Collective Bargaining Agreement Passes, Ensures Labor Peace Until 2030
The NFL players union voted to approve the collective bargaining agreement proposed by owners. The margin was just 60 as 1,019 players voted to approve while 959 players voted against. Passage of the CBA means the NFL has assured itself labor peace until at least the year 2030.
The new CBA increases the revenue split to players from 47 percent to 48.5 percent. Part of the reason the owners were willing to do this was because they are going to get a 17th regular season game, replacing the fourth preseason game, as well as an extra playoff game. The 17-game regular season doesn't begin until 2021, but the expanded playoff field starts immediately.
This also enables the league to finalize negotiations for lucrative broadcasting rights that are expected to grow the overall NFL revenue base. International television and streaming rights are expected to provide new sources of revenue as well.
There's also some additional money for players that starts immediately, including the minimum salary at every level going up $100,000. Teams may only use one of the franchise or transition tag per season. And the deal all but eliminates testing for marijuana. There are a number of other financial aspects of this deal.
The fact the deal passed by such a small margin shows a significant division between the players. A number of players expressed this was an opportunity to maximize their leverage and get a significantly better deal from the owners, that they left a lot on the table.
Meanwhile, some owners had anonymously expressed that if this deal didn't pass, the next deal wouldn't be as 'generous'. They were threatening to push for an 18-game season and felt giving the players 48.5 percent of the revenue was far too much.
For now, the NFL now has to decide what it will do about the league year, the start of free agency and the upcoming NFL Draft. To this point, they have said the league year will begin as scheduled on March 18th. The fact the CBA passed seems like it makes it easier to stay on schedule, despite concerns over COVID-19.
