Posted by Will Brinson



Amid the champagne-popping of the settlement between the NFL and the NFLPA, there are still some issues to be concerned about. Like the good football fans of London, who were nervously eyeing the August 1 deadline to get a new deal in place (otherwise the game would be canceled).

So we checked on it for them, and NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy told CBSSports.com that the London game, featuring the Chicago Bears and Tampa Buccaneers, "moves forward as planned."

That's not tremendously surprising, because it seemed like a logical move for the NFL, given the timing of the deal that got done, the revenue that it brings in and the global growth of the game that the game offers.

But because the timing of the deadline for the game to take place and the possibility that a deal might not be "done" done until August 4, there was still some uncertainty surrounding the London game.

But just like with the rest of the 2011 NFL season, that's no longer a concern.

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Posted by Will Brinson



The 32 NFLPA reps voted unanimously to approve the CBA on Monday afternoon, according to NFLPA spokesman George Atallah.

NFL Labor

NFL Lockout: Updating Lockout Experience Freeman: Timeline to expect for Monday Judge: Lockout judgments: winners and losers Eye on Football: Latest updates on labor talks NFL labor timeline: 1968-present

That's right. The NFL is back.

"It's been a long time coming, and football is back -- that's the great news for everybody," Roger Goodell said at a press conference in front of the NFLPA offices. "I want to thank [DeMaurice Smith] and all of the players for their leadership and securing the long-term future of the game. Having a 10-year agreement is extraordinarily great for our game and most importantly our fans."

There are still a few steps before the deal is "officially" official, of course. This includes recertification as well as the approvement of the settlement. But for all intents and purposes were are ready to roll with the 2011 NFL season.

"This is a long time coming," Jerry Richardson said. "I would like to say what a pleasure it's been to work with the players in this negotiation."

Patriots owner Bob Kraft offered perhaps the best perspective on the entire situation, however.

"On behalf of both sides, I'd like to apologize to the fans," Kraft said, before complimenting the deal and the two sides for their work.

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Posted by Will Brinson

During the lockout, the Jets (along with a number of other teams) came under a lot of scrutiny for their decision to cut salaries, furlough employees and generally pinch pennies.

So it's fantastic to hear that Jets owner Woody Johnson has already told his employees that all the money they lost during the lockout will be immediately repaid.

Per Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, all team employees who had their wages cut -- including coaches -- will be fully reimbursed for the amount of money docked.

In a sign of just how serious Johnson is with repairing goodwill, the employees were apparently paid before they left the meeting.

"When you leave this meeting, the money will be in your accounts," Johnson told the employees, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

So that's cool. Also cool? The entire Jets staff got a "fiery, training camp-type speech" from Rex Ryan. (Or, at least about 150 of them, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.)

No word on whether they all immediately went out and got a &$*%$^* snack afterward, though.

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Posted by Will Brinson

NFL Labor

NFL Lockout: Updating Lockout Experience Freeman: Timeline to expect for Monday Judge: Lockout judgments: winners and losers Eye on Football: Latest updates on labor talks NFL labor timeline: 1968-present

The NFLPA announced on Monday morning a conference call with its executive committee and 32 player representatives that will take place at 11 a.m. ET on Monday.

The NFLPA player representatives will then vote on approving the deal that the two sides negotiated, a source confirmed to CBSSports.com.

This fits with the timeline previously reported by CBSSports.com's Mike Freeman, and means that we should expect to -- barring a last-minute change of heart by the executive committee -- be prepared for the beginning of the NFL offseason as shortly as the end of today.

Per Albert Breer of the NFL Network, the players are on the conference call right now "reviewing [the] summary of the deal" -- remember that, just as with last week, there are still a LOT of players that aren't completely in-tune with every single detail of the CBA. (This is simply what happens when you have 1,900 players who need to be informed; kudos to the NFLPA for getting more players to the point of understanding what's going on.)

So it's likely that issues are being explained in detail to the players rep so they can then explain said issues to their constituents.

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Posted by Eye on Football Staff

The lockout, kids. The 32 NFLPA reps voted unanimously to approve the CBA on Monday afternoon. That gives us a decade (!) of labor peace in the NFL. Life is good.



Now the chaos begins. Fortunately, we're here to provide you with live updates throughout the day/night/week (?!?!). So bookmark our NFL Lockout: Live Updates page and come back early and often.



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Posted by Will Brinson

Earlier today, CBSSports.com's Mike Freeman reported that the NFLPA plans to work throughout the weekend despite a report that the players were going to take off until Monday.

A source of Freeman's notes, too, that "the players seem to be in no hurry to ratify the CBA."

Of course, the reality is that the CBA won't just be ratified by a majority vote from the players.

There's actually a couple of things that have to happen first, where a settlement of the lawsuits is reached, the union is reformed and then the remaining issues are collectively bargained.

So let's take a look at what, precisely, will need to happen for us to get on the path to kicking off the football (off)season.

