NFL Insider: Will the CBA Arrive in Time?

That’s a question that many are asking right now.  The deadline for getting a contract done is Mar. 4 and so far there doesn’t appear to be a lot of movement at this time.  NFL commissioner Rodger Goodell recently stated that he felt that the two sides would have an agreement around the time the Super Bowl was played but unless a league full of leaks is keeping a tight lid on things there is most likely no movement towards a new contract.

That means that the league and the Players Association have less than three months to complete an agreement to prevent a work stoppage in the league.  Can they iron out all of the details before then and keep the game running?  What are the major issues involving the CBA?  Let’s take a look a few of the biggest issues and try to figure out how the two sides might work around them.

A Bigger Share of the Pie

The owners feel that they have given up way too much to the players in terms of giving them a share of the profits that are generated for them by the NFL (through TV and merchandise contracts).  The players feel that they are entitled to an even bigger share of the money that the owners get from those contracts.  The owners don’t want to give it up and this is the biggest hang-up in getting to a new contract.

Rookie Salary Caps

This is actually something that the two sides agree upon.  For years, rookie salaries have been rising to incredible levels and there are some rookies that are getting paid much more than some veterans that have been in the league for a lot longer.  This has become a point of contention and both sides are willing to do something about it.

A rookie salary cap, much like the NBA has, would help keep the salaries down and allow for teams to distribute more money to their proven veterans rather than giving it to unproven rookies.  This will be something that will be easy for both sides to agree upon.

The 18-Game Season

This has been debated a lot in the media, perhaps much more than it’s been debated between the two sides as they ramp up for discussions on a new CBA.  The owners wouldn’t mind adding a couple more games to the end of the season (and take out two preseason games) while the players are skeptical that having two more regular season games would lead to more injuries.

This might not appear too big of an issue, but it is.  The injury factor is always a bone of contention to players and giving them more opportunities to get hurt isn’t something that they may ideally like to do.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out as they try to hammer out a new deal.

Another area that the two sides are in disagreement on is player safety.  This season has been an interesting one with all of the issues regarding concussions, big hits and player safety and the players are upset at what the league has done this season.  There needs to be more clarification and a structure for fines when it comes to this.  The Players Association is going to push hard for this and should get what they want here.

Finally, tied into the players' safety agreements are the fines and conduct policy that the NFL has been doling out to players.  We are all well aware of the personal conduct policy that NFL commissioner Rodger Goodell put forth when he first came into the league and there are those that feel that this needs to be clarified more and that there needs to be much more structure.

There are a lot of people that are in agreement with this.  Fines seem to be all over the place when they are issued, some greater for the same infraction than others and the NFL needs to standardize fines and make it fair for everyone.  This issue will be a big one in contract negotiations.

Perhaps the NFL and the Players Association are doing some secret behind-the-scenes negotiations that no one is aware of to help make this thing come together before the end of the league year.  Perhaps not.  One thing is for sure though and that’s there isn’t a lot of time to get a deal done if they want to get one done by Mar. 1.  If they fail to get a deal done the 2011 season will be an interesting one that’s for sure.