As of this moment, we are in the exact same position we were on Thursday morning. The NFL and NFLPA agreed to push back the expiration date of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement by 24 hours meaning the new deadline is now 11:59 p.m. on Friday.
NFL Lockout: Best Case Scenario Would Be Another Extension
The difference between then and now is we have legit progress and, quite possibly, a bit of optimism. The extension means neither side wants to move into “Armageddon” right now. That’s good news because once you start filing legal papers, there’s no turning back.
So what’s the best possible news we could hear today? Because an agreement almost certainly won’t happen before midnight, the best news would be another extension. The rumor making the rounds is that the 24-hour extension was done just so that they could negotiate a week long extension.
Mike Silver of Yahoo! Sports looks even further into the future:
If enough progress is made that another short-term CBA extension - perhaps a week, perhaps two - is announced by Friday night, the players and owners will almost certainly be headed for a settlement that will result in a multi-year deal before the end of this month.
The tone surrounding these negotiations has done a 180 in the last 24 hours. Then it was how long there would be a lockout, not if. Now, there are legitimate signs of progress and you don’t get that feeling of doom and gloom anymore.
Just like Thursday, this could be a very, very good day or an historically bad day.
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