New NFL CBA: Should New York Jets fans be excited?

The new NFL CBA means labor peace. It also comes with some serious question marks.

There is a new CBA and with it, a new series of rules that will govern the NFL over the next decade. 

The good news, not just for New York Jets fans but the league in general, is that there will labor peace and no work stoppage for a decade. This is good news, except for Carl, who won’t be able to enjoy the agony of following his favorite NFL team any longer. 

(A Curb Your Enthusiasm reference). 

But the new CBA, ratified by a narrow margin of 50.5% of the voters in the NFLPA, means a larger salary cap moving forward. Revenue sharing also increases for the players as well. The roster will expand ever so slightly as will the practice squad, meaning that there are more opportunities for jobs. 

Minimum salaries will increase as well as rookie contract deals. These are all good things. 

Fans will also have to like the addition of another regular season game, giving them even more football. The playoffs are expanding as well, which could give a rebuilding team like the Jets a chance at making a return to the postseason. 

It might be a year too soon for the Jets to think about the playoffs in 2020, but the addition of a playoff slot in each conference could and should help the Jets end a postseason-less slide that could be a decade-long after this year. 

But despite all the enthusiasm that there will be football and no lockout, there are concerns, so says ‘Jets Country’ contributor Seth Everett. He talks about the division on the vote, a very narrow one, that could lead to some locker room discord between the two factions. He also delves into the other issues about the new CBA, both good and bad.