NFL Players Association executives and team player representatives from all 32 NFL teams will reconvene after Super Bowl 2020 to conditionally vote for or against a 17-game regular-season as part of a new collective bargaining agreement that would make several other changes if agreed upon, ESPN reported Sunday.
The meeting is set to take place at an undisclosed location, where ESPN says the players will explore the option to “accept the one thing they hate, a 17-game season, in exchange for 10 or more things they want.” It’ll be the second gathering within a week.
ESPN reports that the NFLPA invited a select group of player agents to Miami Thursday to discuss a testy players’ union meeting that lasted more than six hours to go over the proposed new CBA – something that has been negotiated with NFL owners for months.
Agents were reportedly included in order to talk over the ramifications should the players reject the current proposal, which could prompt a potential lockout. No CBA changes would come into effect until 2021, when the current labor agreement expires.
Owners are prepared to “table their proposal” and “play out the last year of the deal” according to the report, which would increase the risk of another work stoppage next year.
Sources told ESPN that the player reps who met Thursday were initially “just about unanimous” against implementing a 17-game schedule. But after hearing more information and analysis of the proposal, players became willing to hear more. It is why another meeting was scheduled this coming week.
Opting for a 17-game expansion is also tied to new revenues in pending TV and media contracts, per ESPN.
The CBA proposal also reportedly includes an annual fixed share in the 48 percent range of the expected larger revenue pool and also greater spending minimums for clubs, as well as changes to the league’s drug policy that would essentially remove punishments to players who tested positive for marijuana.
Pending the owners’ approval at the annual league meetings in March, the new CBA would likely include an extra playoff game next season. ESPN reports the on-field discipline fine schedule will be altered in the players’ favor, as well as increases to benefits to former players, which includes a continuation of the legacy fund.



