The NFL Lockout has reached Day 100 as labor talks continued again on Thursday as the NFL owners and NFL Players Association met in an undisclosed location in Boston. According to ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio, the two sides made progress and are heading in the “right direction” towards reaching an agreement.
“We are headed in the right direction,” the source said. “There is a desire on both sides to reach an agreement sooner rather than later.” (via ESPN)
The two sides continue to discuss several issues, including the players share of the revenue in the new CBA. The NFLPA held strong that the players should take at least 48 percent of the reveune generated, a dip from last year’s 50.5 percent.
Players believe they can justify a 48 percent take because of the projected revenue growth, as well as built-in mechanisms that require teams to spend close to 100 percent of the salary cap, a source told ESPN.com’s John Clayton. The mandatory minimum spending increase is an element that concerns lower-revenue clubs, sources say. (via ESPN)
Some of the other topics that were reportedly discussed was organized free agency. The owners and players seemed to have come to an agreement on how free agency will work, if there is a season.
If and when an agreement is reached, all players whose contracts have expired and have four or more years of experience are expected to be unrestricted free agents, sources familiar with the talks told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. Certain tags will be retained, but that still is being discussed (via ESPN)
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