For starters, there are still a number of issues that need to be resolved, including grievances between the NFLPA and NFL, $320 million in back benefits that the NFLPA believes it's due from 2010, how to handle substance-abuse and drug testing (HGH testing isn't going to be a clear-cut answer, despite what Jeff Pash says).

No, this doesn't include handling allegedly disgruntled plaintiff Vincent Jackson, who seems intent on being freed from the franchise tag and/or recouping money from the time he lost during his previous seasons as a restricted free agent.



But Jackson is involved in the first step of the process, which is wrapping up the settlement.

For that to happen, the two sides need to agree on the settlement's final deal points and language. (Ever dealt with a lawyer and/or lawsuit before? This sort of thing can get heated, minute and complicated.) To reach a settlement, the two sides will also need to figure out what to do with the lockout insurance case.

Once the NFLPA's executive board votes to send this to the named plaintiffs (they've done so in a conditional fashion already), Tom Brady and the rest of the named plaintiffs have to sign off on the settlement.

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NFL owners vote to approve settlement Tenative NFL Calendar for 2011 Brinson: Owners vote puts pressure on players Judge: Last-minute obstacles to CBA popping up Katzowitz: Recertification a major issue now Podcast: Bomani Jones talks lockout, Harrisona> Eye on Football: Latest updates on labor talks NFL labor timeline: 1968-present

As soon as that happens and the court approves the settlement, the players can begin reforming the union. That requires some serious paperwork, though it's likely the trade association known as the NFLPA will have such items squared away. Most important, it also requires 51 percent of the players turning in their union cards and re-forming.

Yes, it's possible this could happen electronically, but it's more than likely that we end up seeing team facilities opened so players can come in and sign the cards and re-form.

It's also possible that incorporating such a process could be a conditional part of the settlement, though it can't be demanded by either side necessarily and shouldn't be a dealbreaker.

Once the players are re-unionized, the two sides can collectively bargain the remaining issues mentioned above.

What this means, more than anything, is that we're not just a simple vote away from getting football back. Though the owners ratified a proposal that might not have been seen by the players, and though we might feel "halfway done," there's still work ahead before we get a new CBA.

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Posted by Ryan Wilson

There may not yet be an agreement between the owners and players on a new collective bargaining agreement, but NFL attorney Jeff Pash says that the league not only plans to institute random blood testing for human growth hormone during the 2011 season, but that the NFLPA fully supports it.

"We expect that we will have testing for HGH," Pash told the New York Daily News. "I think that both sides believe that's important for the integrity of the game and that we should continue to be leaders here. I think that's a view that's strongly held by the players as it by us.

"How soon can it happen?" Pash asked. "Some issues needed to be worked out. It will take some time to get that ramped up, but we would hope that it could be ramped up by the start of the season."

In the past, players have opposed blood tests. Former NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw said in 2006 that "It is invasive, and too many things can go wrong with this … You can call me back and tell me where you have a reliable test. A urine test. Then we'll have something to talk about. I'm not interested in turning my players into pin cushions."

And former NFL tight end Mark Breuner, during a 2010 interview with the Washington Post, called the process "extremely invasive ... We have one of the most aggressive, productive drug-testing policies in all of sports. To go to that extreme, I'm not sure that's good for the health of an athlete."

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Pash was asked if he believes HGH is widespread among NFL players. "I'm not saying it is rampant in the league," he told the Daily News. "But what I am saying is we should be leaders in ensuring and doing everything we can to promote the integrity of the game and the health of the players, and they agree with that and we agree with that."

In March, FoxSports.com's Alex Marvez reported that Dr. Gary Wadler, who has worked closely with both the World Anti-Doping Agency and White House Office of Natural Drug Control Policy, applauded the NFL's decision to make HGH testing mandatory as part of its labor proposal to the NFLPA. Wadler also said any protests from athletes about the blood work required to conduct the test "border on the nonsensical."

"I'd be very disappointed if the NFL does not get in lock with the rest of the world -- and this goes for (Major League) baseball as well -- and employ blood testing," Wadler said at the time. "Any concerns the athletes have of a needle ... It's almost comical to think a 300-pound athlete is afraid of a little needle prick."

It appears that the NFLPA will not vote Friday on the new CBA, which means we'll have to wait at least one more day to find if, as Pash suggests, the players are on board with random blood tests for HGH.


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Posted by Ryan Wilson

In light of a hectic Thursday that included NFL owners voting to approve the new collective bargaining agreement, and the players subsequently declining to, NFLPA President Kevin Mawae released a statement Friday morning.

"Player leadership is discussing the most recent written proposal with the NFL, which includes a settlement agreement, deal terms and the right process for addressing recertification. There will not be any further NFLPA statements today out of respect for the Kraft family while they mourn the loss of Myra Kraft."

Myra Kraft, the wife of New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft, passed away Wednesday and the funeral was Friday morning.

Although it appears that the NFLPA will not vote on the proposed CBA today, there is still a sense that a deal will get done soon.

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