NFLPA assistant executive director George Atallah broke some major news early Wednesday morning.
The union’s player reps voted to send the vote for a new collective bargaining agreement to the entire NFLPA, meaning that a new CBA could be signed here soon.
The NFLPA had previously pushed back a vote to see how Tuesday’s meeting in Indianapolis would go. Now that a vote is going to happen after a four-hour meeting, there’s a decent chance that the two sides will soon come to an agreement.
The new CBA would include a 17-game regular season, one extra playoff team in each conference, a relaxed marijuana policy and changes in revenue share.
Both sides had hoped to get an agreement signed by the start of the new league year on March 18. We’re now inching closer to that possibility.
On the other hand, a vote against the new CBA would have wide-ranging ramifications. Without a new agreement, a work stoppage following next season would become likely and the owners believe they would face an economic backlash.
Stay tuned.