The NFL and the players’ union will meet again on Monday, Aug 19 for another full bargaining session, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. In the interim, there will be staff meetings scheduled for this week to discuss some secondary issues.
Unsurprisingly, Pelissero hears that the No. 1 topic to be discussed will be the overall revenue split between the league and its players. Recently, we heard that the two sides are far apart on a revenue split. In light of that, a new deal is not expected to be in place by the owners’ unofficial pre-Week 1 target date. Meanwhile, the owners have backed off the goal of having the next collective bargaining agreement in place by then.
As it stands, the current CBA expires after the 2020 season. Without a new CBA in place, we could be headed towards an eventual labor stoppage.
I really don’t see them having a strike or lockout this time.
Since the actual last ‘lockout’ was in the 80’s, I’m guessing it won’t happen this time either.