Players in the NFL have voted to approve the new collective bargaining agreement, which has guaranteed labor peace through at least 2030 and the possibility of a 17-game season as early as 2021.
The vote was relatively close, coming in at 1019-959.
The NFL Players Association tweeted out the news of the approval, saying, “he result comes after a long and democratic process in accordance with our constitution.” JC Tretter, the new NFLPA president and center for the Cleveland Browns, praised the deal’s greater share of revenues for players and post-career benefits, but did understand that there were parts of the deal that had players unhappy, such as the extended season.
This new deal can cause the NFL regular season to be extended to 17 games, and the playoff pool to be increased from 12 teams to 14 teams. Owners, largely, have been in favor of this because more games would mean more revenue coming in, but some players took issue to it due to the necessary increased strain that would put on the players’ bodies.
But despite this opposition, the advantages seemed to be too great to ignore as the vote passed. Biggest among these was the added benefits for rookies. With the new agreement, rookie contracts are increased in terms of pay, more game-day roster spots are available for a team, and the split share of the NFL’s revenue will go towards more lower-paying players as well.
One thing that isn’t being talked about as much but could prove to be important is that under the new deal, players can no longer be punished for testing positive for marijuana. This has been a subject of debate inside, and outside, of the league for years now, as many players use marijuana recreationally and to help with pain from playing.
It has been a contentious journey for this CBA to be approved and voted on. It was approved by owners in February – with the deal being worked on since April 2019 – and was sent to the NFLPA for voting. But right before voting was to happen, the executive council of the NFLPA voted to not recommend it, prompting a petition for the owners to make more concessions. Since then, it’s been a lot of back-and-forth, a lot of players coming out with their opinions on the matter, and a lot of questions about what would happen.
It’s all over now, and we are moving into a new era for the NFL. We’re not sure how the new 17-game season will change things, but we know that we will be interested to see how everything begins to play out as free agency is set to begin this week.
For all your NFL news and more, be sure to check back in here with ScoopHash!
