CBA talks already ramping up for NFL, NFLPA

Critical term for the current CBA talks between NFL and NFLPA: "Stadium credits" https://t.co/B66KQ0iwPL

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) July 2, 2019

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from: https://www.profootballrumors.com/2019/07/latest-nfl-nflpa-talks

At least three rounds of Collective Bargaining Agreement discussions have been held, Mike Florio of PFT hears. One of the key issues being discussed is the handling of “stadium credits” – the NFL wants to push a significant amount of the money that currently is shared between owners and players to stadium construction and renovation projects.

The NFLPA, meanwhile, might not be so willing to do that. The player’s union doesn’t necessarily want to pay for the league’s stadiums and it’s not clear what they would receive in return. Furthermore, the union would likely insist on input in key decisions as they relate to stadiums or even team relocation. For example, in this scenario, Florio wonders if the union could have hypothetically blocked the Rams from moving to Los Angeles when there was a path to success available in St. Louis.

https://www.profootballrumors.com/2019/07/5-key-nfl-stories-63019-7719

NFL, NFLPA hope to sign new CBA soon. Things appear to be going surprisingly smoothly in negotiations between the two sides. Earlier this week, we heard that they were hoping to have a deal done before the start of the 2019 season. For the past year-plus, there’s been constant worrying about a potential work stoppage, but that doesn’t seem too likely at the moment. That being said, there are still some potential hiccups, which we outlined here. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is also reportedly taking on a prominent role in the negotiations. We’ll likely be hearing a lot more about this situation as the summer progresses, and we’ll make sure to keep you posted.

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https://www.profootballrumors.com/2019/07/extra-points-cba-supplemental-draft-saints-onyemata

As we track the negotiations this summer, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com is out with a great piece detailing the fight ahead. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/27103713/2021-nfl-cba-negotiations-nine-biggest-looming-issues

Graziano broke down the nine biggest issues in the talks, and the whole article is well-worth a read. Graziano cautions that while everything seems positive for now, it’s “a complex negotiation with pitfalls.” Graziano writes that the owners have run out of money for stadiums that they were allotted in the previous CBA, and that’s “seen by many connected with the talks as the main reason the owners are interested in doing a new deal as soon as possible.” He writes that “they need money to help with stadium projects in places such as Buffalo, Cleveland, Jacksonville, Carolina, Washington and even Los Angeles, where Rams owner Stan Kroenke would likely enjoy a bit of league-sponsored help with his project.” If the players are going to allow the owners to take more money off the top for ‘stadium credits’ as they’re called, Graziano writes that they’ll demand a greater share of the net revenue in return.

Among many other interesting nuggets, Graziano notes that the players have a good shot of getting the ‘fully funded rule’ erased, which “requires teams to hold in escrow any portion of a player’s contract that is fully guaranteed.” It currently dissuades owners who might not want to tie up all the cash from giving out longterm guaranteed contracts, and doesn’t exist in any of the other major leagues.

Jason La Canfora

from https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-insider-notes-the-year-of-the-young-qb-guru-head-coach-latest-on-cba-talks-and-an-underrated-kicker-trade/

The latest on new CBA talks

The NFL’s ongoing negotiations with the NFLPA will be a constant subplot to this season. I got a chance to take the temperature of some of the players’ reps from various teams about the state of the collective bargaining agreement talks, and came away generally optimistic about the possibility of a deal getting done in 2020 – well ahead of the expiration of the current CBA.

While some in the media have been pushing the idea of a deal getting done before this season, that frankly never seemed realistic to any of the parties involved in the process that I have talked to, and it’s always been the most artificial of faux deadlines. As I first reported back at the combine in February, the fact that the sides had already laid down so much initial groundwork was already a major step, and the process continues to roll along at a steady clip.

There will be other obstacles to overcome, but the sense that that there is a deal to get done continues to permeate.

“It’s just good to see us being open to it, on both sides,” Steelers offensive lineman and NFLPA player rep Ramon Foster told me. “There are a lot of things that need to be changes – they know that and we know that, just on a lot of different levels. Of course always the biggest one is money – the split on revenue, and player safety and the tags. Not only that but things for guys like a JuJu (Smith-Schuster) or Ezekiel Elliott, who have outplayed their contracts, and protection of those guys.

“And let’s try to work this as a partnership, not like we are at war all the time. But of course when you talk money and numbers that tends to create a war and a hate to use that term, but that’s what it can be like with players versus owners. So we just have to work through that, but we all know that we have a good product out there and just work through it. I know there was a supposed timeline of trying to get it done, but from the PA standpoint there is no way we’re going to rush it, because this has to be right not only for our current players but retired players and the pre-93 guys.”

Both sides seem in agreement that with gambling money about to flood in and new broadcast deals on the horizon, now is not the time to kill the golden goose.

“No doubt,” Foster said, “because right now we’re hot, and that’s not always the case. And people talk about the popularity of the NBA and NFL … and sure everybody loves the NBA offseason, but when the NFL comes around America loves what we’re doing. And with that, the TV contracts are just huge and the gambling aspect of sports is going to be huge for everybody. So everybody can benefit from that and as you said there are a lot of dollars behind that, and we recognize that of course. Our owners and CEOs and investors in these teams recognize it too.”