Discussion Topic: What Will happen With The NFL’s Labor Situation?
NFL and Players Union resume talks on final day of the season:
The owners and the players are getting dangerously close to having a work stoppage, the first for the sport since 1987. The final league year under the old CBA expires tonight at midnight, so if an agreement isn’t done then next season becomes murky. Not only would free agency not start until there is a new CBA in place, but it would basically cease all contact between teams and players. Injured players would need to seek outside care, and wouldn’t have team doctors monitoring their rehab. Players could not have contact with coaches, regarding the playbook. And there would no longer be any workouts at the team facility, OTA’s, mini-camps and eventually training camps. While the NFL Draft will go on no matter what, veteran players won’t be able to be traded for draft picks, and after the draft undrafted players won’t be eligible to sign contracts.
Now the good news is even if there is no agreement reached tonight, I don’t think it will extend so long that it will affect the Draft process. But any extended ‘lockout’ is bad for sport. Now there is a third option between agreement and lockout, and that is extending the negotiation period. This would entail still pushing back free agency, but keeping the league year going for another week or two, during which time, players are still covered medically, workouts can continue, and contact can be made between teams and players. This would likely have to be a sign of good faith coming from the owners, but if they are close enough to an agreement I could see it happening.
So what do you guys like will happen? Will an agreement or extension be worked out tonight? Will there be free agency? Let me know your thoughts!