The sticking point between NFL owners and players is largely what it has been all along — the length of the regular season.
According to Dan Graziano of ESPN, the proposed 17-game schedule remains the major objection the NFLPA has to the current CBA proposal. Graziano reports that the expanded regular season schedule was the primary reason the NFLPA’s executive council voted against recommending the proposal to its members.
Players still have concerns over a 17-game schedule, feeling that it is too much to ask given ongoing concerns about health and safety of athletes. Some also question the accuracy of the owners’ projections regarding how much extra revenue would be generated by that 17th game.
Players and owners will meet in Indianapolis next week. The expectation is the issue of an expanded schedule will be a major focus.
Owners want a 17th game for the extra money it would generate and they’re unlikely to back down on that. That’s going to be quite the issue considering most players seemingly don’t want that extra game without major concessions. The owners clearly feel that the extra revenue they’d be shifting to players should be enough. It’s not clear that enough players agree to pass the proposal as it stands, setting up a potential stalemate in labor negotiations.
