NFL owners voted to end their four-month lockout of players by ratifying a global settlement with the players association on Thursday in Atlanta.
The settlement includes a 10-year collective bargaining agreement, a timeline to restart the football season, new rules on free agency, a lower wage scale for rookies, a larger training camp roster, reduction of practice time and contact before and during the season, and up to $1 billion in new funding for retiree benefits. But nothing will happen until the players ratify the settlement and agree to recertify their union. And that may not happen as smoothly as the league wants.
Why would the players balk at approving the deal and getting back to the business of football?
They still have a number of unresolved differences and feel NFL owners are trying to rush them into an agreement. The league's announcement has backed the players into a corner and set them up to be the bad guys after locking them out for four months.
If the players fall in line, when does everything start?
Players under contract would report to their clubs Saturday for voluntary training, conditioning and classroom instruction. At the same time, clubs could begin renegotiating current contracts and sign drafted rookies and their own free agents. The league will issue the list of unrestricted and restricted free agents. Clubs can start negotiating with them but not sign them.
What about undrafted free agents?
Clubs can start signing them at 2 p.m. Sunday.
And when does free agency kick off?
Teams can start signing veteran free agents Wednesday. That's the official start of the 2011 league business year. Rosters are expanded to 90 players on that day. All clubs must be under the salary cap of $120.3 million with their top 51 player contracts.
When do training camps start?
All teams open Wednesday -- but only if the players have ratified the deal. The first three days of camp will be light -- physicals, meetings and conditioning on Day 1, and no pads permitted the next two days.
Have any other preseason games been canceled?
None other than the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game. This schedule of events was written to save all the other preseason games.
When are the roster cutdowns?
First cut is to 75 players on Aug. 30. Final cut to 53 is Sept. 3.
Does this labor agreement have opt-out provisions like the last one?
No. The terms are fixed for 10 years, through the 2020 season. It also includes the 2021 draft.
So the draft is saved?
Yes, as long as the players re-certify as a union. If they don't, the NFL would lose its anti-trust exemption and any college player could beat the NFL in court and abolish the draft.
What are the terms of the draft and free agency?
The draft remains seven rounds, plus 32 compensatory picks for teams that lose free agents the previous year. Players with four accrued seasons can be unrestricted free agents if their contracts are up. Players with three seasons are restricted free agents. The franchise and transition player designations are unchanged.
How will the new rookie wage scale work?
It's not a strict slotting system like in the NBA. Rookie picks will still be able to negotiate their deals. But there is an absolute cap on what teams can use on their draft class. All drafted players will have four-year contracts. Clubs have the option to extend to a fifth year for first-round picks based on agreed-upon tender amounts. There are stronger rules to discourage holdouts.
What about any other new rules?
Because 2010 was uncapped, the next two years will serve as transition years for teams to get back into cap management form. All teams may use $3.5 million to funnel to veteran salaries, presumably to save them from being released for cap purposes. Each club also may borrow up to $3 million in cap room from a future year to support veteran player costs. In 2012, each club may borrow up to $1.5 million in the same way.
What happens to the lawsuits filed by the players and the judgment against the owners in the network TV negotiation case, the so-called lockout insurance case?
All pending litigation will be settled.
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