NFL players narrowly approve new CBA

Sunday morning, it was announced that NFL players voted to approve the proposed CBA, giving the league 10 more years of labor peace, players a higher share of annual revenue, retired players additional benefits, as well as 17-game regular seasons along with an expanded playoff format. The new deal runs through 2030.

The newly ratified CBA runs through 2030 and goes into effect immediately. Short term, that means one tag (franchise/transition) per team this year, plus higher minimum salaries, etc. Also, no “Final League Year” rules, which means teams have more flexibility to create cap space.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 15, 2020

The vote was yes, but by a rather slim margin. Just 51.5% of players voted for the proposed CBA, while 48.5% voted against it. The voting concluded at 11:59 PM on Saturday.

One source said the final player vote on the NFL's new CBA was 1019-959. It was that close.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 15, 2020

This deal presumably allows the new league year to start on time, this Wednesday, March 18. Free agent players are allowed to begin negotiating with teams as soon as tomorrow.

Notable adjustments in the new CBA include adding two more teams to the playoffs, as soon as 2020, an option to change regular season play to 17 games starting in 2021, and raises in minimum salaries, performance-based pay as well as more player revenue.

Commissioner Roger Goodell released a statement today following the announcement that the players had agreed to the new CBA:

"We are pleased that the players have voted to ratify the proposed new CBA, which will provide substantial benefits to all current and retired players, increase jobs, ensure continued progress on player safety, and give our fans more and better football," Goodell noted. "We appreciate the tireless efforts of the members of the Management Council Executive Committee and the NFLPA leadership, both of whom devoted nearly a year to detailed, good faith negotiations to reach this comprehensive, transformative agreement."

In addition to the other changes, ESPN's Adam Schefter notes another way the new CBA benefits players:

Now that a CBA has been agreed to, teams cannot use both the franchise tag and transition tag in this offseason (i.e. the Cowboys and Dak Prescott/Amari Cooper). Teams would have been permitted to do that if the 2020 league year had been conducted under the terms of the 2011 CBA.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 15, 2020

If this deal would have failed to go through, it would have put the league in quite a mess in regards to starting the new league year and free agency on time. With the COVID-19 crisis also plaguing day-to-day operations around the country, at least the NFL was able to find some middle ground and keep something on schedule. Stay tuned as (currently) the new league year is right around the corner.

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