The NFL lockout is a little over 125 days old, but there is some evidence now to suggest that it won’t go too much longer--that, in the very least, there will be an NFL season in 2011.
The revenue split between owners and players and the rookie pay scale--the two greatest hurdles in negotiations between the two sides--have each been settled, and according to Albert Breer of NFL.com, “the economics of a new collective bargaining agreement are essentially done.”
The two sides met this morning again, with designs on working on specifics of the deal today and via conference calls through the weekend, before reconvening in front of Judge Arthur Boylan for scheduled mediation in Minneapolis on Tuesday.
Though a source close to the negotiations concedes that there are still several “stumbling blocks” on the way to a new deal, it appears that the two sides are nearing a deal, and not a moment too soon. Many believe today, July 15, to be the latest date possible for a deal that would allow the preseason to continue uninterrupted.
Among the issues still unresolved are benefits for retired players, player safety issues and workers comp.
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