseason game this year featuring the Chicago Bears and St. Louis Rams, is still uncertain. The game is scheduled for August 7 in Canton, Ohio, and Pash commented in his press conference that “It’s getting pretty tight. It would be pretty challenging, so that is one of the things we’ll have to focus on.”
