National Football League

NFL has new CBA

Updated Mar. 15, 2020 12:41 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

The NFL has a new labor agreement that will extend through 2030, as the players approved the ratification of the new CBA by a vote of 1,019 to 959.

The deal includes many of the previously reported stipulations such as the expansion of the playoffs by two teams in 2020 — one additional wild-card team in each conference, giving just the first overall seed a first-round bye — and increasing the length of the regular season to 17 games.

As evidenced by the tight vote, the CBA was received with a wide range of reactions by NFL players, many of whom took to Twitter to voice their opinions:

In addition to the expansion of the playoffs and the addition of a 17th game, the new CBA increases the percentage the players receive from league revenue, from 47% to 48%, with additional potential increases linked to the league's television deals and the expansion of the regular season to 17 games. Game-day and practice squad roster sizes will grow, and minimum salaries are increasing. The new CBA will also eliminate suspensions for positive marijuana tests.

There are still unanswered questions, largely around the implementation of the 17-game season. The players and owners reportedly have not discussed how exactly the NFL will balance the schedule, roll out the new calendar, or whether there will be an additional bye week, among many other considerations.

However, according to NFL.com, there are rules in the new CBA that spell out how practices will work under a 17-game season. Perhaps the biggest is that teams will not be allowed to add additional practices to the calendar when the league transitions to 17 games. Padded practices would be limited to a total of 14, 11 of which must be held during the first 11 weeks of the season. The number of padded practices in training camp would also be reduced, from 28 to 16.

share

Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

National Football League