Owners, Players Targeting July 21 Ratification

Thanks Matty. To be honest, an NFL season without Hard Knocks would just not feel right.

Yeah I'd be bummed too, it's such a good show. Who knows maybe they have something up their sleeve but they need to wait until the CBA is hashed out.

Yeah I'd be bummed too, it's such a good show. Who knows maybe they have something up their sleeve but they need to wait until the CBA is hashed out.

It's some of the best television of the year for sure. It would be so cool to see it this year because training camps/preseason are going to be pretty different given the shortened offseason and the possibility of shortened camps. A behind the scenes look at how teams are dealing with it would be awesome to see.

But I think the things that would make Hard Knocks so unique this year are the same things that will keep it off the air. Teams are going to be so pressed for time to get ready, who has time to deal with Hard Knocks poking around?

I guess my prediction of the lockout ending between now and the 13th should be thrown out?

I hope this isn't another tease.

We've been hearing they're close for a while now. Old news.

Well they've gotten past the revenue split. Apparently the final issue is the rookie wage scale.

Well they've gotten past the revenue split. Apparently the final issue is the rookie wage scale.

That seems like a non-issue. It seems in the unions and owners best interest to keep that relatively low. With the raised salary floor the money will go to the proven veterans, which is what everybody wants (except a few of the upcoming rookies looking to make top dollar.) I expect this to be more of a collaboration than a competition.

If the rookie wage scale is all thats left, I don't see any reason why it will take untill June 21st to bang out. Two days to negotiate, three more days for the lawyers to write up/review the papers, and one day to check it over and sign. July 21st seems to be stretching what should be happening sooner.

That seems like a non-issue. It seems in the unions and owners best interest to keep that relatively low. With the raised salary floor the money will go to the proven veterans, which is what everybody wants (except a few of the upcoming rookies looking to make top dollar.) I expect this to be more of a collaboration than a competition.

If the rookie wage scale is all thats left, I don't see any reason why it will take untill June 21st to bang out. Two days to negotiate, three more days for the lawyers to write up/review the papers, and one day to check it over and sign. July 21st seems to be stretching what should be happening sooner.

I've heard rumors (nothing confirmed) that the extra money from a rookie wage scale would go to retired players as part of the new retirement package. If that's true I think that would be a good idea that could still be improved on. I've read articles that seem to suggest both the owners and the players are trying to push the retired players' needs aside so a deal can get done sooner, and I hope that's not the case.

I don't think that's the case either but if it is that's a damn shame, because retired players who have devoted their lives to the game and now have serious medical bills as a result of it need more assistance than they've been getting.

That seems like a non-issue. It seems in the unions and owners best interest to keep that relatively low. With the raised salary floor the money will go to the proven veterans, which is what everybody wants (except a few of the upcoming rookies looking to make top dollar.) I expect this to be more of a collaboration than a competition.

If the rookie wage scale is all thats left, I don't see any reason why it will take untill June 21st to bang out. Two days to negotiate, three more days for the lawyers to write up/review the papers, and one day to check it over and sign. July 21st seems to be stretching what should be happening sooner.

The article posted above claims that the rookie scale issue is not so much about money as it is about whether rookie contracts will be for four or five years.

The article posted above claims that the rookie scale issue is not so much about money as it is about whether rookie contracts will be for four or five years.

Exactly right. The scale issue isn't directly about $, it's about contract length. The players have already agreed to cut rookie wages significantly, but they won't agree to a deal that doesn't allow young players to hit free agency after their fourth year. I think that's fair. If the average NFL career is only around three years, then why make them wait five?