It seems like an aberration during a week where almost none of the news from the sports world has had anything to do with sports, but we actually have real sports news, big news in fact.
The NFL Players Association has voted to accept the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
“NFL players have voted to approve ratification of a new collective bargaining agreement by a vote tally of 1,019 to 959,” the union posted on Twitter. “This result comes after a long and democratic process in accordance with our constitution. An independent auditor received submitted ballots through a secure electronic platform, then verified, tallied and certified the results.”
What does that mean? As ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports, that means some very big changes are coming to the game.
Sources to ESPN: NFL players voted to approve the proposed CBA, giving the NFL 10 more years of labor peace, players an increased share of revenue, former players added benefits, and the league 17-game regular seasons along with an expanded playoff field.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 15, 2020
The 17-game regular season and expanded playoffs are the headline changes to the new agreement. As Bears reporter Larry Mayer writes:
This is the first time the NFL playoff field has expanded since it went from 10 to 12 teams in 1990. And this will be the first time the NFL regular season has expanded since it went from 14 to 16 games in 1978.
— Larry Mayer (@LarryMayer) March 15, 2020
The deal is also important from a free agency standpoint:
Had this CBA not passed, several teams would’ve had to basically sit out free agency, thanks to not having post-June 1 cuts and other issues. Safe to say a lot more money will be spent now in free agency (whenever it is) than had the CBA failed.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 15, 2020
The next big issue for the NFL is the Draft and whether there will be fan attendance in Las Vegas five weeks from now when it is scheduled to occur. Of course, whether the regular season starts as scheduled is also a big question.
However, whenever the regular season starts, it will go one week longer and more teams will make the playoffs.
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter @themightygwinn
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