NFL Lockout 2011: New CBA Will Be Good For 10 Years

NFL owners and players are expected to resume meetings on Monday as the two sides inch closer to a new collective bargaining agreement. Per ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, a new deal will be good for ten years. The issues remaining at the center of discussions are:

• Players want restoration of $320 million in lost benefits from the 2010 uncapped season.

• Players want to limit use of the franchise tag on unrestricted free agents to a one-time application. Previously, teams could use the franchise tag on a player on three separate occasions with significant increases on one-year guaranteed salaries for every additional year that the player was tagged.

• Settlement of the Brady antitrust lawsuit involving 10 named plaintiffs. The limit of franchise tags on all players could be the anchor to the settlement. That would result in named plaintiffs such as Drew Brees, Logan Mankins, Peyton Manning and Vincent Jackson not being subject to any free agent restrictions in 2012 if their respective teams do not sign them to long-term contracts.

• Workman’s compensation. It has been an underpublicized and complex issue for the owners that has resulted in numerous lawsuits. Owners want players to file for workman’s comp benefits in the state in which they played, if they suffered an injury. Currently, players have used California as a filing base if they can prove they suffered any injury during their career while playing in that state.

• Settlement of the television damages case stemming from U.S. District Judge David Doty’s ruling that owners did not act in the best interests of players as directed by the previous CBA in creating “lockout insurance.” The players have asked Doty to place $4 billion in escrow until the lockout is resolved but Doty has not ruled. It is possible the players will use this leverage to gain the $320 million in restoration of lost benefits from 2010.

In the progress made so far, the two sides have agreed on a rookie wage scale, a new salary cap number, owners have given up right to first refusal and agreed to eliminate two-a-day workouts. There have been significant steps made towards a new deal in the past week and it will all likely come to a conclusion this Thursday in Atlanta.