NFL Lockout: Why Players Have Every Right in Holding off Vote to End Lockout

The NFL lockout is extremely close to being over. The owners voted 31-0 to accept a new collective bargaining agreement, and now it's up to the players to close it out. 

However, who says the players have to immediately vote to end the lockout?

This dreaded lockout has lasted 129 days, and there is no need for the players to rush to end it just yet. 

The new collective bargaining agreement is a 10-year deal, which is exactly why the players have to be careful when handling it. They can't give up on issues they have been fighting for just because the owners finally agreed on a deal.

After all, this long of a deal will affect future generations of the NFL. Once the owners agreed upon the deal last night, everyone just assumed the players would vote to end the lockout as well last night.

That didn't happen, and all media outlets were reporting the players would vote on Friday. Not long after reporting that, they changed it to the players are expected to vote on Friday because nobody knows when this will all truly come to a close.  

The main reason the players didn't vote last night was because they didn't receive the entire deal. You can't blame them for wanting to thoroughly go through the owners proposed deal.

It's possible that the players might not even vote today. ESPN NFL reporter Chris Mortensen tweeted today a statement from NFLPA President Kevin Mawae that stated they're still discussing the terms of the deal.

"Player leadership is discussing the most recent written proposal with the NFL, which includes a settlement agreement, deal terms and the right process for addressing recertification. There will not be any further NFLPA statements today out of respect for the Kraft family while they mourn the loss of Myra Kraft."

Does no more NFLPA statements today mean no vote today? Not necessarily, but the likelihood of the players voting today is very slim.

You might say that the players are the bad guys here and they're just being greedy. That isn't the case because they want football back more than any of us do.

Football is their job and how they get paid. They love the game as much as we fans do, but they have to be cautious on this deal.

If the players feel that the owners are forcing this deal down their throats, then who are we to say they must vote to end it now?  

We've all been patiently waiting a long time for the lockout to end, but the players have to make sure they are doing the right thing.

There is a lot at stake here for the NFLPA, and these guys cannot screw it up for the future players of the NFL. Let's not forget that the owners were quite greedy in the early process of the lockout and a large reason why it's lasted so long.

Don't sit there and cry out that the players are terrible for not ending this lockout as soon as possible just because you're tired of the lockout. Everyone has waited this long, and a few more days for the players to work out everything they need isn't going to ruin the season.