There will be labor peace in the NFL for the next 11 years as the NFL owners and NFLPA ratified the agreement earlier today the NFL players voted to ratify the new deal by a vote of 1019-959.
Commissioner Roger Goodell called this deal “Transformative” and thanked the key negotiators in place for making the deal happen.
“We are pleased that the players have voted to ratify the proposed new CBA, which will provide substantial benefits to all current and retired players, increase jobs, ensure continued progress on player safety, and give our fans more and better football. “We appreciate the tireless efforts of the members of the Management Council Executive Committee and the NFLPA leadership, both of whom devoted nearly a year to detailed, good faith negotiations to reach this comprehensive, transformative agreement.”
This is a game changing deal for the league and the players as there a lot of new rules.
The league wanted this agreement in place by the start of the new year and they got their wish as the new year will begin on Wednesday at 4PM as the 2020 free agency season kicks off.
The official tampering phase of free agency will begin on Monday at noon.
One of the major changes that this agreement will bring forth is the 17 game schedule which we could see as soon as 2021.
There was a lot of concern amongst the players regarding the 17 game schedule, but at the end of the day the owners get their wish and the 17 game season will become a reality.
With the players approving the 17 game schedule, there will be less padded practices, breaks during training camp, and teams will be allowed to carry 55 players on the roster on game day.
Right now the roster limit is 53 on game days. With the new agreement, two players from the practice squad will be permitted to dress on game day increasing the roster to 55.
After the game those two players will be able to be placed back on the practice squad.
The practice squad roster also increases from 10 to 12 players for the 2020 season, and will increase to 14 players for the 2022 season.
The pre-season will be cut to three games possibly as soon as 2021 as well.
Another new wrinkle in this collective bargaining agreement is the playoff expansion, as the playoffs will expand by two teams and that will be effective immediately with the 2020 season.
This new deal also includes increases in minimum salaries, performance-based pay and player revenue.
The salary cap increases by ten million dollars to 198.3 million dollars per team beginning immediately with this new deal.
There will also be an increase in player revenue which will be 47 percent in 2020 and then at least 48 percent in 2021 with the ability to increase the percentage to a 48.5 share through a media kicker that applies in any season the league plays 17 games.
Teams will be able to use either the franchise or transition tag on a player but not both tags in this new agreement.
The deadline for teams to apply the franchise or transition tag on their own free agents is 11:59:59 AM on Monday.
