Report: NFL, NFLPA Could Delay Training Camp Start Without Financial Deal

Ongoing financial negotiations between the NFL and NFL Players Association may delay the opening of training camps leaguewide if a deal isn't reached.

Five days before NFL camps are set to begin, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports an indefinite postponement is possible without an approved economic impact plan. Owners are seeking a lower salary cap in 2020 and 2021, which the union is against. 

Pelissero says both players and general managers believe a lower cap would led to numerous veteran cuts.

No deadline has been set for a deal, but Pelissero notes owners want an agreement finalized before Sunday. 

Potential revenue losses due to the coronavirus pandemic are not a new topic for the NFL. The league had long thought to be in a stronger position when most sports league went on hiatus in March given football's offseason had only just begun. 

Four months later, the sticking points remain. 

The NFLPA would like to see the league spread the losses out through the 2030 season when the current collective bargaining agreement concludes. Pelissero says that position hasn't changed, with union executive director DeMaurice Smith and president JC Tretter sending a memo to agents on Wednesday emphasizing an 11-year plan to tackle the fallout from the 2020 season.

One general manager told Pelissero a $10 million cap reduction this year wouldn't be practical considering most "rosters are largely set and resources allocated."

NFL officials have taken some smaller steps to help alleviate the financial pressure of operating in a pandemic. The league announced a plan in late June to allow teams to tarp off the first six to eight rows of seats and use the area to sell ad space—marking the first time non-league brands would be seen on a TV broadcast. 

Those moves can only go so far. Without an agreement, virtual workouts and training sessions may become the league's new normal.