With Deal on Rookie Wages, N.F.L. Lockout Nears the End
By JUDY BATTISTA
Published: July 14, 2011
An agreement in principle that would end the four-month-long N.F.L. lockout is within reach for the first time after negotiators for players and owners finally settled on a rookie wage system, clearing one of the last major hurdles that had separated the sides, a person briefed on negotiations said Thursday.
While an agreement on Friday may still be a long shot, the person said players and owners are closer than they have ever been to completing a deal after the breakthrough on rookie compensation. The sides must still resolve several issues, including free-agency rules for 2011: one person directly involved in the negotiations said Thursday there had been no progress on the issue of how many free agents teams would have the right of first refusal on. Another potentially contentious issue is the final disposition of the players’ antitrust lawsuit against the league.
But if an agreement can be forged in the next few days, negotiators could present it to the mediator Judge Arthur Boylan on Tuesday. Then the owners could vote on the deal when they meet in Atlanta on July 21, while players presumably would take steps to re-form their union. That would most likely allow free agency to begin later this month and training camps to open by the end of the month, preserving the preseason. The fate of the first preseason game, the Hall of Fame game, scheduled to be played Aug. 7, is unclear, although the teams scheduled to play in it, the Rams and Bears, were originally scheduled to report to training camp next week. The league had set a deadline of Friday to avoid canceling that game.