There has been quite a bit of speculation that the NFL lockout is nearing its end, most notably from Drew Brees. However, the owners and NFLPA are apparently not as close as has been reported.
NFL Lockout: Sources Say Owners, NFLPA Aren’t Close To Deal
It would be in the best interests of the NFL to be able to come to an agreement by July 21, the date of the next owner’s meeting, but that might not be a possibility according to Yahoo! Sports’ Michael Silver.
“Are we close? I wouldn’t say that at all,” one NFLPA executive committee member told Silver. “Drew is the eternal optimist, and yeah, it’s closer than it was a week ago. Could it happen quickly? Yes. But I’d be extremely surprised.”
According to Silver, even those on the player’s side aren’t ready to say fans are any closer to watching football start on time this fall.
“Don’t read too much into that,” a player told Silver. “We’re not there yet, and there are still a lot of issues in play.”
Issues still on the table, according to Silver’s sources, are the rookie wage scale, the splitting of revenue, a “legacy fund” for retired players, franchise and transition tags, the possibility of increasing the 16-game schedule to 18 games along with healthcare and player safety.
Those issues all seem to be big deals, too, so it seems like Brees may have been speaking a bit too soon.
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