A timeline for the CBA proposal’s passage emerged early Thursday morning. After lawyers for the NFL and NFLPA worked on finalizing language until 1:30am CT, the CBA proposal will officially be distributed to the full union body, Albert Breer of SI.com reports (on Twitter).
The ballots went out at 8am Thursday, and players will have almost exactly one week to vote on the measure. Votes are due at 10:59pm CT March 12 — just less than six days before the start of the 2020 league year. This CBA proposal is 456 pages long, per Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). However, players and agents received term sheets in advance.
If more than 50% of the players vote yes, the CBA passes. The NFLPA’s board approved the agreement, by a 17-14-1 vote, on Feb. 26. The union’s executive director, DeMaurice Smith, expects it to pass.
While the proposal includes numerous changes, the main component will be the season length. If the majority of players vote yes, a 17-game season will become reality. The league could shift to 17 games as soon as the 2021 season.
March 12 is also the final day teams can apply franchise or transition tags. As of now, teams are still allowed to use both tags. Should the 2011 CBA remain in place for the 2020 season, teams can use both tags. But should the CBA pass, teams that used both must rescind one of the tags. The NFL already moved the tag deadline back two days, but Pelissero adds (via Twitter) the league is not expected to move the date again. So teams with multiple marquee free agents will operate with a degree of uncertainty regarding how to proceed with tags.
The current CBA, which took effect in July 2011, runs through March 2021. This one would go through 2030. If players do not approve it, the likelihood of a 2021 work stoppage increases.
I don’t see any reference to where the new salary cap would be set at. That’s a huge part of what happens in a week or so.