The NFL Players Association will huddle up in Los Angeles on Thursday to discuss the owners’ latest proposal, as Dan Graziano of ESPN.com writes. The players are not expected to vote on the proposal, however, as many in the union are still against the idea of a 17-game season.

The owners are looking for an answer by the start of the new league year, on March 18th. If there’s no deal by that date, Graziano hears that talks are “likely to be tabled indefinitely.” That may, or may not, be a real deadline. In reality, neither side wants to chance the possibility of a labor stoppage when the current collective bargaining agreement lapses.

When the CBA does finally come to a vote, it will begin with the union’s 32 player representatives. With two-thirds approval, it would move to a union-wide vote among all players. After that, if 50% of players and two-thirds of owners say yes, it’s a done deal.

The owners’ latest pitch would establish a new ten-year CBA and increase the players’ cut of revenue from 47% to 48.5%. If an extra regular season game is tacked on starting in 2021, that percentage would increase for players. In the owners’ proposed CBA, they’d have the option to expand the season anywhere between 2021 and 2023.

Many players – including vocal figures like offensive tackle Russell Okung – have been against the addition of another game for safety reasons. At one point, the proposed 17-game season was set to include an extra bye week for recovery – at last check, the owners were looking to have just one bye week per year while dropping one of the league’s four preseason games. Meanwhile, the postseason would expand from 12 teams to 14.

The owners’ proposed CBA would have upsides for players, however – one source tells ESPN that the uptick in revenue could result in an additional $5 billion paid to players over the course of ten years. It also includes relaxed rules regarding marijuana, higher minimum spending floors for clubs, and other perks that the union has been seeking.

Feb 5: All 32 player reps will meet Thursday to further consider the proposed CBA, per Maske (via Twitter). Reiterating his report from February 2, Maske says that a vote is possible, but not definite.

Feb 2: ESPN’s Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter report that the NFLPA will convene again after the Super Bowl to vote on the 17-game schedule. They describe the vote as a “make-or-break” development for the new CBA, because the league owners want to get something done asap and are prepared to table their proposal and play out the 2020 season without a new deal in place, which would dramatically heighten the possibility of a work stoppage in 2021.

Because the negotiations to date have been based on a 17-game schedule, Mike Florio of Pro Football suggests that it may be too late for the players to back out of that plan unless they are prepared for a stoppage. But Mortensen and Schefter note that the owners are willing to make a number of concessions — including changes to the drug policy, on-field discipline fine schedule, and greater cash spending minimums for teams — and the players may be warming to the 17-game plan.

A longer season would likely commence in 2021, though an increased revenue share for the players would kick in immediately.

Meanwhile, Mark Maske of the Washington Post says it’s not certain a vote will take place in the coming days. But if it does, and if two-thirds of player reps approve the 17-game CBA, it will go to all players for a ratification vote (Twitter links).

Feb 1: Updates on the status of the collective bargaining agreement continue to emerge. Here are the latest details coming out of the Miami-based discussions:

• Like the CBA the 2011 talks produced, this next one would run for 10 years, Judy Battista of NFL.com tweets. However, the next agreement would run through the 2030 season — even if it is agreed to before the 2020 slate. Some of the benefits agreed to in this deal, though, would start immediately, per Battista. The current CBA expires in March 2021.
• Shifting to the main talking point of these CBA discussions, the potential debut of a 17-game season continues to be delayed. After a report pointed to the expanded schedule moving back to at least 2021, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes that the likely start date of a 17-game schedule would be 2022 (video link). This would be aimed at coinciding with the new TV deals, per Rapoport. Most of the league’s TV contracts run through 2022. The CBA also may not mandate a start time for the 17-game slate, with Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano of ESPN.com relaying that the owners’ latest proposal gives the NFL the option of pushing the schedule to 17 games at some point over the life of the deal. This would then become a bargaining chip for the league with networks.
• Concern has, however, emerged on both sides that the 17-game component to these talks could nix a near-future deal, per Graziano and Fowler. Many players have spoken out against the 17-game season, which would be even less appealing for the players now that the once-rumored double-bye format is not believed to be a part of the new setup. Russell Okung‘s potential election as the next NFLPA president in March would stand to further waylay a 17-game season, as the Chargers offensive lineman is against lengthening the season.
• Another aspect of these talks: the funding rule. Owners have used the decades-old rule — which stipulates teams must put guaranteed money in a league escrow account upon authorizing a contract — as a reason to limit guarantees. But with this rule implemented in a different era, when some of the league’s teams were not nearly as financially stable as they are today, players are aiming to remove it in the next CBA.

Rory Parks contributed to this post.