Skip to main content

NFL owners ratify proposal to end lockout

The 2011 season is set to begin after the owners ratified the new collective bargaining agreement by a vote of 31-0, with only the Oakland Raiders abstaining.

It figures that the Raiders would be the one team to not vote, considering how badly Al Davis has been running that franchise, but it is kind of surprising that all the other teams voted in favor of the CBA, considering the Jacksonville Jaguars, Carolina Panthers, Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals were all against the initial drafting of the CBA last month.

Now it is up to the players to ratify the CBA and the lockout will end.

There are still some difficulties in the way. The players have to recertify as a union, then they have to get all of the plantiffs in the lawsuits to agree to drop their charges. Once that is done, the players union will vote on the CBA, and pass it.

If the players pass the 600 page agreement as soon as possible, then the NFL preseason, especially the Hall of Fame game on August 7 will be saved.

There is a loophole, the players could report to training camp without the players agreeing to a global settlement of all legal issues, if the union recertifies first.

This opens the door to a wild and wooly free agent period that will begin next week after certification.

Over 500 players are set to hit the open market, and teams will have only 72 hours to sign their own free agents. The entire process will be a "take-it-or-leave-it" basis, pressuring players to agree to new team contracts as soon as they can. In the meantime training camp should open up no later than August 1.

The CBA in itself is ten years in length, running through 2023, and the salary cap for this year is $120 million. Also franchise tags will remain in place, meaning that the likes of Peyton Manning, Vincent Jackson and Logan Mankins are bound to their contracts with their respective franchises.

If things all work out, the players can report to camp on Saturday, with free agency beginning on July 27.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jets, Dolphins and Patriots Playoff Breakdown

Here are the formuli that could get the Jets into and out of the playoff party this season: 1) If the Jets win against Seattle and Miami, they win the AFC East based on a better conference record (8-4) than the New England Patriots, even if New England wins out as well. 2) If the Patriots win out and the Dolphins win out and finish at 11-5, the Jets would be 10-6, or 9-7, and probably out of the playoffs. Both New England and Miami would make the playoffs, with the Dolphins as a divison winner and the Patriots as a wild card. The Patriots make the postseason if Baltimore loses one of its final two games. 3) If the Patriots win out and the Dolphins and Jets split, then the Patriots win the AFC East. The Jets will have to hope that they beat Miami to win that tie-breaker and, further, hope that they have a better conference record than the Baltimore Ravens in order to clinch the sixth seed. 4) If the Patriots and Ravens win out and the Dolphins and Jets split their final two games, then ...
8 comments
Read more

Francisco Lindor Remains Red Hot as Mets Top Phillies

 Francisco Lindor remains the hottest player in Queens right now.  The Mets shortstop blasted two more home runs, including a three-run blast in the bottom of the eighth inning, Monday night to help propel the Mets to a 5-4 win over Philadelphia.   Lindor who typically struggles in the month of April is putting together a heck of a month. Monday's two hit effort was the 10th game in the last 11 where Lindor has recorded a hit. In fact in the month of April alone this year, Lindor was hitting at .311 coming into Monday's action.  On the year, Lindor is batting .284 with five homers and 13 RBI.  Lindor's efforts proved to be prophetic, as the Phillies Alec Bohm crushed a three-run bomb off Edwin Diaz in the top of the ninth to cut the Mets lead to a single run. Fortunately for New York, Diaz was able to shut the door with strikeouts of Trea Turner and Bryce Harper.  New York (16-7) has now won five in a row.  
Post a Comment
Read more

Is Aaron Glenn in Danger of Getting Fired?

 According to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio there is a "chance"   that Jets head coach Aaron Glenn could be fired at seasons end.  While Florio doesn't site any sources, the rumor has caught fire the last two days. The question is would it make sense? Let's examine this for a second?  Why it Makes Sense:  Glenn has not been great in his first year as Head Coach of this team. The talent has taken a major step backwards, granted two of those talented players were traded away in Sauce Gardner to Indianapolis and Quinnen Williams to Dallas.  The decision he and GM Darren Mougey made to give Justin Fields a two year deal proved to be a horrible mistake, and Glenn stuck with Fields for far too long before pulling the plug following the Jets loss to the Patriots on a Thursday night in mid November.  Glenn gave now former Defensive Coordinator Steve Wilks too much power to run the defense, and the players couldn't stand Wilks. Reports indicated this week af...
Post a Comment
Read more