Report: NFL CBA Negotiations Progressing, Deal Needs Economics 'Ironed Out'

The NFL and NFL Players Association continue progressing toward a new collective bargaining agreement, and a deal could be struck "if the economics can be ironed out," according to Pro Football Talk.

The report added the deal may include an increase of the regular season to 17 games and that "the thinking is a new CBA already would be done" if the sides had already decided to maintain the 16-game schedule.

The current CBA went into effect in 2011 and extends through the 2020 season.

The Washington Post's Mark Maske reported in November that a new agreement between the NFL and players' union "is increasingly likely" to add a week to the regular season:

"Owners have shown a willingness to make concessions to get the players to put aside their concerns about a 17-game season, according to people on both sides of the talks who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private negotiations.

"It's not clear what concessions would be deemed acceptable by the NFLPA to agree to a longer regular season, which the union previously has opposed on player-safety grounds. But it appears that at least some of those concessions would be tied to the sport's economic system for compensating players, perhaps through modifications to the rookie compensation system put in place in the labor deal reached in 2011."

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones threw out the idea of an 18-game season in August 2018, with a corresponding reduction of the preseason to two weeks. The Athletic's Daniel Kaplan reported in September the 18-game plan didn't have enough support among owners, thus making 17 games more palatable.

Possibly addressing the "economics" referenced in the PFT report, Maske reported last Sunday the involved parties were negotiating an increase of the players' percentage of league revenue.

The players are entitled to receive an average of 47 percent of revenues during the 10 years covered under the current CBA. According to Maske, the number could rise to around 48 percent in the new CBA.

Maske added the initial hope was to have everything finalized for an announcement coinciding with Super Bowl LIV on Feb. 2. Should that date pass with no agreement in place, the opening of the NFL's 2020 league year March 18 would likely be the next earliest date.