As NFL players near a pivotal vote on the proposed collective-bargaining agreement, the weight of the 10-year deal will be even more intense with the potential financial fallout that’s at risk if a new deal isn’t reached.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, rejecting the proposed offer from NFL owners would cost current and former players $700 million in 2020. As part of that figure, approximately $310 million would come at the cost of lost benefits payments for retired players, per The Washington Post’s Mark Maske.
A vote from the NFL players is expected by March 12, but there have been numerous star players already coming out against the deal. Michael Thomas, Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Richard Sherman and J.J. Watt are among the players who publicly blasted the NFL for their CBA proposal.
Players remain opposed to giving owners the ability to expand to a 17-game season by 2010 and have also pushed back against the additional wild-card game that would be implemented under a new CBA.
While there is certainly more at stake for the players, the NFL owners could also be hoping for a new CBA to be approved to move forward with contract negotiations with media networks. The NFL is expecting its ratings to take a hit during the 2020 election cycle and the threat of a lockout could further jeopardize negotiations on new television contracts.
If players reject the league’s current offer, talks will be on hold until the 2021 offseason. At that point, both sides would only have a few months to negotiate a new CBA before the current deal expires in March 2021 and a lockout would then occur.