NFL Owners Ratify New CBA; Players Still Upset

The NFL lockout is reaching it's fourth month but for the past week or two it appears as though there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Yesterday NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL team owners voted overwhelmingly in favor of the new proposed CBA. However the NFLPA has not been quick to approve the deal on their side as they believe there are some smaller outstanding issues they that feel unhappy with and have not yet made a move to vote yet.

The current situation a bit confusing to say the least and requires some clarification. First the major issues of the CBA have be agreed due for over a week which include revenue sharing (and a $120 Million Salary Cap) between owners and players, a rookie wage scale, reduced offseason activity and practices and new free agency rules. The smaller issues that the players are citing revolve mainly around a supplemental revenue sharing program as well as benefits for retired players.

The key factor in understanding the discontent of the players is the fact that the owners ratified a proposal that had not been 100% agreed upon. Basically the owners made a final proposal to the players within the last week that apparently did not completely satisfy the NFLPA's needs. The NFLPA submitted submitted a counter-proposal with some changes to the smaller issues. The owners then addressed concerns of the players to some unknown degree. It was this deal that the owners voted to ratify on Thursday.

Essentially the owners made one last power-play against the players by certifying a new deal and placing all the pent up pressure from the public firmly on the shoulders of the Player's Association. In my opinion it was the nature of the owner's actions rather than the actual intricacies of the deal that drew DeMaruice Smith and the players' ire. Right now the end of the lockout is being held up by the players, which is exactly what the owners hoped to accomplish. However, while this may leave certain members of the NFLPA unhappy I do not think it will be enough to stop the some 1900 players for ratifying the CBA sometime in the next few days. Hopefully...