As the NFL and the players union continue to forge what essentially amounts to a 2020 single-season collective bargaining agreement, sources on both sides of the negotiating hall told Yahoo Sports on Wednesday night that there are two hurdles left. important for soccer to get back on track. the coming weeks: A financial deal on how and when players will share the burden of inevitable revenue deficits, and a set of guidelines that would cause COVID-19 to shut down individual teams, or the entire league.
For the season to start in September, both issues must be resolved.
A league source close to the negotiations expressed optimism about progress in the talks, while a union source told Yahoo Sports that 99 percent of health and safety problems have reached common ground. However, both sources independently agreed that a pre-season stoppage is still up for grabs if the two sides can’t agree on the loss of revenue, as well as what could cause the league to stop or shorten the 2020 season.
Union director DeMaurice Smith and the NFLPA are trying to reach an agreement with the NFL on how the parties will address the revenue deficit caused by the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo / Chris Carlson, File)
If the NFL season stops in 2020, how much will the players be paid?
As for finances, the NFL and the union have taken opposite positions on how players should share the burden of lost revenue. Both have expressed the need to find a resolution somewhere in between.
First, the finances:
If a season is halted or shortened due to the coronavirus pandemic, the owners of the league team want players’ wages to be adjusted according to the number of weeks on the 17-week list that are on the books at moment of suspension. Essentially, in the NFL’s opinion, player salaries would be paid according to the prorated amount of regular season games that took place during the season.
The NFL Players Association has taken the stance that the collectively negotiated language ensures that players will receive full pay, regardless of the number of games played once the 2020 season begins.
Multiple sources across the league spectrum, including some team executives, say that if a deal can’t be reached before a layoff during the season, the NFL could choose to stop paying players from the moment they games are suspended. That would probably leave the matter unresolved in a lengthy court battle.
To avoid such a controversial situation, both sides will have to agree on a midpoint on what happens to the players’ salaries if there is a strike.
How much will the next salary cap fall? $ 40 million vs. $ 70 million
Another pressing financial problem is how the two sides will widen the potential revenue deficit that could cripple the 2021 wage cap. As it stands, even projections on either side are not close, as the NFL considers the potential loss of caps in 2021 is $ 40 million per team, while the union has said that number could reach $ 70 million per team.
Whatever the loss, the two sides have been unable to agree on how to extend the coup. As of Wednesday, the NFL had proposed extending success for three seasons (2021-2023). The union has proposed to distribute the loss evenly over nine seasons (2021-2029).
This variation remains one of the biggest impediments to reaching a finalized deal, leading some frustrated franchise owners to suggest in negotiations that it should be remedied before the start of Tuesday’s full team training camp, or teams should decline. to allow players to report on that day. Both sides expressed doubts to Yahoo Sports that an agreement on the distribution of lost income will be completed on Tuesday, leaving club owners to make a decision about starting camp on time or delaying it to continue working on finances.
The Chiefs-49ers Super Bowl in February will be the last NFL game played until at least September. (AP Photo / Morry Gash)
What needs to happen to trigger the 2020 NFL season stoppage?
Regarding the possible stoppage of a season:
As of Wednesday, neither the NFL nor the union had reached an agreement on what would trigger the strike or shortening of the 2020 season. A union source told Yahoo Sports that the NFLPA has requested arrest or reduction guidelines in the form written in hopes of removing ambiguity about standards while also preventing the NFL from “creating” scenarios as the season progresses.
An NFL league source said that arbitrarily creating tougher guidelines for “unknowable” scenarios is virtually impossible, particularly when the league’s board of medical advisers could change in the coming months.
As the league source framed it, “There are a number of scenarios that could arise that teams are not able to see at this time, and [the union] I also can’t see the future. It is not about being evasive. It is a matter of being flexible. It is important to be fluent [based on] what medical experts are saying in real time, which is what we are doing every week, by the way. “
The league is expected to brief team owners on the latest progress in the talks before the weekend, while the NFLPA made a call with some of its members on Wednesday night.
The union also issued a memo to player agents explaining progress in the talks.
The email, which a source shared with Yahoo Sports, said:
Dear contractual advisers,
We continue to negotiate with NFL owners about health protocols, contract protections, and salary cap issues.
Regarding our health protocols, we are pleased to inform you that we have worked together with the NFL to implement the safest standards for our men. As you may have heard, there will be no preseason game. Additionally, we have agreed on robust testing, tracing, and treatment protocols, and we are finalizing an acclimatization period. These measures reflect the implementation of the recommendations of external scientific experts with the aim of keeping everyone as safe as possible during this pandemic.
On the CBA and contract operations front, we continue to push the NFL to agree on player opt-out options, as well as determinations on stipends and the treatment of player contracts if the season. We believe that every player has the right not only to make an informed decision about their future, but also to have all the facts before committing themselves and their families to make a decision regarding the most unique football season in history. . We will pass that information on to our leadership, our players, and to you as soon as it is complete.
Finally, there are the problems of the general economy, the distribution of income and the implications of the salary cap. Our proposal is designed to take advantage of the CBA’s multi-year term to mitigate losses that will affect all aspects of our business. We don’t think it makes sense that any stakeholder is forced to manage potentially massive fluctuations in the cap this year and next when we have mechanisms in place that can smooth out the inevitable short-term decline in revenue over time.
We will continue to update it as the negotiations progress, or not.
Thanks for all you do for our players,
DeMaurice Smith
JC Tretter
NFLPA Executive Committee
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